Success Story: L&M Woodworking

L&M Woodworking – Wahpeton, 2017

Leo wanted to own and operate his own cabinet business for several years.  Spending over two decades in the industry, he understood that he had the skills to not only build the custom cabinets but also install them.  He also enjoyed the idea of having the freedom of working directly with the customer to match his skills with their dreams, which was difficult to do when working for someone else.

Leo engaged the ND SBDC to assist with business planning and capital formation.  By August of 2014, Leo was presenting to a lender and was able to secure a financial package that was a good fit for his business start, which included an SBA loan guarantee.  By October of 2014, Leo had broken ground on his shop, which was completed around the first of the year.  Leo spent the first year (2015) as a part-time business owner, maintaining his current employment and working in his business on nights and weekends.  By the time 2016 rolled around, Leo had generated so much work for his business that he quit his full-time job and went full-time into business.

The SBDC was critical in the process for Leo to secure capital from Business Planning, helping quantify the market, and developing a projected revenue stream and anticipated expenses for the business.  Leo continues to call the SBDC for ongoing questions due to operational concerns and to run ideas by his SBDC Business  Advisor.

Every year since opening, Leo has outpaced expectations and projections.  He has an eye for details that customers desire, and his commitment to customer satisfaction keeps his pipeline full.

Though Leo does not have some of the normal struggles that come with a business that has employees, there are still issues such as tax planning and other operational issues of wearing many hats that a typical one-person shop must wear.