Two years ago, my husband, Joshua, was really hoping to find a playset for our backyard to give our children something fun to do outside. At the time, they were only 4, 2 and 0, but we're both passionate about the importance of children being outdoors and active, and we wanted to get them started as soon as possible. After pouring over the websites of many of the major playset builders in the country, Joshua was somewhat discouraged. While there are a lot of great playsets out there, almost all of them looked pretty similar, and after a couple years of exposure to the elements, they don't look so great at all. On the other side of the spectrum, there are some AMAZING playset companies out there that build spectacular, unique structures. Unfortunately, these are often VERY expensive. So that is when my husband had a lightbulb moment. He had been building residential homes for 11 years, so why couldn't he just design and build our kids an amazing playset himself?
A couple of months, hundreds of sketches, and several debates later, it was decided that we would start our own playset company. Joshua had more ideas than he could ever possibly build for OUR kids, so why waste them? We would design and build unique, whimsical structures and try to keep our prices low enough to make our products available to people like us. People who wanted something extra special for their children, but still had a budget to stick to.
With the help of some enthusiastic and supportive family members, Joshua took his very first playset and playhouse to the Chattanooga Home Show in February 2010. It was a great experience and he had a great response!
Less than two years later, he has designed and built a total of 27 individual structures for families and businesses in Georgia and Tennessee. We don't think that's too bad for a start-up playset company with a really limited advertising budget! Especially during a recession!
Joshua hasn't quit his "day job" yet, but we hope that he will be able to sometime in the near future. Then he can focus all of his work time and energy on the job he loves most. We have big dreams. We aren't out to make a fortune at this. We just want to be able to run a company that will allow us to take care of our little family, and share our love of outdoors, imagination and play with other familes who love their kids, too!
