Meet Dan Reeves

We recently connected with Dan Reeves and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dan, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
I try to do my best to take calculated risks with the business. Looking around at the industry and developing skills to see where the industry is going and try to be on the cutting edge is something I try to do when it comes to making any business decision.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
509 Custom is a repair and luthier business for fretted stringed instruments. Online we sell things like prewired electrical components to electric guitars and basses (called wiring kits/harnesses), instruments cables, effect pedals, and other instrument accessories.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Having a background in music and being surrounded with it throughout my childhood developed a love for all things about the industry and wanting to learn more about making this a career.

Seeking higher education at Southeast Tech here in Red Wing, Minnesota and meeting likeminded individuals helped with making this career a reality. I encourage others to develop a network of peers in the field they’re interested in both for camaraderie and additional resources.

Lastly, but most importantly, I would say having a great support group to help you keep pushing forward is paramount. God has blessed me with great friends and family. My wife and kids are so supportive of what I do and I can’t thank them enough for all the sacrifices they make in growing the business.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
Most everyone in the industry knows Dan Erlewine and Frank Ford, but their writings and books are indispensable no matter what level you’re at in your luthiery/tech journey. If I have to choose just one book though, you can’t go wrong with Dan Erlewine’s Guitar Player Repair Guide. As for a nugget of wisdom, I can’t just think of one, so I’ll say just go to frets.com. They’re thousands of nuggets of wisdom from Frank Ford there.

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