Page 113 - Cityview Jan-Feb 2017

Tim Harris had faith, the support of family, and a fundamental belief that a job done well would be rewarded. That belief has de ned him as football coach, traveling salesman, vice president, and entrepreneur—and on its 25th anniversary has turned his company into a stunning success.THE YEAR WAS 1992.In Knoxville, Tim Harris, with the “weight ofthe world on me,” was struggling to open thedoors of his new furniture business.He was desperate to get product on the oor but had no way to borrow enough money conventionally or locally to completely stock a new store. That’s when a furniture manufacturer he knew on the other side of the world o eredsix containers of dinette furniture on a “pay when you can” basis. This unheard- of o er of trust and kindness would represent enough product to get the store lled. But there was a problem.He couldn’t run a dedicated assembly plant and open a new business at the same time. Shortly therea er, however, as Harris was attending a furniture show in Atlanta, a chance meeting and leapof faith would solve his problem and cement the future of two companies.Thousands of miles from East Tennessee, the Yugoslav Wars had begun and the Bosnian con ict was reducingto rubble its capital city Sarajevo, which had long been a center for furniture manufacturing. In Atlanta, Sidex Dinettes, a company that at the time specialized in manufacturing furnitureStory By Keith Norris Photography by Jimmy Chiarellaout of hardwood it imported from its own plants in Yugoslavia, was preparing to close its doors. The three owners had returned to their native land to protect their businesses and families and in doing so two of them had lost their lives, leaving the company virtually rudderless and with no product to sell.That year at the Atlanta Furniture Market, Harris ran into his friend Ricky Brian, who then was sales manager atthe failing Sidex Dinettes. The company didn’t have any product to make, and Harris, who was desperate to assemble his furniture, saw an opportunity. Brian told Harris it was too late, however, that the company had already closed and the workers had been sent home. “Well then form a new company and put them back to work,” Harris replied. Brian agreed and Harris knew he had found his factory. The two men began a business relationship that has lasted over the years. Harris put his assembled dinettes on the showroom oor and went on to develop Knoxville Wholesale Furniture into a venturethat now controls 40% of the Knoxville market. Brian changed the name ofSidex to Liberty Furniture, assumed the lease, kept its employees, and recently semi-retired as the owner of a successful furniture manufacturing business.As Harris puts it, “sometimes desperate people can nd each other and save each other.” He may not have seen it at the time, but this experience is exemplaryof a foundational concept for Harris: maintaining the discipline and doing the hard work necessary to reach ones’ God- given potential, even in desperate times.Harris came out of college with a Master’s degree in English and started his career as a schoolteacher and football coach at Farragut High School. In 1981, he took a position with Braden’s Furniture and worked his way up from travelling salesman to vice president.He speaks with gratitude about histime at Braden’s, noting that they gave him the responsibility and latitude to run various parts of the company. In 1992, this measure of success led himto launch out on his own, a move taken with no small amount of risk. When he approached his wife Robin with the idea of radically downsizing in order to start a new business, Harris says she replied with, “that don’t sound good.” But that’s Tim’s voice, not Robin’s, and you getthe idea that he’s expressing what were his own worries at the time. He follows the story by noting that Robin Harris is largely responsible for the success of their business over the years.JANUARY FEBRUARY 2017 111