#12 From corporate globetrotter to entrepreneurship: Neal Eilers' journey, building a successful business around his passion
Neal Eilers, went from corporate sales to owning a successful custom framing business, but his journey is nowhere near as point A to Point B as that sounds.
Neal is a travel enthusiast who entered the corporate world and found success and adventure around the world. But it wasn't enough, he knew he needed to pursue his true passions and humbly shares about his journey of growing a custom framing and furniture business from his garage to a downtown storefront, despite the incredible odds he faced in 2020. His journey is surprising, with many twists and turns and spans across continents, all circling him back home to his garage in Ralston, Nebraska, where he has designed his life and business around what he loves.
Neal Eilers is the owner and founder of NE Custom Framing and Furniture, a business he grew from his garage to a storefront in Ralston, Nebraska. Neal has an undeniable passion for business and believes in creating a simple, elegant, and affordable experience for his customers.
"If you find that passion in your life of what you're doing, it's very easy to talk about. I've been in corporate jobs and stuff and not really passionate about it. And it was probably a little harder to talk about because it's like, I don't really care about what I'm doing." -Neal Eilers
Unpacking this episode min by min:
1:03 - Introducing Neal Eilers and NE Custom Framing and Furniture
4:15- Humble bragging (Book referenced *Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It)
6:15 - Growing up loving the outdoors
7:33 - Living in the mountains of Montana
9:14 - Working at a wholesale plumbing supply company
9:42 - Working in sales and not caring if people bought anything
10:27 - Learning the value of customer service
11:01- Traveling for a year in South America
13:19 - Working with an indigenous tribe in Bolivia and biking South America for five months
16:09 - Deciding what is next
17:05 - Working cross-border operations in another corporate gig
17:33 - Discovering wildlife photography
18:35 - Focusing on birds
20:58- Owning the whole process
22:21 - Building custom frames and woodworking
24:07 - Building frames in the garage
24:39 - Bought a professional photo printer
25:19 - Plan A - travel in a camper van, photograph wildlife, sell prints, host gallery openings
26:15 - Covid kills the plan
27:48 - Opening an Etsy shop
29:40 - Plan B - a building in Ralston, Nebraska, changes everything
30:19 - A job at Dairy Queen in high school leads to an investor
32:27 - Changing plans
33:05 - Do I turn my passions into a business?
35:19 - Can you monetize it?
35:52 - Follow your passions
36:55 - Running numbers, or not...
37:09 - Research the industry
38:26 - Curating an entire experience
39:07 - Setting goals one year in
40:39 - Facing the fear, "What if it doesn't work?"
41:55 - Gaining through trying
42:36 - Getting past the fear, the alternative of a cubicle was worse
43:34 - Seize the opportunities in front of you
Unpacking this episode min by min:
1:03 - Introducing Neal Eilers and NE Custom Framing and Furniture
4:15- Humble bragging (Book referenced *Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It)
6:15 - Growing up loving the outdoors
7:33 - Living in the mountains of Montana
9:14 - Working at a wholesale plumbing supply company
9:42 - Working in sales and not caring if people bought anything
10:27 - Learning the value of customer service
11:01- Traveling for a year in South America
13:19 - Working with an indigenous tribe in Bolivia and biking South America for five months
16:09 - Deciding what is next
17:05 - Working cross-border operations in another corporate gig
17:33 - Discovering wildlife photography
18:35 - Focusing on birds
20:58- Owning the whole process
22:21 - Building custom frames and woodworking
24:07 - Building frames in the garage
24:39 - Bought a professional photo printer
25:19 - Plan A - travel in a camper van, photograph wildlife, sell prints, host gallery openings
26:15 - Covid kills the plan
27:48 - Opening an Etsy shop
29:40 - Plan B - a building in Ralston, Nebraska, changes everything
30:19 - A job at Dairy Queen in high school leads to an investor
32:27 - Changing plans
33:05 - Do I turn my passions into a business?
35:19 - Can you monetize it?
35:52 - Follow your passions
36:55 - Running numbers, or not...
37:09 - Research the industry
38:26 - Curating an entire experience
39:07 - Setting goals one year in
40:39 - Facing the fear, "What if it doesn't work?"
41:55 - Gaining through trying
42:36 - Getting past the fear, the alternative of a cubicle was worse
43:34 - Seize the opportunities in front of you
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Related Episodes:
Join in for Part 2 of my conversation with Neal Eilers next week!
Vivian Kvam
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/viviankvam/
- Email Vivian - vkvam@thetandemworks.com
Neal Eilers, NE Custom Framing and Furniture
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NECustomWoodFrames
- Website - www.necustomwoodframes.com
- Instagram - @necustomframing_furniture Instagram
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- Email the team: RidingTandem@thetandemworks.com
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*This podcast uses affiliate links, meaning: at no additional cost to you, we earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We only feature products that we believe in and use ourselves. Your support means the world to us and allows us to bring you great content. Thank you!
