Adaptive and dynamic

Tracy Schroeder, general manager of Westside Custom Cabinets in Poulsbo, Wash., knows that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. A seasoned entrepreneur and former professional tennis player, she did an about-face with her career path in 2015 and took on her father’s cabinetry business with the goal of improving sales by focusing on the high-end residential market. Now, she and her team of seven are following through.

Schroeder works in the office alongside project manager and estimator Stephen Gorman. There are four in the shop and two finishers. Getting the company to where it is now was no easy feat, but in under 10 years it went from a small operation with logistical challenges, endured a shop fire, and restarted to establish a broader service area with an eight-month backlog.

Schroeder’s father, Evert Sutphin, started the business in 2000. At that time, she was living in Los Angeles and running a high-end dog boarding and daycare facility. An ace at tennis, she then moved to Dubai for 10 years to work as tennis coach through Smart Sports UAE.

“I was a pro tennis player. I was teaching tennis over there. Now, I body build. That’s what I do for my fun. But I was over there, and my friends were moving on with their lives. The summers were 130 degrees and you’d have to get up at 6 a.m. if you wanted to do anything.

“I’d been away from home for over 20 years. I started to think that my parents were getting older and decided to come back. My father asked if I wanted to give the company a try, basically. I thought ‘well sure’, because one of the things I really enjoy doing is the startup businesses. I’ve had a number of them.”

Schroeder returned to Poulsbo in December 2015 and started at the shop, which was housed in a 2,500-sq.-ft. former chicken coop on the family farm where her father employed one other individual. Woodworking presented a steep learning curve, but she was a quick study.

“I didn’t know anything about cabinetry at all. Most of my training into the industry was shadowing [my father] and seeing how he goes on jobsites and interacts with clients and contractors.”

As her father faced medical issues in the next couple of years, Schroeder started doing more on her own. “I was fine with that,” she says. "I have a very A-type personality. I like the challenge of building businesses and doing our best to make it the best company.”

The shop added several employees over the next five years and things were going quite well until a fire broke out near the finishing room in March 2020. Everyone got out safely, but the building and machinery were damaged beyond repair.

“It happened during the morning shift. It was evidently, according to the fire marshal, an arc in the electrical system. The building was old. It was devastating, really devastating. It was heartbreaking because it was family property. This was something that my grandmother purchased in 1943, so for me, it was sort of a two-fold loss.”

In the days that followed, Schroeder jumped into action. Adamant about keeping the business alive and the help employed, she worked day and night to secure a new location. She found a 3,000-sq.-ft. facility at the nearby Twelve Trees Business Park and moved in about three weeks later.

“One of the things that I really stressed out about was my guys. Because I knew when that shop burnt down, they were thinking they lost their jobs. I could have probably taken insurance money and probably said forget it, but I care about their families, and I care about their livelihoods. I want them to make money. I want them to continue to grow and make more money, so that they’re happy and able to support their families well.”

Things became much more efficient in the new space, and profitability spiked in 2020.

“Because of the fact that no contractors could work, we were able to recover and by the time everything was up and running, we weren’t behind at all. It was amazing. We actually became better as a company when we moved in here. Our equipment was new. Our old edge bander that we had at my dad’s chicken shack, we used to have to warm it up with a hair dryer.”

Since taking over, Schroeder has strived to create a completely new business model.

“My father didn’t really want to focus on the high-end clientele that I did. He almost tried to discourage me from moving in that direction. He wanted a more medium-sized spec kind of builder outfit.

“I really saw it going in the other direction, and 90 percent of our business now is on Bainbridge Island. I think in downturn time, and I have been a part of two downturns – 2008 with the dog business, then Covid – being in a high-end market can sort of keep you from falling apart because the clients have disposable income during those times.”

The company has done more commercial work in recent years with government projects and small business remodels, but is still mostly residential. The service area now includes most of the Kitsap Peninsula, from Bainbridge Island to Tacoma, with some work in the Seattle suburbs.

“We do mostly Kitsap and Mason Counties, and a little in Jefferson County. We don’t do much in Seattle. I recently went to Everett and it took five to six hours because of the ferry.

“One of the things dad said he didn’t want to do when I came was find new contractors. With the market I was going after, I was looking at builders on Bainbridge. That’s how the business started to morph into a different market.”

Currently, about 15 percent of business is word-of-mouth, and the remaining 85 percent is derived from networking with contractors. Schroeder still makes cold calls at new builds to introduce herself. She’s very skilled at 3D design work, which customers appreciate.

“I certainly still go out on my own for design meetings. I do all the 3D work and renderings. A lot of people can’t visualize a 2D image or CAD drawings at all. This is very helpful. Right now, we use Mosaic and Cabinet Vision.

“One of our appeals to contractors is that we take the headache off them for the design work. We tell them to have their clients come to us and keep them in the loop about their decisions and changes. This saves them hours and hours and hours of time.”

The company’s backlog has remained strong, even with mixed concern about the economy.

“Our suppliers are consistently telling us that the one area in Washington state that doesn’t seem to be affected that much by the economy is the Kitsap Peninsula. So, you’re seeing a slowdown in the Seattle area, but the suburbs of Seattle and other major cities seem to be doing a lot better than the city right now.”

By paying attention to some of the other cabinetry shops in the region, Schroeder is very mindful of not growing too fast.

“We had to pull back. I think everyone in just this past year did. Four major outfits from Tacoma to Vancouver, Canada went out of business after Covid. In talking to them – we ended up purchasing some equipment from some of those – I learned a lot from the owners. One had 45 employees and 35,000 square feet. The auction didn’t produce the amount of money they owed the bank, so they were under.

“What it teaches you is those people that are anxious to become really huge end up with this debt. I’ve just found that a little bit more conservative is probably better. Right now, we have no debt. So, it’s better for me at least with what I’ve seen. I don’t want to start acquiring major equipment in a large way.”

Schroeder recently secured a lease on a larger 7,350-sq.-ft. facility just a few miles away and has spent most of the fall months preparing for the move. The new shop will have a CNC and other updated equipment.

She stays on top of industry happenings as a member of the National Kitchen and Bath Association and Cabinet Makers Association. A natural go-getter, her personal mantra is to embrace opportunities when they arise, and she knows this thinking will help her business flourish in years ahead.

"I think that it’s important to ensure that we stay in business with consistent work and provide a good product, and that my employees are well compensated and able to provide for their family. So, it’s really just about making sure that we all have jobs that we’re happy with and compensated well for. That’s the first priority. After that, you make your goals.”

Learn more at westsidecabinets.com.

Originally published in the December 2024 issue of Woodshop News.