I caught up with all the projects customers had in queue and await the time when they or the builders working on their homes are ready to have me come in and install their doors. I came to my shop in March solo to get this work done and clean the shop and better organize it to be ready for better workflow especially when working alone.
I had many new customer inquiries and while I had already begun doing virtual door designing with some customers, now this began to become more acceptable for people who usually like it when we meet in person initially. Now we could chat on FaceTime and our phones and discuss projects and pretty much make everything happen without that initial visit. I can then make their doors and all parts and should be able to show up when things settle, or in some cases, if they are not home when I come.
I developed some how to steps and some templates where customers can be shown by me how to measure what I need to see in a space to make their customized doors and work around elements in their space.
For deposits on new projects, I even had a case where it was easier for a customer who wanted to pay their deposit quickly in order to get onto my rapidly growing schedule to pay a contractor we had do some work in our ski condo than it would have been for her to Venmo me. She had some linking issues so paying my builder instead from her home computer essentially paid me the deposit we needed for the project to begin. I put it in as a cash deposit and if you are creative theses days, things can work nicely!
I now have 5-6 finished projects in the shop and more being worked on as we speak. I am doing things as they come but am back to being a month out! And the only worry is I am running low on some parts and steel I just cannot get yet! But The #Barndoorist always improvised and that’s what started this business. I had already switched to make nearly every part in my shop so I am not relying on foreign kit parts or pieces I cannot create on my own!
The shop is clean, I have less pressure for delivery, but I am way ahead on that end, and I can make time for family because that is so important now.
Jeff Filipov
The #Barndoorist
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