When you grow up watching your dad start a company on his kitchen table and have it grow into the living room, then a small office, and finally a 17-employee operation, it’s only natural you’ll want to be a part of the family business. That’s exactly how things went for Tarina Dunwoodie, who has been working alongside her father at Graph Tech Guitar Labs since she was 17.
“I took the orders. I made the parts. I would drill and tap and screw nuts and saddles and things like that, glue it to the back of a card, and drive it to the post office and mail it. So I started out kind of doing everything,” said Dunwoodie. “Now I focus mainly on OEM manufacturing sales, but,” she added with a laugh, “I can still go down and make a set of saddles if I need to.”
She continued, “I think people would be shocked to know that our very first international distributor was in Australia: Australasian Music Supplies. They have been with us from the beginning and remain our exclusive distributor and great friends today. They have supported us for all these years and have opened a lot of doors for us for other OEM business, such as Valencia, Gypsy Rose, and Mahalo Ukuleles. I am forever indebted to all my friends at AMS.”
During her tenure at Graph Tech, Dunwoodie was involved with all aspects of the company. She progressed from production to shipping to customer service to sales. When she was 18, Dunwoodie went on her first sales call by herself to Hohner Guitars, and it’s an experience she’s never forgotten.
“It was the first time I went on my own. I dropped my whole bag—my briefcase full of nuts and saddles—in front of all these suited men. I was really, really nervous. But, in the end, they ended up switching over to TUSQ and Nubone nuts and saddles,” she recalled. “That was the first customer I really took from start to finish without the assistance of my dad or anybody else in the company. So I think I’ll always remember Hohner as a really big accomplishment for myself, and a confidence booster, as well.”
It’s fitting that one of her greatest memories at Graph Tech involves a sales call, since Dunwoodie’s favorite aspects of her job are the customer interactions. It’s those areas where she feels her personality really gets to shine.
“I’m a people person and I love interacting with people,” said Dunwoodie. “I feel really comfortable around people and I think most people feel comfortable around me.”
She continued, “I’m really fortunate in that most of the people who I deal with I also consider my friends. I’m not satisfied unless my customers are happy, so I want to go over and above to make them happy. It’s a bonus that I have really good products, so there isn’t really much selling that I have to do.” Her understanding of the products has grown considerably over the years, and that’s despite the fact that she only recently started playing guitar. “Dad and Cheryl, my step mom, played in a band, so I’ve grown up around music and nuts and saddles and pickup systems,” she said. “So, it’s a combination of hearing it since I was a little kid and then hearing the response from our customers. We get calls and emails on a daily basis about why people love our products and what it did for their guitar.”
In fact, Dunwoodie has learned so much during her tenure at Graph Tech that people come over to her at trade shows to compliment her on her knowledge. “I have had men in the industry come up to me and say, ‘Wow, I overheard you talking over there. I just thought you were hired to work at this booth. I didn’t realize how much you knew,’” Dunwoodie recalled. “I think everybody likes to hear that.”
All in the Family
Dunwoodie may be a self-described “people pleaser,” but what really drives her to succeed at Graph Tech is her close relationship with her dad.
“We’re very much best friends. He’s my friend and we get along great. We have very similar personalities and we kind of feed off each other’s humor,” she said. “Anyone who knows us will tell you. People who see us at trade shows and go for dinner with us all say they very much admire our relationship.”
In fact, the two of them worked together to name one of Graph Tech’s newest products—the ResoMax. “We’ll probably argue over who came up with the name, but I’m going to take the credit for the ResoMax bridge,” remembered Dunwoodie.
Looking ahead, Dunwoodie hopes one day to get more involved in product development. “I would like to make more factory visits and talk directly with the manufacturers and the presidents of these companies to find out what they would like to see Graph Tech make in the future; what would make sense for them,” said Dunwoodie, who also expects one day to take over the company when her father retires. “I don’t see him stepping down any time soon,” she added, “but, in a perfect world, for both my dad and myself, that would be what it would look like in the future.”
For now, Dunwoodie—an avid baseball player who currently plays on three teams—is happy also to be a team player at Graph Tech and looks to her dad as a source of constant inspiration in her life.
“I always tell my friends about how he started as a struggling musician and really stood behind his products and did a lot of hard work to get where he is today,” said Dunwoodie. “I think that makes me really push forward in my current position within the company. I see the success, rewards, and friendships that could come along with it.”
[ pages: 1]
|
you can download this entire issue here >>
