New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

Former Horse Trainer and Carpenter Starts an Architectural Millwork Company

This profile features Daniel Parish and his journey to launching his own company as a young husband and father.

Name:

Daniel Parish

Family Description:

Father comitted to Patriarchy, Mother comitted to Biblical womanhood.  I'm the oldest of eight, am married with two girls of my own.

Business Name:

Millworks By Design, Inc.

Business Description:

Full-service architectural millwork company in high-end residential construction. We provide trim carpentry, cabinetry, windows, doors and stair cases.

Location:

Southern California

Formal education/training:

• Homeschooled through the 12th grade but no college.
• Lots of study in the architectural styles, old world joinery etc..

Prior work experience:

• Horse Trainer for about 3 years
• Short stint as a program tester for Kinkos
• Worked with a remodeling contractor for 6 months before hiring on the first finish carpentry crew
• Ended up hiring on with a stair company and built custom stair cases and libraries
• Almost left to start my own company in 2005 but ended up starting a finish carpentry division instead. I consider 2005 to be the start of my "serious" entrepreneaurial career.

Forming the Idea:

I had many thoughts about leaving to start my own company since 2005. And by 2007, with many broken promises by my former employer, I started planning my exit.

How you got started:

An aquaintance from a few previous projects called me.  He had just quit his "comfortable" job of managing a construction company specializing in flipping foreclosures.  He wanted to go into high-end millwork business and he had money to invest.

After a lot of negotiation, back ground checking, aligning of interests, and financial projections, we made a deal, incorporated and I quit my job.

What was it like in the beginning:

It's still the beginning....

We were able to pick up a few jobs right away, enough to keep a couple of carpenters busy. We immediatly started marketing efforts and we were surprised at the interest in our company. We presently have 26 jobs on the bid list with a potential value of 80% over our first years sales goal and 14 jobs underway or completed.

However, the first few months have not been without setbacks, as you can see below.

What stage the business is at now:

Three months old and getting ready for lots of growth in the next six months.

The biggest challenge you’ve faced:

We sold a job - a very lucrative deal, (over half of our first years sales goal) within one month of startup. After reviewing their contract and getting a lot of good advice, we had to make the decision to turn the job down due to the large probability of being sued (it was a heavily one sided contract.)

Our deals take so much time to put together and the timing and size of this job made it extremly difficult to turn down.

We've suffered many other setbacks such as discovering mold on a job and having to close the job to employees, cash flow difficulties etc.

Key steps that made the difference:

• Surrounding ourselves with good advisors - lawyers, accountants, marketing consultants and various other mentors
• Focusing on what our competition is lacking

Lessons Learned:

• Watch your cash flow - keep a close eye on your payables and stay up-to-date with your receivables or you can run out of cash really fast
• Don't let youth hold you back
• Insist on thoroughness in the work you produce
  

The best advice you received:

• Seek Mentors
• Business is about relationships

What your work and family life was like before:

I got married a few months before starting the division at my old company. Its been 10-16 hour days ever since.

What your work and family life is like now:

My wife is very supportive and is my closest advisor. She knows everything about my business.

I struggle to balance my business obligations with my responsibilites as the leader of my home and family, and have to constantly pray to our Lord for help in this area. My Dad is also a business owner and is a wonderful example for me. I thank the Lord every day for a Father who loves and supports me in my business endeavors.