Meet Chuck Gable | Owner/Builder of Built To Order Customs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chuck Gable and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chuck, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started working at a young age, in the food service industry. After traveling with the Military I got out and found myself in the oil and gas industry, essentially 24 years of working for other people. I have been married for 15 years now and am a father of three boys. I came to realize I couldn’t make a life for my family, that I truly wanted, by continuing to work for other people. The opportunity came for me to leave my job in the oil and gas industry while my wife’s career was taking off. I jumped at the opportunity and roughly six months later I found myself in woodworking while everyone was redecorating their house with the farmhouse style. 5 years in and that has blossomed to a small business, Built To Order Customs, providing custom wood pieces across the country and in many more styles now. I am still not to the point of supporting my family on this income alone however each year my sales grow and my name spreads and I do see this business growing to that point in the next few years.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I have always enjoyed working and building with my hands, I sort of followed in my father’s footsteps in that aspect, I never thought it would rub off on me but it did. I took a few wood-shop classes through school and out of high school I joined the army as a Welder, building with my hands. I was in the military for nine years, climbing the ranks to Staff Sargent (SSG). I chose to leave the military and continued welding in Texas, in the oil and gas industry. I stayed in that field for about 7 years. I started building farmhouse furniture during the weekends, for my wife, and it grew into a small word of mouth business. For about a year I designed and built furniture for friends and families during my off time and continued to work in the oil field full time. Working in Oil and Gas is a relentless industry that will consume your time and health. After conversations with my wife we (she) decided it would be better if I ended that career and I stayed home to take care of our boys. I had stopped woodworking at this time, the orders died off and I didn’t actively pursue it. I started going to college and realized that was not my path. I started working with wood again, full time, and started selling pieces online. It grew quite fast the second go around.

Now I am 5 years in and making more elaborate items. I have a nice following and client base that continues to support us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Cheyenne has been our home for 3 years now. It’s not exactly known for its “big city” life but it does have a very nice downtown with a handful of things to do. The biggest attraction here is the outdoor lifestyle, tons of hiking trails and short drive to the mountains and forests. If we had a week, we would spend a day in downtown there are a ton of locally owned shops to visit and end the day in a local restaurant followed by a brewery or two. The rest of the time we would explore Medicine Bow National forest, Vedauwoo, and Curt Gowdy state park. Hitting all the attractions that draw people here, local craftwork and the outdoors.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Credit: My wife Devan Gable for supporting me while pursuing a long process of starting a business from scratch, my dad Charles Gable for getting me into building with my hands, Barry Michael for pushing me to be a better leader, and numerous wood working friends that have helped me grow along the way.

Website: www.BuiltToOrderCustoms.com

Instagram: Built_To_Order

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/builttoorder/

Other: FB handle @BuiltToOrder IG handle Built_To_Order