Hidden Gems: Meet Nathan Taubert of Taubert and Co

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Taubert.

Hi Nathan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I moved to Atlanta from Minnesota with my wife Juliana, and my two year old son Dominik, about four years ago. We came with basically nothing but our little Kia rio and a vague outline of a plan. Atlanta just felt like it was the right place to be.  3 of my 10 siblings were already living here, so that helped. Allot.

 I started my own handyman type business right away. I was working any job I could find, but specializing in painting & carpentry.

The skills passed to me by my father, who started his own painting and carpentry business when I was 12.  Also from 4 years working at “Tuff Shed” building sheds, barns, and garages.

But, as a self-employed tradesman in a new city, it can really take some time to establish a reputation and a solid client base. So I scraped by with whatever jobs I could find on thumbtack, fb, craigslist, or referrals from local family members. One such family member, Tory (my sister’s husband’s uncle) and new landlord, (AKA “Mr. Wallpaper”) Offered me work on a few of his commercial wallpaper jobs. He was booked out solid for 6 weeks. Sometimes with 3-4 jobs in a day!

After work, we would lift weights in his garage and he  would complain of being overwhelmed by clients and turning away dozens of jobs per week. (I was lucky to have 1 job every 2 weeks.) I had nothing to lose, so I dropped a couple of hints that I may be able to help in this area. “Share the Load.”

I proposed that he send me his most desperate clients,the ones that needed the job done fast. With full disclaimer that I was new to the craft, but very attentive to detail, and professional… Thankfully, Tory was quite impressed with how quickly I was able to pick up the concepts of wallpaper and agreed to send me a few of his clients. Those with easy-to-install papers. And those desperate enough to take a chance on someone with less experience.

With gratitude and patience, slowly (very slowly) I started hanging wallpaper on my own! I trusted that speed would come with time. This craft is about perfection, or as close to it as humanly possible. So I took my time and made quite a few phone calls to Mr. Wallpaper for advice. But the happy customers started stacking up, and my confidence and speed started to swell.

I fell in love with the challenge, and although it was plenty stressful in the beginning, I guess you could say I took a liking to it. The challenge of learning something new, the artistry and confidence it requires, the way it can completely transform a room, family’s and designers we get to work with, the abundance of work coming in, the joy in the client’s faces once the space is transformed! Excuse me for getting carried away, I had forgotten a second how blessed I have been.

Juliana and I began to see a vision of what our business could become if we really invested ourselves into it. She designed and launched our website and social media pages and got us listed on google. And I started calling my siblings to share an opportunity for work. My brother Michael, my sister Emilee, and my sister Paige All came to join. And so I began to teach them the ins and outs of wallpaper, sending each of them to work with Tory whenever he needed an extra hand. This provided a paid training experience for them to work with one of the best installers in the land.

Connections have continued to grow and our network of designers and clients has multiplied. Mostly word of mouth, but now also through Instagram and google. This past fall we were featured on the PBS show “This Old House” Right here in Atlanta! (season 44 Post masters house) It was a lovely experience working with so many lovely people. Designers, contractors, directors, producers, crew, and especially the home owners. Everyone made us feel like family.

More exciting things in the works! Right now we are focused on hiring and training more team members to keep up with the high demand for Wallpaper, which has really made a comeback!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
From an elevated perspective, it has been fairly smooth! With many things lining up in wonderful ways. But there are many stressful moments and lots of feeling overwhelmed. I feel like I have had to become a whole new person to handle the added responsibility. And I am glad for that.

Most of the struggle has been overcoming old programming. Changing the way I view finances. Learning the discipline to do the mundane and boring things. Like taxes, insurance, filling the right paperwork, and scheduling more efficiently.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Sure, we are a wallpaper installation business. So we install almost every kind of wallpaper, and mural. We also do wallpaper removal! Which is so much fun… Not really. (But the methods we use are quite efficient.)

Emilee does customized hand-painted murals, stripes, and interior decorating. as well as textured art pieces. She has a real artist’s eye and very good taste.

Juliana after designing our website has gone on to design more websites and social media sites for other small business owners. And really dived into digital marketing.

Eventually we may expand into other areas of home improvement, but right now we are enjoying the surge in wallpaper enthusiasm!

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I really love the opportunity to explore any of my passions. I am an aspiring actor and love the quality of the film and theater here, and the improv and comedy scene. I love training Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, and Muay Thai at Stryker fight center.  Mountain biking, and hiking beautiful nature trails. So many great places to eat…

Pretty much have everything going on here in ATL at the highest levels if you can find it!

What do I like least…The traffic. But since I got my peach pass that has helped a lot. Also It gets pretty hot in the summer, but that beats the frigid temps of Minnesota in January.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.taubertandco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taubertandco/