Meet Drew Bott | Memorial Artist

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

Hi Drew, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“Don’t try to win the race to zero” I came up with this a few years ago when deciding what direction to take my company. I found that most entrepreneurs were so focused on snagging every client that they never considered if that focus was actually losing them money. If securing a job means dropping your price to match someone else’s, you’re on your way to failure. There will ALWAYS be someone who can do it for less! NEVER get involved in a ‘race to zero’ because win or lose, you lose. Either you underbid the job, get it, and proceed to lose money, or you lose because you wasted valuable time on a client who only wanted the cheapest product/service.
I decided the best path to go was to become the ‘expensive’ option. I offer what no one else can and that’s made all the difference – you can’t be underbid when no one has the talent to replicate your work.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Art is precisely what distinguishes us from the rest. In the monument industry, there are brochures and design books full of cheesy clipart that you can pair with standard headstone shapes to honor your loved one. Almost every headstone dealer has the same clipart, same fonts, same shapes, same styles and same goal – to sell a commodity with as little expended effort as possible. ‘Art’ is almost a foreign word in the monument industry. Our slogan is, ‘We love to make art…it just happens to go in a cemetery.” At Bott Monument, there are no brochures, no sales books, no clipart catalogs, no traditional shapes on display. Each and every client is invited to collaborate with us in creating art that helps the healing process. We do not offer commodities; we offer an experience.
It was a long, difficult process but totally worth it. We had to sever ties with companies and individuals who wanted to keep the status quo; we had to invest money and take some risks; we had to persuade clients to trust the process; we have even had to turn away clients that weren’t in line with our model. In short, we had to reinvent the monument industry.
Clients have loved our approach. No, we aren’t for everyone, but we have learned to be ok with that. We had to learn to be ok turning down jobs that didn’t meet our artistic standards…and that can be difficult when there are bills to pay! BUT we have found that the ‘right’ jobs are out there, and we’re the company that clients pick to complete them. We want everyone to know that there is a company out there that has the talent, vision and determination to tell their story in stone.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’d definitely make our way toward Jackson. The Grand Tetons must be seen in person! From there, we’d take a circuitous route through Yellowstone, with Artist Point being a ‘must see’ on the trip. Yellowstone is God’s way of showing you that He is one heck of an artist and reminding us that we’re just amateurs.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My success is built upon the shoulders of the 4 generations that preceded me. My dad, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather all sacrificed time, money and security to put me in a position where I can design from the comfort of a modern office. I owe much to each of them!

Website: www.bottmonument.com

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