MILTON — “Treat people like family.” That’s the key to success in the furniture business, Anthony Williams said.
He and his wife, Jessica, run Where the Heart Is, a Caroline Street store that offers American-made furniture, mattresses and appliances.
For Anthony, helping people furnish their homes is a family tradition; his father, Don Williams, and grandfather, Jim Williams, ran M and M Furniture in northern Minnesota.
Actually, that’s how he learned that key to success.
Anthony was 15 when his father tasked him with looking after the store for a weekend. He told his father he had no idea how to sell — then he got a simple lesson: “He told me, ‘Welcome people like they’re your best friend coming to the house,” Anthony said. “Talk to them like they’re your friends, and if they like you, they’ll buy. That’s it. Treat people like family.’”
Through the years, his father’s lesson stuck with Anthony as he worked in the family trade. Now, like his father and grandfather before him, Anthony has kept the furniture business in the family. The Williams’ son, Jose Vasquez, 17, helps the couple when they need a driver.
However, he doesn’t expect Jose will take over. “That’s a conversation to have in 20 years. For the time being that's not part of the plan because he's not shown any interest in it at all, but you never know. That can change.”
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WHAT: Where the Heart Is
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.
WHERE: 6780 Caroline St. Call 292-5910 for details
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: For Milton man, furniture sales is a family tradition