“I've been doing this for 10 years, and I still learn new lessons from concrete every day.”
-Jonathan Haywood, on working with concrete.
A custom furniture maker changed the way he did business during the pandemic to stay in the black.
And now he is using the momentum to change himself.
What You Need To Know
- This week, Virginia meets business owner Jonathan Haywood
- More Life in the Time stories by Virginia Johnson
- More Coronavirus headlines
Jonathan Haywood owns Beton Studios, creators of custom concrete furniture, countertops, sinks and architectural elements.
Delays and changes in construction due to the pandemic slow down have changed their workflow.
Each custom project is different, but the counter top they worked on this week—has been delayed for 10 months.
Another order of table tops for a restaurant patio sits covered in one corner of the warehouse—they got the order in November, finished it in December and then learned the restaurant had not yet broken ground on the patio.
“And so that does funny things with your cash flow in a business -- where you make custom work,” explained Haywood.
Haywood began making ready to order products to shore up work between delayed custom projects.
Guitars, fire bowls and ready-made furniture will soon all be part of his offerings.
“We can focus on the things that we can control,” said Haywood, about his business --and himself.
“I can control me. I can hopefully be a better husband. I can hopefully be a better business owner and boss. I can be a better father. I can be better to the people that are in this community,” said Haywood, “and not be a part of the problem.”
Virginia Johnson has been speaking with people in the Tampa area about Life in The Time of Coronavirus for the last 10 months.