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Meet the Artist: Jo Johnson Continued ...

Business blossoms…

Of course, even as Jo and her husband tried to “grow” the business, life marched on. The Johnson’s had children (now 2 and 4 years old) and were putting in 12-hour days. And as she said in an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “Do not have children at the same time you’re trying to build a business. It’s really hard to breast-feed and run a scroll saw at the same time.”
The search was on to find “the product” that would be cost-effective to produce, profitable, unique, and desirable. In 1997, she met another exhibitor at a show in Montana. “He said I should forget cards and think gifts.” His wife got Jo hooked up with a sales rep, and the path became clear. Or, at least, more clear.

Back to the drawing board, Jo started experimenting with jewelry, ornaments, and a variety of souvenir-type items. Working with the scroll saw became increasingly frustrating, insofar as it was time-consuming and ungainly. Laser cutting was clearly the answer, so she started farming out the laser work. Unfortunately, their first contractor “stole the company secrets” in the form of their software and made and sold his own products. They found another source, and though they were honest, they were also expensive and couldn’t always keep up with the demand for inventory.

The decision was made to purchase their own laser-cutting system at the cost of $50,000. Getting a loan from for a total for $30,000 (plus a $20,000 low-interest loan from an economic-development group) may have seemed a leap of faith on the part of the bank – especially considering that the business hadn’t even earned that much in the previous year. But this is where Jo’s background (plus a lot of determination) came into play.

While she had no woodworking mentor, she had entrepreneurship in her blood. Jo’s father had his own publishing business, so she grew up thinking that risk-taking was normal. She also says that she had a business mentor “who was like a grandfather” to her. Jo also has a background in new product development and a degree in marketing communications She likes the outdoors, she likes wood, and she has an artistic bent. It all added up to starting a business that would involve all of her talents and skills.

All of the above, plus walking in with a sheaf of orders in hand, convinced the bank that "Wood You Tell Me" was worth the investment.

Now the business is a full-time, home-based family affair. Husband Jeff left his full-time job to devote his energy to the business. Not only has Jo found the "perfect"product line in votive candle holders (her best seller), along with picture and clock frames, to name a few, she has found the perfect species of wood. "Aromatic cedar is it. It smells good, looks good, and is easy to work with."(She uses other species primarily for her custom orders.)

But, as any business owner knows, even success has its price. "We're in such a growth pattern right now that we’ll need to add an employee soon, and it makes me a little uncomfortable."

She also adds that this is a real business – "not a hobby”. It’s also a lot of work, with days that frequently start at 5 a.m. and don’t end until midnight.

Now that they’ve achieved success, Jo looks back on the early days and says it was all worth it, but is glad she doesn’t have to go through the early struggles again – adding, with a laugh, "I'd rather go through labor."

But for Jo Johnson, this whole business has obviously been a labor of love.

If you'd like to contact Jo, her phone is (218) 846-0100 and her fax is (218)846-9384.

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