Meet Ben Burnett | Woodworker & Communicator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ben Burnett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
Getting active in a sport that I enjoyed. I signed up for a triathlon on a whim and slowly learned how to build my body up to accomplish a goal. The lessons I learned along the way in athletics directly translated to business. Things like goal setting, skill building, and dealing with significant set backs are all things you have to make part of your daily life.

Probably the biggest part though is understanding yourself. In athletics you gotta find a sport or activity that fits your mind just as much as it fits your body. For example, after that triathlon I found out I like cycling…. and am not so excited about running or swimming. How I bike is not for everyone, but I like to go long distances. This fits my personality in various ways and therefore I get excited about long rides.

I found the same thing for what I do professionally. It has to be something that I enjoy doing or life will start to feel gray.

Doing my athletic endeavors made me realize certain aspects of my personality that helped me be much better at every other part of my life, most importantly, my profession.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
This business is an organic reflection on me and my business partner’s path.

It started with turning a dodge promaster van into an RV. My business partner and I have known each other since middle school. I use to go on their family vacation to the beach in the summer. We ended up being college roommates as well.

After college Justin and I had normal jobs in that I worked for a car dealership doing marketing and Justin worked at a boat engine manufacturer. We liked to go camping on the weekends and we wanted to make camping easier. Justin’s dad had basic tools he built their family home with. So the natural thing to do was use those tools and knowledge to turn a van into an RV.

Fastforward a lot of nights and weekends and we had ourselves an RV. We did all the electrical, pluming, solar, welding to make the roofrack, and custom cabinets.

So we learned what we liked to do and what we didn’t like to do. Well this is when vanlife was very popular. So the prices for nice vans like this was a little inflated. We put the van out there and sure enough a horse jockey from Ireland bought it from us.

We used the profits to buy materials to build a proper 2500 sq foot shop. We did all the work. We learned framing, roofing, more electrical, the whole nine yards.

So once we got the new shop built we wanted to make cool stuff. So we put out there that we were making furniture. Heirloom quality stuff. We built a few dining sets and eventually learned that business model takes a long time to grow.

So we asked how can we do the same type of work in a different way. Turns out cabinets are just furniture screwed to a wall. And there was a natural hole in the market: most trades people work off of referrals. So people that were new to the area had a hard time finding them.

Usually the first thing people want to change is the kitchen. So if we can capture that audience with a decent website and good reviews we could continue to work in the shop building stuff and pay our bills.

The difference in what we do is our approach. We always liked making things more robust and durable. I guess because we are dudes and like the biggest and best of anything…. the bigger the truck the cooler, the more powerful chainsaw the cooler, and so on.

This mentality went into our work as well. So much so that we experimented with different paint, different ways to construct and build the cabinet, different installation methods. I am confident that the way we build out cabinets nobody else is doing.

So we soon found out there is a natural balance of doing the thing you like to do and going out in the world to sell that thing so you can pay your bills and help facilitate the iterations of making that thing better. I guess some people call it marketing and sales. I just call it communication. You have to fundamentally do things and tell people. Otherwise you won’t be able to fund doing the thing you like to do.

So a lot of what I do is earn people’s trust. There is an inherent distrust of contractors in this area. And I get it, I’ve heard so many stories of a contractor taking a down payment and then never showing back up. Its disgusting. So we have several different ways that we build trust that no other contractor is doing.

For instance we have a project tracker for every customer. This lets you see the stages of the project, where we are currently at with photographic proof. An example would be that we just cut out all the cabinet parts and they are ready for assembly, and here are 3 to 4 images of those parts.

We also operate off of install dates. This means we limit ourselves to what we know we can install. Most shops base the volume they let their sales people sell in a month off of the shops capacity. This means if they have a great sales month they will have to find third party installers.

Which brings me to my next point. We don’t use third party installers. There’s nothing inherently wrong with third party installers. It’s just a roll of the dice. Maybe you get someone that knows what they are doing, and is proud of their work… but maybe you’re getting someone that wasn’t vetted well and they mess everything up. You just don’t know what you are going to get.

With us the person in your home designing your kitchen is the person building and installing your cabinets. Just this fact alone is very very rare. But it gives people confidence when I can show them a rendering of their kitchen on the first visit of exactly the way they had it in their head.

That’s the other thing, our software that we use to render kitchens is the same software that controls the CNC. So what you see is what you get.

It wasn’t always like this. In the beginning I called 90 home builders and asked if they needed cabinets. Good ol fashion cold calling.

This is how we got our first few projects. Before the CNC we had to drill all the shelf pin holes by hand. We had to take time to make the jigs that sped up different parts of the cabinet making process. We also made our own doors and drawers back then. Hey we even made our own dovetail drawer boxes and clear coated them.

The biggest thing is that we have done every part of the process every way you can imagine it. Because of that we can sniff out who’s telling the truth and who isn’t. It’s the reason why I can confidently say we have the best drawer maker, door maker, and painter. We did it so we know what quality is.

If the customer I’m talking to about their project wants to know exactly how every element is made and why I can take them through the though process of why we use this method rather than another… because we’ve done all the others!

At the same time we’re always looking for a better way. So it’s a discipline to be open minded to different manufacturing techniques and not discount someone’s idea. The main point is to have the conversation and understand it may be someone’s first time hearing it. So you have to be patient enough to hear them out and explore their perspective,

Our story is still being written. And I’m excited to see what we will learn next.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m fortunate enough to be able to do this for the place I currently live and the place I am from. Each has qualities that a well rounded person can enjoy. Let’s start with where I am from, it’s only an hour away from where I live. Can we also assume they are visiting in August?

Okay so I love the outdoors. Most of my friends are the same way, so a lot of what I’m going to talk about in Greenwood is outdoor related. Weeklong? So they get into town Monday?

Long Cane Trails. Great walking and MTB trails. If you have a dog, this is a great activity. The trail head is 3 miles down a gravel road behind Buela Baptist Church on HWY 72 between Greenwood and Abbeville. The trails feature and inner loop and an outer loop. The outerloop touches lake russell. So the best move is to get going early in the morning, around 5 or 6 and enjoy some coffee as you start. The trails are flowy and non technical. The inner loop is about 9 miles and the outer is about 23 miles. The lake is a natural spot for a picnic lunch as it’s in a calm cove with picnic benches around and a quick dip before you hit the last half.

You’ll probably get back to your car around 3 or 4, but if you slow down and take a lot of breaks you can stretch it out to get back around supper time. The best place to go after a day outside is Good Times Brewery. I actually use to be a bartender there while the business was still getting going. They have the best burgers around and the Back Pocket is a great approachable Ale if you’re into those types of drinks. Their pretzel is also super good with the beer cheese. The best part is the portions they give you aren’t skimpy so even though you’re hungry after a long hike you don’t have to worry about getting full.

Okay so monday was a good hike and some brews after. Tuesday can be a full lake day. There’s a boat landing near Lattimer Road in Calhoun Falls. In August and early September it looks exactly in the direction of the Milky way. This boat landing happens to be dead in the center of a Bortle 1, a scale of light polution, the lower the better. The only Bortle 0 is either in the outer banks NC or 3 miles down a spur trail off mile marker 421 on the Blue Ridge parkway. So after a long monday, sleep in as much as possible because the milky way will be on full display around 2am. But the way the sun sets at the boat landing usually gives you ansel adams clouds to the south. So get there around 6 to settle in and watch an amazing sunset as well.

Wednesday is back near Beulah Baptist, but today get ready for a long gravel bike ride. Sleep in after last nights star gazing, so let’s get started around 10am. We will be riding for about 12 hours so make sure to bring extra sunscreen and as many calories you can carry. From Beulah we are going to head West on the best gravel roads around. From Beulah you can technically get to alabama just on gravel, but we are going to just cross over into georgia and come back. Get ready for easy gravel and rolling hills and some clay sections. We are going to see some great outdoor sights and historic burial grounds from the 1800’s. There is still a school house in the middle of a field that has an actual cornerstone. There’s a lot of horse pastures and cows to say hey to along the way. There is a hound dog at mile 29 that we will have to sprint from. He’s gotten my sock a couple times, but if you’re prepared you don’t have to worry that much. At mile marker 12 there is a tunnel that goes under the road. Story goes the farmer made a deal with the SCDOT that if they used his land for a road they needed to dig a tunnel for his cows to get from pasture to pasture. Lots of old tales to tell on these roads. A day of reminiscing and talking about the old days are on the calendar.

Thursday is the day in the big city of Greenville! After a long bike ride let’s get some rest and let’s get some of the best coffee in the US. Bridge city Coffee just won an international award for the best micro brewery. So lets grab our favorite book and head there early in the morning so we can watch the busy people rushing to get a cup of joe before their work day. For lunch let’s hit up Fireforge Brewery. They have the best food in town and in the running for the best beer too! They are great at lagers and IPAs. Their Reuben sandwich is unmatched. They are really close to Falls Park, one of the coolest city parks in the nation. A river runs right though downtown with a waterfall to boot. There are some great book stores and even an art gallery downtown featuring local small artists that rent booth space above the book store. The art gallery owner is really cool, she does pencil art and caricatures. These are the most interesting people in Greenville. They all have a story and unique background. Let’s spend the rest of the day talking to these people. For dinner, you’re in for a treat. We are going to get Cookout from the best cookout in greenville. Enjoy comfort food like burgers and corndogs with shakes and fries. There’s nothing like a classic joint like this. Why fast food? well for one it’s delicious. But also because we have a few miles to drive. We are heading up HWY 276 to a monolith outcrop. It’s up on the mountain a bit so you get a little elevation and you get to overlook the city at night. Pro tip: get a tray from cookout and add a milkshake. Save the milkshake for later, as it warms up it gets easier to eat anyway. Here we can stargaze until we are too sleepy to wonder about how many galaxies we are looking at.

Friday lets take a chill day. Let’s go to Methodical coffee at the commons off of swamp rabbit trail. And lets just mozey up and down the swamp rabbit as we feel. There are a ton of breweries and places to hang a hammock if we want to take a nap after an eventful week. There are also some of the best places to get fresh veggies to snack on throughout the day. We can go all the way up the trail to Travelers rest if we want, but let’s not put this day in a container. Let’s follow our mood and really savor our time we had together. These are the weeks we remember for the rest of our lives.

Saturday I’ll follow you to bridge city or methodical to get breakfast and coffee on your way out of town. Until next time!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Parents. I was fortunate enough to have a mother that even before I was born decided my life was more important than her own. Very shortly after my mom realized she was pregnant with me she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The smart move would have been to go straight in to chemo. She actually had a pretty good chance because they caught it semi-early. But that would mean loosing the pregnancy. If she waited for me to be birthed, she would have a slim chance of survival. I can’t imagine what it was like living every day during that pregnancy knowing you are sacrificing your own life for a child you’ve never met.

And also having a father that supports that decision. I can’t imagine that emotional journey of seeing the life of your son being formed while the woman you love is slowly dying from cancer.

Every time I reflect on that story I wish I was a better person so that I could feel worthy of that love. And I know a mother and father’s love is something that isn’t earned and you can’t buy. But I am just so thankful to have experienced truly un conditional love.

This is the biggest factor in who I am today.

Website: www.kitchenrehab.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitchenrehabsc/

Image Credits
I took all photos provided