Meet Randy King

 

We were lucky to catch up with Randy King recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Randy, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

Overcome is a strong word! I think I’ve knocked a large chunk from my imposter syndrome bit by bit. The challenges of creating and building instruments can be a double edged sword. They can inspire confidence or welcome doubt..
Just after starting my company, I thought a musical influence that meant a lot to me. I set a goal to get one of my guitars into the hands of Chuck Ragan, a member of the band Hot Water Music.
A year or so went by and I made several guitars for customers and stayed busy, all the time having that goal in the back of my mind. Then for Christmas last year, my lovely wife Sharon bought us meet and greet tickets to see Hot Water Music in Atlanta days after my birthday in May. I took the “gentle” nudge and got to work. This was to be a surprise so I didn’t have my normal client meeting, or any client input at all. The entire process of building this guitar had me doubting myself. Who was I to think he would want, much less play a guitar from someone he’d never heard of.
I got the guitar to Chuck Ragan on May 15th and he not only was extremely grateful for me making him an instrument, he also proceeded to play it the entire set!!! 20 songs!!! And it stayed in tune and played great. He continues to play that guitar on tours around the world!!
That experience is what allowed me to put some of my self doubt & imposter syndrome behind me. Nothing like being mentally influenced by your musical influence!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Electric guitars, handmade, by a dude, in a shop, in small town Georgia.

King Electric Guitars builds a line of customizable instruments using each of its models as a “ platform”’
The line consist of 3 distinct models:
The Futura, the Space Dolphin & the Taurus.

Randy King, owner and operator of King Electric Guitars is also a cohost on the Fretful Dreams Podcast.

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?

My experience as a musician built my love for the guitar. Recording albums and playing shows only strengthened that passion.

Problem solving! They say the difference between an amatuer and a professional is how well you recover from your mistakes.

Learning to repair instruments allowed me to see the inherent issues with different design and manufacturing choices made by other companies. These issues ultimately influenced my designs.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

There are several. Time , money, life balance, etc.

Sound familiar?

Starting a small business is not for everyone.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Rockwithsiren.com

Jimmy Ether

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