William Frazier: Eager to sell

By Tracy Yochum

William Frazier, a 17-year-old junior at Charlotte Country Day, has his heart set on a Ford Mustang for his first car.

“My parents told me I can't get anything with a big engine, says William of parents Brad and Kay Frazier of Westward Reach in The Peninsula community. “Dad said I needed to earn my money.”

It wasn't the first time he'd been told that. “Dad's a big believer in selling and earning your way.”

So far, William has earned about half his goal of $3,000 to go towards the car, and hopes to earn the rest by the summer deadline by continuing to make and sell Eastern Bluebird birdhouses from his home.

“I've never thought about failing,” says William. “I'm sure I'm going to make it.”

When William was 8, he wanted a Game Boy and told his dad. “He said give me three reasons, so I had to sell my idea first,” William says. His dad told him he could save up his money to buy the Game Boy or he could earn it. William thought it over and asked how he could earn money.

Father and son went to Troutman and bought fresh strawberries. William, wearing a baseball cap and pulling his wagon full of strawberries, went door to door and sold out by 1 p.m. He paid back his father for buying the fruit and they went to Target and bought William's prize with his profits.

First sales lesson learned: It's hard to resist a kid with a baseball and wagon. Be irresistible.

Second sales lesson: Your profit margin is lower if you buy a finished product to re-sell. Make birdhouses after you study up on the right measurements, wood and other requirements.

William's grandfather studied forestry and he used his grandfather's books to learn about the natural habitat, food and nesting boxes for Eastern Bluebirds. His great-great grandfather was a master carpenter and William uses some of his hand tools from the 1880s, including a punch to mark each birdhouse with the initial F.

Over the years, William says he's probably sold about 200 birdhouses, about half since the fall, with those earnings going toward the Mustang. William charges $20 for each birdhouse, and pays his father $5 each for the kiln-dried cedar and his help.

Third lesson: It's great to have an investor who probably isn't making all of his initial investment back but negotiated a price each side was comfortable with, and who also doesn't mind getting covered with sawdust.

William measures, drills, sands and constructs the birdhouses. Dad helps with the cutting on the telescoping compound miter saw.

William says he loves baseball and wants to keep all his fingers so he appreciates Dad's help with that saw. William has played baseball since pre-school and hopes it will help him get into UNC Chapel Hill.

Fourth sales lesson: When one realtor buys seven birdhouses, come up with a plan to market to other realtors who want to give a thoughtful, handmade gift for homebuyers. Free delivery and personal note included along with the usual birdhouse and bluebird background.

William isn't sure what his career goal is but will consider sales. Brad Frazier, if you haven't figured it out, has always worked in sales and now works with a business that teaches large companies how to sell their value better.

Right now, William is thinking about his Mustang and beloved baseball.

Want to buy a birdhouse?

To order a birdhouse, call William Frazier at 704-896-9767