Published: March 29, 2008 08:06 pm            

STEVE HART: Continuing family business, starting another

Steve Hart doesn’t take the traditional route when it comes to running a business.

The Cullman County native doesn’t advertise his ventures. He doesn’t even have business cards. And he’s happy with the results.

“We operate by word-of-mouth,” Hart said. “A happy customer tells his friends and family. That way we get the clientele we want. We don’t take the shotgun approach to advertising.”

After several years of working in a manufacturing facility and not being happy with his job, Hart bought his brother’s cabinet business and went to work for himself. Hart has owned the shop about 17 years. His father and two brothers were cabinetmakers, so Hart had long been familiar with the business.

He built his own shop five years ago after renting several locations. Four years ago, he took on a business partner, Donny Poarch, who had worked for him off and on for many years.

“I do the outside work, and Donny takes care of the shop,” he said.

Hart takes care of the measuring, drawing and installation himself.

“I make sure the customer gets what they want and are happy,” he said. “Customer service is what keeps the cabinet business going. If something’s not right or things don’t line up correctly, we go fix it.”

Hart has learned that shooting straight with customers is the best policy.

“If a customer calls us, we don’t give a ballpark figure,” he said. “We give them an exact price. I hate to tell someone I can’t do their work. It hurts my feelings to turn down a job. But if it’s something we can’t take on, I’m not going to mislead the customer and not provide them with the best possible product.”

With close to two decades of cabinet making under his belt, Hart has set his sites on a new project. He’s turning his photography hobby into a business, and he’s applying the same principles he’s learned in cabinet making to taking pictures.

“In 1972, Fred Merrill shot our wedding,” Hart said. “I should have been watching our wedding, but I ended up watching Fred.”

A year later, Hart entered and won a photography contest at the Cullman County Fair. He did the photography thing off and on for several years but got away from it for a while.

In the last few years, Hart and his daughter, Shelley Creel, have started working together.

“She handles people,” Hart said. “She’s good at posing large groups and working with kids. I like the technical stuff – the lighting, that sort of thing.”

Hart uses the same word-of-mouth advertising for the photography business as he does for the cabinet shop. Photography from the Heart, which operates under the name Shelley Creel Photography, advertises only twice a year.

“We do a one-shot thing, once in the fall and once in the spring,” he said. “That’s it. The trick is having the customer satisfied. It doesn’t matter about the quality of the work. It’s the customer’s perception that matters. If they are happy with the product and it’s what they want, then we’ve been successful.”

Hart does the traditional family photos along with weddings.

“High school seniors are my favorite, especially the shy ones,” Hart said. “They’re great to work with. I like to make them shine.”

Hart uses a simple rule when determining what type of work he’ll do.

“If it’s not something I can hang on the entrance to my church, I won’t do it,” he said.

Hart’s next goal is to have a storefront for the photography business. His plan is to turn his current cabinet shop into a photography studio, and he wants it to be the atypical photography studio.

“I don’t want people to walk into a cash register and price list,” he said. “I want it to look like you’re walking into someone’s family room with couches and cookies baking. I want people to be comfortable.”

Another expansion to the photography business Hart is planning is adding a Web site, www.choiceshots.com, where he takes snap shots are area events such as ball games and the annual fair parade. He plans to post the snap shots on the site. If people happen to see themselves in a shot and want a copy, they can place an order for Hart to fill.

“I’m playing with the Web site right now,” he said.

Whether that aspect of the business pans out remains to be seen. Even if it doesn’t, Hart’s happy to try it.

“You may not accomplish everything you want to do, but you can dream until you die,” he said.

        

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