J Guitars: How Fatherly Wisdom Planted the Seeds of Success

In 2007, Jake Brnich was attending St. Joseph’s University, and he wasn’t too happy. He was a couple of years into a Bio major, studying for the medical field when he realized that his heart just wasn’t in it anymore. It was time for a change.

Now, Jake has his own successful business and couldn’t be happier. What does he do? Jake is a luthier. He builds and repairs guitars, and his business, J Guitars, based in the Philadelphia area, just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Jake sat down with Owners Magazine to share his journey and impart some wisdom to young entrepreneurs.

Tell us about J Guitars. What do you do?

Jake: In 2010, I started my own luthiery business in which I build my own original, electric and acoustic, guitars and basses from scratch by hand. I also offer top-quality repairs, modifications, restorations, and upgrades to almost all fretted instruments.

Did you always know you wanted to do this?

Jake: I didn’t always know that I wanted to do this. I credit my father for helping me find this craft. Long story short, I was a bio major at St. Joseph’s University while working full time in a Millwork shop. After a few years into the program, I realized that I wouldn’t be as happy as I would’ve liked in the medical field.

After discussing with my dad about where I was and where I wanted to be, he asked me a question I’ll never forget. “What would you do if you won the lottery, and the only catch was that you had to do the same thing every day for the rest of your life without money being the object?”

I took a couple of weeks to think about this as it caught me off-guard and came back to him with the answer, “I’d love to build guitars for professional guitar players.” His reply was, “So why don’t you go to school to learn how to do that?” That’s when the light bulb went off.

I never even considered that as a possibility and wasn’t even aware such a school existed. I immediately got on the computer, and after an extensive search, I decided to attend Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery out in Phoenix, AZ.  I graduated amongst the top in my class.

What inspired you to go into business for yourself? Why not just see who’s hiring?

My dad. He’s had his own construction company for over 25 years. He created his own business because it was most important to him to spend time with my family growing up. He told me he missed a couple of my tee ball games when I was young because of a salary job he used to have. He said that no amount of money was worth missing the time with us. He made it a point to show me by his example that you can create a balance between work and home. 

What is your experience blending your craftsmanship with customer service and working with public? Were they unexpected challenges working with the public?

When getting into the art of luthiery, I didn’t initially consider the “business” side of things. I am always striving to improve my approach as I age with this business. I learned pretty quickly that the most important part of my job is educating my customers and helping them make informed decisions that directly relate to their particular situation.

Every person I work with has a different style or feel for their instrument, and it’s my job to help them understand how and why their instruments should be set up a certain way to make them perform optimally for their style of play. 

How do you budget your time? Are you a strict office hours kind of guy?

I am very self-motivated and have no problem putting in the time it takes to get the work done. My job mostly consists of me being in my workshop. However, I spend some time behind a computer doing the normal business stuff.

I juggle many different tasks at the same time, so I have to designate certain times for certain tasks. I must compartmentalize large tasks to consistently make progress without becoming overwhelmed or stressed. Since the repairs that come into my shop are unpredictable, I create a schedule for myself to follow each week. Certain hours are designated for repairs, other times for custom building, and time allotted just for doing office work, and lastly, a time designated for deliveries. 

What’s the best part of your job?

Two things. As far as the instrument building goes, nothing is better than when I finally hand my customer their dream guitar and see the look of pure joy that follows. Regarding repairs, the best thing is when someone feels like there is no hope for their instrument to be revived, and then I get an opportunity to make it play better than it ever has for that person.

Instruments can be very sentimental. When an owner has mentally given up on that instrument, it can give them an entirely new outlook on their musical life to bring it back to proper rocking order. Some people truly feel heartbroken when an instrument is damaged, so it feels wonderful to help bring the instrument back to life for the person who appreciates it the most. 

Is there a particular “I made it” moment that stands out?

The “I made it” moment happened for me after moving into my first commercial location. I finally had enough custom instrument orders to start a waiting list and realized that I had over 75 repairs in my shop at the same time. This was all done by word of mouth only with absolutely no advertising. I realized I had created a good reputation for myself and my business. That was my first real goal, and I had achieved it after about 6 years of starting my business. 

Where would you like to see J Guitars in 5 or 10 years?

In a perfect world, it would be great to have such a demand for my own original instruments that I get to spend every day just building my own guitars. However, the older I get, the more I realize how simple is better for me.  I started J Guitars because I wanted to look forward to going to work every day. I didn’t start it to get the title of the best luthier in the world or to strike it rich. I’m rich with love and passion in my everyday life, and I found a rhythm that works for me. My business could remain unchanged for the rest of my life, and I would be perfectly content with that.

Many young entrepreneurs feel the pressure of creating something to a much grander scale than what’s actually necessary. You don’t need to build the biggest or best business in the world. You just need to be happy. I’m happy where I am. However, that doesn’t mean I will ever stop continuing to become better at what I do.