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Owning a company is in Darin White’s DNA — his entrepreneurial family has been talking business, manufacturing and innovation at home ever since he can remember.
Now, he pays homage to the enterprising nature of his relatives (and feeds his own creativity!) with his small business, Hava Studios. We were lucky enough to chat with Darin recently about how he prices his unique work and why he relies on social media to bring him new business — even more than his website.
Name: Darin White
Business: Hava Studios
Started: January 2013
How did you create your awesome job?
I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. My father and grandfather often talked about business at the dinner table. My grandfather started a company that made store displays and fixtures for retailers in 1953, so I was always around tools, equipment and designers when I was young. My interest in art and creativity was intuitive, but I also had a lot of early inspiration. If I wasn’t making art or drawing, it just didn't feel natural.
After graduating from the University of Kansas with a Fine Arts degree, my wife and I started an online business selling corrugated retail displays in 1997. The company developed over the years, but we missed working in art and design.
Fast forward to 2013 and we opened Hava Studios with the goal of bringing more creativity into our lives! We design and build custom projects for museums, commercial spaces and people’s homes. Our work includes project management, artwork of all types, lighting, cabinetry, furniture, props and anything that makes a space look amazing and unique.
We’ve worked on lots of different assignments, like a small residential project for a high-profile client in New York City, window displays for the clothing store BCBGMaxazria and designing the dining room and bar area of a beautiful restaurant in our hometown of Lawrence, Kansas.
What has been the biggest surprise so far after starting your own small business?
One surprise is the need to constantly review how we do things, like marketing and social media. It used to be that just having a website was enough, but now social media is a must-have. We mostly focus on using Instagram and Facebook, and it makes a difference.
Another surprise is the variety of projects we receive. We never know what we’re going to get! A couple of years ago, we got a request to build a 10-foot hard hat from a company based in Qatar. Apparently, the King of Qatar was going to christen it for the opening of a project. They made something else locally for time and budget reasons, otherwise we would have airfreighted it all the way from Kansas!
Featured work from the Hava Studios website
How do you price your services?
We total our costs — including materials, time, labor and overheads — and calculate the gross profit margin (GPM) per project. We have to adjust the GPM according to what the market will bear for each project, so it’s always shifting. It’s challenging because we have to factor in supply and demand while also making sure we cover our costs and can afford to pay the bills.
When we have custom manufacturing work, it’s super creative and specialized. We place a bigger margin on these projects because there is only a small group of people who can produce this kind of higher end work.
At the same time, we have to stay within a client’s budget, if they have one. We don’t always accept a project if we can’t meet its budget.
What is your most effective means of getting new customers?
Our work is so niche that we’ve reached a small, but devout audience on Instagram. We’re able to showcase our work more regularly including displays, furniture or even handcrafted charcuterie boards.
If someone contacts us through our website, we have a 10% chance of a sale, whereas through social media this increases to 50%. Instagram and Facebook have been key for us.
The BCBGMaxazria store front that Darin and his wife designed
If you could go back in time, what’s the one thing you would do differently when starting your business?
I would delegate more and focus on my strengths.
I’m not as strong at accounting or bookkeeping as I’d like to be, and this is something I should have outsourced sooner. It’s also an issue of what I can afford to pass onto other people or companies. I’d hire a marketer and copywriter too, but I can’t pay someone enough to make it worth their time yet!
How do you juggle other responsibilities and interests outside of your business?
I don’t have this nailed down yet, and it can be a struggle. I worked until 3am just last night. As a small business owner, I could work 24/7 and not get everything done. At some point I have to call it a day — there’s literally always something to do.
On the flip side, I work from home and get to take the kids back and forth to school or gymnastics. There’s a lot more flexibility in being self-employed, but I’d also probably earn substantially more if I worked for a company.
What would you like to learn today from a network of small business owners and self-employed professionals?
One of our biggest challenges is with cash flow and being able to afford to fund our work. Can anyone here give us a few tips on managing our finances more effectively?
Do *you* have cash flow tips you can share with Darin?
Calling all you brilliant budgeters out there!
How do *you* manage cash flow in your small business? Do you have tips for managing finances effectively if this is not your forte?
Share your ideas with us below. :-)
