When Bill Wyman and his wife decided to move to Washington state from North Carolina four years ago to be closer to her parents, Bill knew it was his chance to start a business. He’s been thinking about it for a while as he worked for a countertop company in North Carolina, so the timing was good.

Three years ago in July, he opened Creative Countertops, Inc., working mostly out of his garage, and having to travel all the way to Seattle every time he had deliveries of laminate. Now, he has four employees and a shop/showroom in Poulsbo.

Creative Countertops grew gradually, as the jobs increased, and Wyman has incurred no debt in the process. He is currently the only certified installer of Corian solid-surface countertops in Kitsap. He added the highly specialized service after “getting tired of saying no” to frequent inquiries.

A former insurance salesman, Wyman built his original clientele by going a route that intimidates some startup business owners. He opened the phone book, created a huge list of contractors, designers, builders and other professionals, and started contacting them. He admits the experience of selling insurance on commission turned him into a pretty good salesman, so that step came easy to him.

Wyman was persistent: He called, he mailed brochures, and he followed up. Once the first jobs started to roll in, referrals followed.

Creative Countertops got its break, so to speak, after Wyman was contracted to do a 40-home subdivision, Alasund Meadows, by Silverwood Homes. He sold them on the idea of using solid surface counters — and got the job, along with the confidence to grow his company.

Wyman recalls a builder in the subdivision once calling him in panic. The home was getting ready to close the following day, and the installation of an appliance left a scratch in the countertop. It was 4 p.m. But Wyman dashed over that day and fixed it up.

That’s the kind of customer service Wyman has tried to provide, making it a priority.

Wyman has two employees in the shop and two installers. His lead installer, Marty Berns, has more than 20 years of yacht building experience.

“I want to treat my guys well, better than I was treated,” Wyman said. So he does things like offering health insurance, or taking two other employees to the last annual trade convention in Las Vegas.

Creative Countertops offers several brands and types of surfaces, and Corian’s niche is mostly new homes that cost $350,000 and more. The solid surface has inconspicuous seams, is easy to repair when scratched and is very sanitary, which is why it’s often found in hospitals. It is man-made granite that contains 50 percent mineral and uses acrylic resin as binder. Although Corian, made by DuPont, has been around for 35 years, a big part of Wyman’s job includes educating the customers. That’s one of the reasons he offers a showroom.

In the 1980s, Wyman was the lead singer and guitarist for a band, but living in a hotel for six years “got old,” so he moved to North Carolina where eventually he started working for a Formica distributor. For eight years, he supervised the installation of four to five kitchens a week — more than 1,500 kitchens. Working for himself now is a little reminiscent of his singing days: He was his own boss back then too.

As Creative Countertops continues to grow its reputation, Wyman is focusing on providing bids and supervising the shop. He is open to further growth as the need comes. And while he no longer gets new customers strictly by making cold calls, like a good salesman he still keeps his original list handy, checkmarks and all.