CONTRACTOR SUCCESS STORY I these items custom made by a cabinet maker , because you couldn ’ t buy them at a big box store .”
When a major recession hit in the 90 ’ s , the cabinet shop became the full-time family business and was moved to a larger facility . Adam was contemplating attending junior college after graduating high school , but instead went into carpentry when his father offered him a job . “ My grandfather had since passed and at 18 , I ’ d already learned how to set up all the machinery and run everything in the shop , so that ’ s what I did .” Adam ran the shop until his mother passed away , at which point he felt the need to leave home – taking a job as a cabinet installer for Dave Hansen Cabinetry ( DHC ) in San Diego – one of the largest cabinet-installers at the time and still in business today .
“ The installation world was very different than building cabinets , and I learned that I didn ’ t know as much as I thought I did ,” says Adam . “ A cabinet can look really pretty coming off a shop assembly line , but it takes a highly skilled carpenter to install the finished product in real-world situations , where walls aren ’ t plumb and corners aren ’ t square .” At DHC , Adam learned how to handle the variety of obstacles that come up , which also made the work interesting . “ Dave has a top-notch team of installers . I learned a lot from them and decided that I really liked being in the field , because it ’ s always a different challenge .”
By 2005 , Adam had become so fast and skilled that he was the most profitable installer at DHC , and had started yearning to get his own C-6 ( Cabinet , Millwork and Finish Carpentry ) contractor license . Dave offered to help him get started and began hiring him as a subcontractor . “ Dave provided me with training wheels ,” recalls Adam . “ I learned how to write contracts and buy my own tools and supplies .”
During the housing crash of 2008 , being a licensed contractor enabled Adam to scrape together a living rather than rely on an employer for work . “ I first survived the 2008 crash by doing installations for a cabinet shop
“ A cabinet can look really pretty coming off a shop assembly line , but it takes a highly skilled carpenter to install the finished product in real-world situations , where walls aren ’ t plumb and corners aren ’ t square .”
Adam White , Fixed Dimensions Carpentry
that was supplying cabinets to military bases up and down the coast , then I got hired by Cabinet Connections ( CC ), out of Fresno – who make their own cabinets and supply them to many large builders .” It was as a Project Manager for CC that Adam learned the ins and outs of the business side of the industry . “ At first , I didn ’ t know the difference between mark-up and margin , how to make a sale and what goes into that – including things such as bonding and financing .”
In 2014 , Adam and Beth moved to Hawthorne , where Adam continued doing business
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