LIVE from WORKBENCHcon 2022: Caleb Harris, YouCanMakeThisToo (Organization Conversation, Episode 20)
Caleb Harris, owner of YouCanMakeThisToo joined host Richard Grove and Stephanie from Uncommon Outpost on this live episode of Organization Conversation, broadcast from WORKBENCHcon 2022. Caleb is a content creator through YouCanMakeThisToo and builds custom furniture through The Custom Furniture Guy. He talked about how to embrace failure, his path to making, going to law school, getting organized, and much more.
Organization Conversation is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Caleb Harris, YouCanMakeThisToo
For Caleb Harris, making and teaching are two of his biggest passions, second only to being a husband and father.
YouCanMakeThisToo is about sharing what he has learned along the journey of making, whether that’s furniture, content, or business; and connecting with like-minded individuals who are obsessed with creating and sharing.
He was raised in a rural county in Tennessee with one of the poorest school districts in the country. His mother chose to homeschool him, and that allowed him to accelerate his schooling and do unconventional things, like spend four months working and living with various uncles were who professional contractors, and study during off time.
Caleb started college at Austin Peay State University shortly before he turned 17. In 2008, he graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice: Homeland Security and was commissioned in the Army as an Engineer Officer. After a year of training, he moved to Germany and immediately deployed to Iraq. Two years later he deployed to Afghanistan.
After redeploying from Afghanistan, Caleb moved back to the states and was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. After six and a half years of service, he decided to resign his commission to spend more time with his family. Ideally, he wanted to start his own business and be able to set his own hours.
In 2014, he moved to Memphis and started law school. His second year of law school he discovered content creation as a career option, which opened up a new world of possibilities.
Content creation would allow him to create his own business, make things, teach others, and support my family. In his third semester of law school he launched his YouTube channel and started learning how to shoot and edit video.
Caleb graduated law school with honors and went full-time operating YouCanMakeThisToo, and his commission business, The Custom Furniture Guy.
About Organization Conversation
Organization Conversation features interviews with movers and shakers in storage and organization, from professional organizers to the creative and talented Brand Ambassadors who use Wall Control products every day. You’ll hear tips, tricks, and how-tos for storage and organization, as well as receive first access to Wall Control promotions. We talk with our suppliers and partners to give you a look behind the scenes at how we operate, what makes our family-owned and operated brand tick, and some of the fun and interesting insights that go into making our business run. We love our guests, as they are engaging and entertaining with interesting experiences to share. By focusing on those guests and the amazing stories they tell, we hope you will be enriched and find your time listening to the Organization Conversation podcast as time well spent.
Organization Conversation is hosted by Richard Grove, and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and others.
About Richard Grove
Richard Grove‘s background is in engineering but what he enjoys most is brand building through relationships and creative marketing. Richard began his career with the Department of Defense as an engineer on the C-5 Galaxy Engineering Team based out of Warner Robins. While Richard found this experience both rewarding and fulfilling, he always knew deep down that he wanted to return to the small family business that originally triggered his interest in engineering.
Richard came to work for the family business, Dekalb Tool & Die, in 2008 as a Mechanical Engineer. At the time Wall Control was little more than a small ‘side hustle’ for Dekalb Tool & Die to try to produce some incremental income. There were no “Wall Control” employees, just a small warehouse with a single tool and die maker that would double as an “order fulfillment associate” on the occasion that the original WallControl.com website, which Richard’s grandmother built, pulled in an order.
In 2008, it became apparent that for the family business to survive they were going to have to produce their own branded product at scale to ensure jobs remained in-house and for the business to continue to move forward. Richard then turned his attention from tool and die to Wall Control to attempt this necessary pivot and his story with Wall Control began. Since that time, Richard has led Wall Control to significant growth while navigating two recessions.
Connect with Richard:
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
About Wall Control
The Wall Control story began in 1968 in a small tool & die shop just outside Atlanta, Georgia. The first of three generations began their work in building a family-based US manufacturer with little more than hard work and the American Dream.
Over the past 50+ years, this family business has continued to grow and expand from what was once a small tool & die shop into an award-winning US manufacturer of products ranging from automobile components to satellite panels and now, the best wall-mounted tool storage system available today, Wall Control.
The Wall Control brand launched in 2003 and is a family-owned and operated business that not only produces a high-quality American Made product but sees the entire design, production, and distribution process happen under their own roof in Tucker, Georgia. Under that same roof, three generations of American Manufacturing are still hard at work creating the best tool storage products available today.
Connect with Wall Control:
Company website | Facebook | Instagram
