Creative CabinetHillary whiteBusiness and SocietyProfessor Fleury-Lawson11/14/11

Background of owner• My uncle, Michael White, is the owner of a

cabinetry business called Creative Cabinets• He went to a vocational high school and took

classes on cabinet making.

Background of business• He has been in business for 17 years.• The business is located in Walpole, Ma• He designs cabinetry such as kitchens, dressers,

bathrooms, etc.

How did you get started?• Michael White got started working at a cabinet

shop and learned a lot there for him to start his own business.

• He eventually started up his own business while continuing to work there.

• Two years later business was strong enough that he was able to leave that job and work exclusively for himself.

Why did he start this business?• My uncle started this business because he had

gone as far as he could, working for someone else. He also had a passion in creating beautiful pieces of work.

This is a picture of a kitchen he designed and made for one of his clients

How does the owners training compare to the company today?

• In this field there have not been many changes to the way the end product is turned out, but in all the years, he has gained more experience and confidence in customer relations.

Here is a Bar that my uncle designed and made for one of his clients.

What have been the successes/challenges in running your own business?

• His business reputation and the ability to employ people to provide quality work.

What's the most challenging aspect of running the business?

• He said the most difficult challenge is getting customers to pay their bills on time. Most of his business is with builders, building new construction. Builders are working with bank draws and money is released to them upon stages of the build.

How does he overcome the challenges?• He ask for deposits at the time of the order and

installments as the job progresses.

Here is a photo of TV cabinet that my uncle made for one of his clients

What are the critical success factors for this type of business?

• A good reputation along with a strong client base.

What are the fatal flaws in this type of business?• He told me definitely the economy.

Future goals and plans• My uncle plans to stay in business for as long as

he can. His goals are to have the business continue to grow and to upgrade equipment and to eventually step aside and let the business work for him.

Here is a picture of a TV set my uncle designed and made for a client.

Advice for this class• He told me, if you plan to go into business on your

own, make sure it is doing something you love to do. You want to be able to wake up every morning and look forward to going into work instead of waking up and dreading getting out of bed.

Here is photo of my family’s kitchen that my uncle re-did for us.