Who am I?

(photo credit https://jovialandco.format.com/)

Hi there! My name is Travis. I am the owner of Spencer Family Enterprises. SFE is a multi-faceted business that includes my love for kitchen design (and other rooms...) and my experience remodeling client's homes. 

I started out as many of you did, in a minimum wage job. In fact, I had many of them-from the local drug store to fast food. I worked a few different jobs through college, and when I ended up being forced to take a few semesters off (bad grades), I started working construction. I worked for a local contractor on a new home build and when that was finished he moved me to his furniture store to do the staining and finishing. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process from building the furniture to sanding and finishing it. Each piece had my fingerprint on it. After a while, things slowed down and I was forced to find other employment. I was fortunate to be hired at a local hardware store / lumberyard. 

My work ethic (which came from my father, by the way) showed my supervisors and the stores owners that I could be trusted with more responsibility. What started as "counter sales" morphed into kitchen and bath design. I had lots of experience with CAD from high school and (how do I say this politely...) I was computer literate, where others at the store may not have had the computer knowledge necessary. My passion for design blossomed. I also built wonderful relationships with the cabinet brand representatives (and that still stands ten years later). 

A few years after starting, I was promoted twice, making me the Store Manager. I still did some design, but not as much as I had in the past. In 2013, my wife and I were pregnant with our first. 3+ years of 60 hour weeks and I was burnt out. We made the decision that I would leave my job to stay home with our daughter. It certainly is tough losing an income, but it was the best decision. I can't explain the joy of watching a child grow day to day. There are definitely some trying times, but it was ultimately worth it! That daughter is eight now, and we now also have a six-year-old and a three-year-old (all girls, so please pray for me). 

About three years ago, I needed to add to our income but absolutely didn't want to be tied down to an inflexible schedule. I wanted the time to be able to take our kids to school, doctors appointments, sports, or any number of other things. I also wanted to be in control of the money I brought into the home. I had design AND construction experience. I worked for another contractor for a little while. Then, I started my business. 

I reached out to one of the cabinet companies that I used to sell and purchased a yearly license for the design software. My first full year was 2020 and we all know how that year went.... I did do one whole "socially distanced" kitchen remodel. 2021 was an incredibly busy year with six kitchen sales. Between the many renovation projects and the many steps of kitchen design and installation, I knew I could use someone to help me out a bit.  This year, I have partnered up with one of my favorite people! I have known this person for almost exactly half of my life. I will let her introduce herself in the next blog post. She fills in some gaps in our business model that I don't have the patience or expertise to do. 

Thanks for reading!

Travis.

spencerfamilyenterprises@gmail.com