|
Wall Street exec turns small business owner
By Holly Fisher
Research Editor
How exactly does a Wall Street executive end up running a frame shop in Charleston?
Almost four decades ago, Charleston native Tom Myers was working on Wall Street for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, an institutional research and stock brokerage firm. In the late 1960s, Myers decided to branch out on his own and formed New York-based Harlan, Betke & Myers, specializing in strategic consulting, investing and real estate.
“If you’d asked me then if I would ever live back in Charleston, I would have laughed,” Myers said.
But in 1972, with the birth of his son, he entertained thoughts of returning home.
When his son was about to enter first grade, the family returned to Charleston and Myers co-founded the real estate firm Disher, Hamrick & Myers. But it wasn’t long before Myers found himself facing some life changes: His marriage was ending and his interest in real estate was waning.
In the intervening years, Myers learned firsthand the challenges facing gay children through the eyes of his son. As a result, he devoted more than six years to the creation and development of We Are Family, an educational nonprofit dedicated to providing support to gay and lesbian children.
“I tried to remake the world so he could have a decent life,” Myers said.
Myers later remarried, and he and his wife, Debra, have a daughter. He also pursued a master’s degree in counseling and worked for a time in that field.
All of those life experiences seemed to be leading Myers to his current role as business owner.
Debra Myers, a Charleston native, was a longtime customer of Vo Don Custom Framing on Savannah Highway. About four years ago, she was Christmas shopping there and discovered that the owners, Evora and Don Toussaint, wanted to sell the business.
Myers, a legal assistant, broached the idea of buying the business with Tom Myers.
“I thought, ‘Oh, God, she’s got a stupid idea.’ But I decided to play along,” Tom Myers said.
That “stupid idea” took shape and, although neither knew anything about the framing business, the Myerses went to work learning. They worked at the shop with the Toussaints and attended a framing school in Atlanta.
They purchased Von Don Custom Framing on April 15, 2004 — a date that’s easy to remember.
“You wake up with money, pay your taxes, go to lunch and buy a business and then think, ‘What the hell have we done?’”
Although the Myerses have made improvements to the business, such as expanding the showroom, growing the selection of frames and adding a computerized mat-cutting machine, they stick to some tried-and-true business practices.
“We fell into the old-fashioned way of dealing with people,” Tom Myers said. “We take checks, we don’t (require) deposits. We don’t see ourselves as the experts in everything.”
Tom and Debra Myers work closely with their customers to select just the right frame, mat and style but encourage customers to pick what they want.
“You’ll look at a picture for years and years,” Tom Myers said. “We encourage people to make their own decision.”
Their methods are working — business is about two and a half times greater than when they purchased the shop. About half the customers are repeats and, of the other half, about 25% are referrals, Tom Myers said.
“We try very hard to maintain a strong offering, a good price,” Tom Myers said.
Sometimes they’ll change out a molding or put a new back on a framed picture free of charge. They say it’s just good business.
For Tom Myers, owning a frame shop is a far cry from Wall Street, but it’s a part of his life he’s truly enjoying.
“I’m probably one of very few Harvard Business School graduates running a little frame shop.”
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version
