When Cynthia McCutcheon moved to Hot Springs two years ago, she did not foresee opening a handmade crafting store during a pandemic.
Then her son gave her a Mother’s Day gift of a workshop at Hammer & Stain in Fort Worth. After attending, she Googled to learn more about the company and franchising opportunities.
Combining her love for crafting and DIY projects with her small business experience, she decided to pursue bringing the brand to Arkansas.
More online research and a recommendation from her banker, Holly Mays of Arvest, led her to the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at Henderson State University for assistance.
She worked with business consultant Ryan Cole on developing her plans. In August, she opened Hammer & Stain Hot Springs at 3539 Central Ave., becoming the first H&S franchise location in the state.
Cole’s guidance helped her “not have a plan with holes,” said McCutcheon. He answered her questions and “went above and beyond what I thought was possible to help my lender understand what I wanted to accomplish.”
“Ryan challenged the ‘why’ in my project by broadening my thought process to think deeper and provided industry statistics which helped cultivate an even stronger business model,” she said.
The statistics and market data from ASBTDC helped McCutcheon select a fantastic location, as well as develop financial projections to help secure a line of credit from the bank.
She also said the startup process would have taken much longer than three months without the help of the center.
“This was the most professional and best step I took in regards to seeking to open my business,” Cynthia said.
Hammer & Stain offers the opportunity to prepare handmade wood crafts to customers who don’t have the ability or resources to produce them on their own.
The business presents “everyone the ability to walk out with a piece that was unfinished to begin with and be happy of what they have accomplished, whether it be for them or a gift to someone else that they can be proud of,” said McCutcheon. “You will get a unique product unlike any you can purchase at a big box store.”
Cynthia’s entrepreneurial journey has involved working in other small businesses, but never something quite like this. She began her career as a florist, where she discovered a natural talent for arrangements and found an outlet for her creativity to shine.
She attributes a lot of her business knowledge to years spent helping run the family business. There, she got a chance to dive deeper into profit and loss, waste, trends, and helping customers think about the outcome rather than the design.
McCutcheon envisions her new business as a place for people to gather, create, and laugh while making works of art. Her favorite part is watching people walk in and not believe they can accomplish a finished product, then seeing their eyes light up as they reveal their project.
