CRAFTING NEW PATHS

His retail business hamstrung by COVID, an entrepreneur finds an outlet working with wood

BY KARA HARTNETT

Yasha Darakhshanian’s daily schedule came out of the pandemic more flexible and efficient, allowing him to incorporate side hustles that stabilized his income and offset some of the lost revenue from the Boost Mobile stores he owns and operates.

Darakhshanian, a 32-year-old engineer, is the COO of seven locations for the telecommunications franchise. When the shutdowns and the subsequent economic fallout that defined 2020 hit last spring, revenues at the stores dropped dramatically, jeopardizing his business and sending Darakhshanian into survival mode. He applied for PPP loans and other small business support to retain his team and ensure that his employees could continue making a living wage. He also transitioned back-end operations remotely, a move he later realized saved him time, opening up his days to develop other revenue streams.

“Everything gets done faster, everyone is comfortable and everyone is healthy,” he says. “It seems to be working in many industries, so why would it be any different in ours, really?”

Darakhshanian now spends about 20 percent of his time working for his Boost Mobile stores. The rest goes to building out his woodworking business, driving an Uber and dog-sitting for friends and family. His woodworking, which he started as a hobby in 2019, took off during the pandemic and he ended 2020 having built nearly 300 custom pieces.

Darakhshanian started making projects for relatives, but slowly grew his customer reach through Facebook Marketplace and his personal website, woodz.tech. He now spends upwards of 60 hours in the work space at his home, producing orders and brainstorming new designs.

His first projects included wood clocks and flag designs that were perfectly scaled to official regalia. Now, Darakhshanian’s portfolio includes a slew of tables and custom furniture, an outdoor bar, light fixtures and a Nashville SC-themed foosball table. One of his latest creations, a balcony desk table that can be mounted over patio railings, has been a hit for outdoor at-home work spaces. Darakhshanian has received more than 40 orders for the design, making it one of his most in-demand pieces.

Each order has brought Darakhshanian closer to his goal of financial security, and has allowed him to stretch out his day to include income that cushions the current volatility of the telecommunications market. His time management has also fostered a work-life schedule that constantly keeps him in pursuit of the next opportunity. “Nothing is forever,” he says, so he wants to keep evolving to new markets and ventures to recoup some of the losses of the past year and support the people around him.

“I have to worry about not just myself but also my family, my mother, my sister and also my employees and their families,” he says. “So if my cash flow finally runs out and the market isn’t back where it’s supposed to be before the pandemic, what do I do then?”

Darakhshanian migrated to the United States 20 years ago after his Bahá’í family endured reli-