About the Show:
We sat down with Joe Donaldson, Owner, and President of Sam’s Furniture in Springdale, Arkansas.
Joe is a second-generation furniture store owner who learned the business from
his Mother and Father, Sam and Becky Donaldson. Sam, a successful business leader in the corporate world, moved his family to Northwest Arkansas in the early 90s. Joe’s dad was the President of Long’s Drugs which was a large drugstore chain based in California. They were eventually purchased by CVS/Pharmacy.
Sam retired from Long’s and set his family up in Springdale but it wasn’t long before he started what would become Sam’s Furniture. They started with a small operation in downtown Springdale and eventually grew and moved their location to a big plot of land right off I-49 in Springdale.
Joe served in the military, and when he retired, he returned to Northwest Arkansas to work with his dad, eventually taking over the store in 2005.
He has led Sam’s Furniture and turned it into a Destination Furniture store where people go just to hang out as much as they do to buy furniture. According to Joe, it is not uncommon to see many men in the “Man Cave” at the store watching football games and enjoying free hot dogs and soda on weekends. There is also a place for kids with a vast Arcade and plenty of things to do.
The best part about Joe’s success is that he has worked hard to support several nonprofit groups in the area, including Second Milk which provides Milk and food to malnourished children in Malawi and three other African nations.
Finally, Joe shared some tips on his company's success. It begins and ends with the people that work at Sam’s Furniture. He said that in business If you serve your people the same way you serve customers, you will never have a problem.
All this and so much more are on this episode of the I am Northwest Arkansas podcast.
Important Links and Mentions on the Show*
Email Sam's Furniture
Website for Sam's Furniture
Sam's Furniture on Instagram
Sam's Furniture on YouTube
Website for Second Milk
This episode is sponsored by*
Signature Bank of Arkansas "Community Banking at its Best!"
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Northwest Arkansas Council - "Life Works Here!"
*Note: some of the resources mentioned may be affiliate links. This means we get paid a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.
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Mentioned in this episode:
NWA Daily Version 2
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IANWA Signature Bank Commercial GH
Signature Bank of Arkansas "Community Banking at its Best!"
NWA Council Commercials Skills Training (revised)
Northwest Arkansas Council - "Life Works Here!"
