Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney and Cesaray Sarnella.
Hi Whitney and Cesaray, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Chez’s parents started this business and when we decided to take it over, we knew it was the right fit. We rebranded to align with our goal of growth and reaching more clients in need. We felt The Shelf King was our opportunity to make our parents proud and serve others in similar situations to our parents. You see… we have one parent with MS and another with Parkinson’s, so their mobility is limited and a product as simple as a full extension glideout Shelf could completely change how they functioned in their kitchen, they were able to regain access to all appliances and kitchen gadgets they needed. So why not go for two goals simultaneously: becoming an entrepreneur (as a family) and to help other families function in their homes with a little bit more ease. So a long story short, we started serving just the Austin area and since we’ve expanded through the greater Austin area and outskirts towns as well as the greater San Antonio area and outskirts towns. And we don’t want to stop there, we hope to expand through the entire state of Texas and just keep going from there! Our potential is limitless when we get to call family time work.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Has it been a smooth road? Well of course not. I think part of being an entrepreneur is learning along the way. As we started to grow and get busier, our schedule started to fill quickly which meant we were fighting the ability to meet our turnaround time. Since my husband does all the labor (consults and installs), while I do all the administration, you can see how a one-man schedule might start to expand. Although an influx of clients is a great problem to have, we also wanted to make sure to prioritize our clients and honor their turnaround (we meet for a design consult then build and assemble their custom order before returning for install). Out of respect for our clients, we had to start quoting a longer turnaround to ensure we would meet their expectations on time. Rather than choosing to extend our work hours and work weekends, we chose to have a healthy work/life balance for our two little ones at home. They need us and we need to be healthy and mindful when growing so although it was a tough choice, we know that work/life balance will serve us right as we continue to expand. Luckily we have kept our word and we strive to with each install. But I would say we’re probably experiencing all the normal speed bumps small businesses face when growing. So we just take each hurdle as an opportunity to become better and stay true to our values as a company, which basically emphasize providing a quality product and valuing client satisfaction.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Shelf King. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are The Shelf King, a family-owned and operated business providing custom built slide out shelving for existing cabinetry. Our most recent expansion includes design and install services for custom built closets, media centers, mudrooms, etc. so in essence we are the king of custom shelving 🙂 Custom slide out shelving is a niche business and we’re happy to be one of the few businesses that offer it. We are priced competitively and our quality is incomparable. It’s an honor to be a family-owned and operated business and we feel that is one of our strengths. Not only is that a benefit for the client in that they know exactly who they’re working with and talking to, but that also we value each and every client for their support and generosity to help us provide a life for our kiddos by serving our community. It’s also just such a fun ride working alongside your spouse day in and day out!
What are your plans for the future?
The Shelf King has big plans. My husband, Chez, is a dreamer and I’m along for the ride. We want to reach more clients and make custom slide out shelving more of a common thing in the household. We serve a major part of the 55+ community, but any age group can really benefit from our product. We love being family owned and operated and we don’t want that to change, but we hope to expand through TX and eventually offer self-install glideout kits so homeowners nationwide can benefit from custom, quality glideout shelves at a competitive price. We know we have big dreams and we plan to approach them with a little bit of heart and while keeping our company values in the forefront 😉
Pricing:
- Glideout shelves range between $145-165 depending on width
- We offer free estimates
- We have a minimum purchase of 4 glideouts
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@theshelfking.com
- Website: Theshelfking.com
- Instagram: @theshelfking
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/TheShelfKing/
