Today we’d like to introduce you to Larry Mark.
Hi Larry, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Born and raised in Beaufort, SC, one of 4 children born to Ernest and Rose Mark. My parents owned a furniture store in downtown Beaufort.
After seeing how hard they worked and that they had to work even on Saturdays, when my friends’ parents were typically off, I decided early on that I didn’t want to be in the furniture business.
But like the saying goes, man makes plans and God laughs…
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I went off to college after graduating from Beaufort High School, in 1969.
First to the University of Miami, then to the University of South Carolina at Beaufort, then finally to the University of South Carolina main campus in Columbia, SC.
Unsure of what I wanted to be, I left school and came back to Beaufort.
I went to Beaufort High School and explained that I might want to be a teacher, but I didn’t want to spend years in college then find out I didn’t really want to be a teacher.
Unbelievably, they let me teach some classes until they could hire a certified teacher.
It did not go well.
After a few months teaching 10th and 11th graders math, both the administration of the school and I agreed I was not cut out to be a teacher.
So, I reached out to my parents and asked if they had an opening for a salesperson in their store.
They hired me to be on the sales floor.
We’ve been impressed with FWDG (Furniture Warehouse Design Gallery), but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Shortly after going to work at my parents’ furniture store, Mark Furniture, my dad rented another building to open a used furniture store.
Upon hearing this, I asked my parents if I could run the new store. They agreed and paid the first few months’ rents, the electric bills and the initial inventory (some new and some used furniture).
The first day we opened the store, a line of waiting customers stretched down the block.
Shortly after opening, we had sold our entire inventory.
We scrambled and thanks to a friend in Savannah who had successful furniture stores, we were able to buy truckloads of furniture from his inventory and open again the next week. Herman Director, who had ABC Furniture, Bucks Furniture and later Self Service Furniture was gracious enough to sell us enough furniture to stay in business until we could get in shipments from manufacturers.
Once we had inventory again, we decided that new furniture would be all we would carry, as there was always product available to purchase.
That was January of 1972. I was 20-years and 3 months old and I was running a furniture business. That business only had a total of 3 employees: a family friend, Carole Lynam (later Garrett) my girlfriend and later my wife, Robyn Dorn. Mark Furniture’s delivery personnel handled our deliveries.
I worked for $50 per week until Robyn and I married in June 1973. At that time, I was able to double my salary to $100 per week.
The rented building was a total of 6,000 square feet in size. Later that year, my father purchased the building, and we added a second floor.
Since then, there have been highs and lows. I found out that not only did business owners work long hours and on weekends, they also “took home” all the worries that came with owning a business. Financial, employee and customer issues, inventory and regulatory issues and more.
But fortunately for me, I had a partner in Robyn who would let me vent and console me when I needed it.
FWDG grew thanks to a reputation built on integrity, great pricing and a large inventory. FWDG currently occupies a 60,000 square foot building on Robert Smalls Parkway, Beaufort.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
It doesn’t take a love of a product or industry to be successful in that industry. You can learn to love a product if it makes a living for you.
I found my strength was the marketing of my business. Many people would have been embarrassed to do some of the things I was (and still are) willing to do to get exposure for my business.
If you are just starting out, I would suggest creating a business plan (maybe with help from a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in your area. Their help is free of charge.
Or at least find a mentor that can help you with some of the intricacies of the industry.
I also recommend you study the industry before you get into it. Then join a buying group, if there is one available. The national buying groups are most helpful
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fwdgonline.com
