Exploring Life & Business with Tim Gauntt of Gauntt Board Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Gauntt.

Hi Tim, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Tim Gauntt, owner of Gauntt Board Company, initially known as Gauntt Design Company, LLC. We’re located in Mission, KS and I started GBC in 2020 out of my own stubborn effort to save some money, which kind of backfired.

My wife, Emily, loves a good charcuterie night (who doesn’t?) and wanted to buy a nice charcuterie board for our housewarming party. We shopped around and I started to realize how few options there were for unique, handmade boards.

At that point, I started to figure out what went into making something that wasn’t just another piece of clutter sitting on our counters. After doing this project, I learned that I LOVE carpentry and developed a deep passion for it which translates to my products. I strive for my clients & customers to be as proud of their new wood products as I am of making them.

Currently, I’m focusing on bulk charcuterie and butcher block boards for corporate client gifts, while also fulfilling those originally personalized boards for weddings, friends, and individual events. Cigar items are a hot commodity as well and I’m working with a local Cigar company, Compadres in Waldo, Missouri to create extremely unique items!

Along with Cigars, GBC is now in the conditioner game. Our homemade, signature wood conditioner named “Coochie Conditioner” (Trademarked) has started to take over the “punny Item” market, but don’t let that trick you, it’s an extremely high-quality wood conditioner.

We recently finished up the Uncorked Wine Festival, which included almost 3000 people, housed inside of the stunning Union Station. I’m looking forward to upcoming local events, visit our website or social media pages to check out the dates!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This is an awesome question! Even though in theory, we all WANT a smooth road, I feel that no business, especially a new one, SHOULD be a “smooth road”. I love the mentality of “don’t get too comfortable” because I feel that out of the many categories of entrepreneur personalities, I fall into the one I call “The Daydreamer”.

From a young age, I feel that many entrepreneurs started running at light speed with extremely random ideas. Every thought you have turns into a plotline to make money and depending on who you are, it either turned us into greedy individuals, who are in it for the money, or someone who finds a passion and loves doing it.

I remember times as a kid when I’d immediately go from an idea to attempting to sell my first poorly built prototype within an hour. I’m sure anyone reading this can relate to that feeling and those of us who have little to no business background always run into this.

I’ve always naturally lived with the “million-dollar idea” mentality, and in many ways, I’ve learned that this can be extremely detrimental. When I started GBC, I had to figure out how to turn a hobby into an income. This taught me about planning and longevity when it came to each individual aspect of a new business. I still learn new things on a daily basis and I know that the moment I stop, I’ll be in trouble.

My mind, just like other entrepreneurs, refuses to stop thinking. I’m constantly coming up with new ideas and immediately dumping my resources, time, and available mental space into them. Lately, I’ve caught myself trying to get out of the mindset of jumping from A to M to Z.

As someone who is constantly progressing my business knowledge, I’ve learned how to proceed through a series of mental questions to figure out the proper next steps and ask the tough questions in the beginning. I attempt to keep everything at a macro level to assist my mind with staying in control of these urges.

It definitely doesn’t work every time, but it’s a skill on this bumpy road that I’m honing in on.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m known best for my butcher blocks and ashtrays. Both of these categories have led me down a road of uniqueness that makes my quality hard to find. One of my first large purchases was a CNC machine. I’ve had two years to learn how this thing functions and I can’t tell you how much of a help it’s been.

My process involves my initial time developing a rough, hand-drawn design. Followed by sitting down at my desk and building my thoughts into the CNC software. I’m constantly mesmerized by this idea of taking something that doesn’t physically exist and bringing it to life. After the machine is done, I’ll go back in with a small detail bit and sand down every part of a detailed board.

One of my favorite projects was for a Chiefs player when one of their family members reached out to create an individualized board. I ended up putting the Lombardi trophy, the AFC trophy, and his number on one side and the AFC logo and Chiefs Logos on the other side.

I then sanded this thing down to the point that you could see a reflection in it. An incredible experience and I learned so many new techniques with this one.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Oh gosh, this will be an interesting one but I was known as “Tube Tim” at Kansas State University when I was a kid. I was obsessed with the shiny chrome-colored tubas that the K-State band would play at basketball, volleyball, and football games.

So much so, that my dad made me a small tuba out of the copper pipe with a funnel on the end and I would go stand next to the tubas and pretend to be playing with them.

Eventually, this evolved into the band making me an unofficial mascot and my parents taking me to any home game we could get tickets for and even being involved in a halftime show at one of the home football games.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.gbckc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaunttboardco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GaunttBoardCompany/