Sawmill Business Podcast

Craig DeCicco: DeCicco Woodshop "I've been sort of building furniture or building things for most of my life. I was in the Marine Corps, my first time living in a house, and I was just building some crappy furniture for myself. And then slowly started building slightly better furniture for myself. And then, a few years passed, and some friends started asking me if I could build some furniture for them. A couple more years go by that and I'm just, "Does anybody else wants any furniture?" -Craig DeCicco Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Craig DeCicco, the proprietor of the custom furniture firm, ‘DeCicco Woodshop,’ is here today with your host Steve Larosiliere. When Craig and his family purchased their home, he began working on some modest furniture pieces. Friends and relatives began to notice and inquire whether he might construct something for them. Over the ensuing few years, Craig started creating a proper workshop and developing his talents. Every now and then, he wo

Layane Maximiliano: Unique Wood Furniture “Max started flipping houses, so that’s how he started his tools collection. And I was working as a designer in a high-end cabinetry company for kitchens and bass. I loved it. I loved the designing process and customizing. But then, after a few years, we decided to come back to Texas. We’d missed it. So, we came back, and Max opened a home remodeling company here. So, with interior design love, I just wanted to decorate my house. So that’s how we basically started.”  – Layane Maximiliano   Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. With your host Steve Larosiliere today is Layane Maximiliano, an Interior Designer and founder of Unique Wood Furniture, together with her husband, Max. Layane and her other half Max are both immigrants from Brazil who are now residing in Texas for 13 long years! Layane did something worthwhile while waiting for the approval of their green card; she completed her Interior Design degree – which in turn will be the ga

Nathan Zirkel: A to Z Man Construction “I used to be a fireman and I got started, I built my house, or I remodeled our house that we live in currently. And that kind of just started everything and then I was doing it on my days off. And eventually, I got hurt here about three years ago and had to step away from the fire department. And so, this went into full-time. It was always full-time, but it went into even more full-time.”  – Nathan Zirkel Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast! Nathan Zirkel, owner of A to Z-Man Construction LLC, is here today with your host Steve Larosiliere. Nathan was a fireman before starting his own company. Remodeling their very own humble abode during his days off was his first project. When his full-time job as a firefighter hit a rough patch, he eventually became a round-the-clock Woodpreneur. In this episode, Nathan talks about the challenge of growing his business for those people whose not into the “technical” side of it. How his wife is a signifi

“As I graduated high school I was like, “this is it! I love this career!” I was fortunate to work on some great projects and decided to pursue custom home building, which, definitely at the time, seems a lot easier than it is until you undertake that task. And then you got to realize, “Okay, well, one thing’s, having the entrepreneur mindset and going out on your own and maybe having a skill set in your expertise but running a business is another thing.” Unfortunately, those are two completely different things.”    - Brad Leavitt   Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast! Brad Leavitt, President, and Founder of AFT Construction, a business that provides custom home-building services, is here today with your host Steve Larosiliere. Brad began building in 2005 and worked for a company for six years before deciding to go into business for himself. Brad describes how he got started during the recession and met Dave Clark, his business partner and mentor. Check out our Blog for More

Nathan Nowak: Wyco Wood Co.   “It’s probably been about five years ago now. With the idea of just taking trees that had no other purpose and turning them in into something other than firewood. Never really thought it would materialize into more than that. But as time went on, we learned how much we really enjoy, opening up a log and seeing what’s inside of it.”   Nathan Nowak   Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere is joined by Nathan Nowak, the co-founder of WYCO Wood Co. Company. Nathan started the company with the idea of taking trees and turning them into firewood. With time, they ventured into milling dimensional lumber after realizing it could be turned into a business. In this episode, Nathan shares the most rewarding parts of starting and running a woodworking business, his vision, and some of the challenges he faces. Being employed as a firefighter and running the company can be a huge task, but he shares how he balances his work time and

Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Nate Matlack, owner of Matlack Fine Woodworking. Nate’s beginnings in woodworking started with a pocket knife given to him by his father to carve things and keep him out of trouble.    Despite that humble beginning, Nate continued to carve things whenever he got bored, and in high school he took an intro class to furniture making, and things progressed from there. From discussions about starting young, getting his first commission, and much more, you won’t want to miss this episode. Check it out!

Walt Primrose: Primrose Woodworks  “I decided to move back to Rhode Island.   I saw more opportunities for the type of work I wanted to do. You know, just bigger and better things  out here. Rhode Island is pretty affluent. I don't fall into that category, but it's a place where they value the work I wanted to do. I figured I needed to be in a place like this to flourish in that line of work.”  ∙ Walt Primrose  Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere sits  down with Walt Primrose, the owner of Primrose Woodworks. The transition from working with his father-in-law as a contractor to becoming an independent craftsman wasn't easy at first—it took a lot of time and effort for Walt to get his business off the ground. But now, nine years later, it seems like all that hard work paid off; Primrose Woodworks is still going strong!  “I would literally drive around and find job sites that were houses being built. I'm 10 minutes from the ocean here, and along

Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Jeremy Howard, President of Nyle Systems. In this episode we discuss everything from meeting customers' specific needs, the importance of having a niche for growing and scaling, and how to operate a top-tier business model. With all that and more, you won’t want to miss it! Read More

Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Jeff Krug and Rob Barone of Greene Street Joinery. Jeff and Rob’s shop is a custom design and build focused shop located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Between discussing moving into being a full-time wood business quickly, developing sustainable ecological practices, and finding the right customer base, there is a lot to get into with this episode. Check out the full episode, and don’t forget to take a look at Greene Street Joinery at their socials below! Website: https://www.greenestreetjoinery.com Instagram: @greene_st_joinery https://www.woodpreneurlife.com/jeff-krug-rob-barone-greene-street-joinery

Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down on his own to provide an update on how things have been going since the last solo episode of the podcast! Between Woodpreneur Podcast origins, travel stories, and plans to make your fourth quarter a profitable one, you won’t want to miss this episode. Check it out!

Tom Fox: TruCut   Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Tom Fox, owner of TruCut Mills and Fox Forestry LLC. This is Tom's second appearance on the Woodpreneur Podcast, and a lot has changed since his last visit. You won't want to miss this one. Check it out!   Instagram: @trucutmills Instagram: @foxforestryllc

“We are the only ones in the world doing it. We follow you on Instagram and I listen to your podcast from time to time and it just gives me a little bit of inspiration. So reaching out to you was just a matter of time when we had our act together. Hemp wood is a derivative of several different technologies that have come up through the years, which started with skriver in the 1970s in Australia.“ Greg Wilson Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Greg Wilson, who is the founder of HempWood. Greg designed materials from various fibers derived from the controversial hemp wood to promote sustainable building. To those who are not familiar, hemp is related to and often lumped together with cannabis. Check out this episode where Greg talks about the background story of his creation, HempWood, and its parent company, Fibonacci. https://www.woodpreneur.com/greg-wilson-hempwood

Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Cagen Chaney of Coach's Custom Woodworking. Cagan is one of the recent members of a particularly impressive club, which is woodworkers who have gone full time as Woodpreneurs! Focusing on high-end tables and dining sets and progressing from a long waitlist of custom orders you won’t want to miss this episode.

Justin & Olga: Cowtown Wood Co. "Justin needed to be to become the master sawyer, and I needed to be a hardcore woodworking networker, and a social media expert, basically. Adding a whole other thing was just going to bog us down."  Olga Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Olga and Justin from Cowtown Wood Co. Justin and Olga are part of the newer wave of Woodpreneurs, as they started their business two and a half years ago doing small woodworking projects. Around that point they started listening to the podcast, which inspired the pair to invest in their own sawmill! “It's almost kind of like you start to become more serious. We got the sawmill and right off the bat, I'm gonna have to just get on this thing and just tear stuff up for a while. I'm gonna have to mess some stuff up, I'm gonna have to figure out what I'm doing.  I don't come from a long line of sawyers or anything like that. I'm completely new. So that'

Nick Price: Valley View Industries  “We’re well-known in town for what we do because we do a good quality product, so it’s an easy sell.” Nick Price Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Nick Price from Valley View Industries. From ambitious beginnings to the story of a long-held family business, you won’t want to miss this one! “Our origin story is that my dad started the business well over 30 years ago. When I graduated high school in 2009, I started working for my dad; I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll get rich, and it will be awesome.’ But that was not the case. My dad’s a pretty stern old man, and I got quite the whoopin’ and learned how actually to work. So it was a pretty good opportunity for me.  As the years went on working for him, I was like, ‘Hey, I liked this. I love working with cedar.’ That’s the wood we work with primarily, and it just went on and on. Then he started going away in the winters going to Thailand. So I na

Hey everyone, this week it's just family, Steve, and Jake from @ollogginepoxy on the podcast. Let's talk networking! Make sure you follow The Woodpreneur Podcast anywhere you get podcasts, so you don't miss an episode!

Katrina Amaral: Timberdoodle Sawmill “They'll put us in touch with the landowner if they’re like ‘Well, I've never thought of this. We could use it’” Katrina Amaral Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Katrina from Timberdoodle Sawmill. Katrina and Miles began custom sawmilling with a homemade chainsaw mill way back in 2010. Since then, the business has grown enough for both of them to focus their time and energy heavily on the business, and what a journey it has been! “We have a nonsensical origin story: Miles built a sawmill, it snowballed aggressively, and that’s what we’re doing now. So we are currently a vertically integrated sawmill business in rural New Hampshire. We have the capacity to cut down trees and handle the chain of custody all the way through milling and post-processing, which means that we do like a very geographically circular product.  When we were still sawmilling out of the duplex apartment that we were

Steve Thomson: Happy Life Wood Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Steve Thomson from Happy Life Wood. Larosiliere and Thomson connected almost two years ago when Thomson purchased a Woodpreneur sweatshirt. It was then that Thomson was able to show off the incredibly unique work that he does with Happy Life Wood.  “Yeah, I do a form of intarsia, where I take different species of wood, and basically utilize them in a fashion that replicates a photograph or an object. So I take pieces of different species of wood, I glue them all together, and build what I call a foundation. Then I sculpt and carve it.  That's really the basics at its root of intarsia, but if you look at Tarja, and you look at my process, there are some subtle differences. The end result is quite a bit different because I end up with something that's a little bit more realistic than your typical intarsia. They tend to just round over the edges and put it together l

"People will come to me and say, 'Well, do you think you could like make a bowl out of that?' We can make like 15 tables; we could make your entire hardwood flooring. Showing people how much wood is actually in a tree's trunk is eye-opening for many people." Ron Dyrcz Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Ron Dyrcz from Ronders wood and metal works in Illinois. Ron is a rare type of Woodpreneur, A chainsaw miller. Steve is fascinated with chainsaw milling because it is a very accessible form of milling but requires a lot of hard work.  "It all started with being in the art world all my life, lots of family members, carpenters, trade people, you name it. So I've always been in the industry, but I never really saw the tree or the arborist industry. Then I got diagnosed with Crohn's, got sick, and lost my way. I didn't know where I would head or what job I would do.  I started taking down trees in my own yard because they were old an

Erika Horigan: Horigan Urban Forest Products “It's this product that does everything that you sort of want it to. It's beautiful, sustainable, at this point, it's plentiful. We can keep on producing it; there's so many good things in it.” Erika Horigan Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast! Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Erika Horigan of Horigan Urban Forest Products. Erika is a rare Woodpreneur interview for Steve because she is also located in Chicago, not an area with an abundance of urban lumber involvement. “Horigan Urban Forest Products got started in 2003, so it's been a while. Prior to that we had a tree business. It was my husband, Bruce, who had seen these trees going into the landfill at first, and then into firewood or mulch and he thought that there's got to be a better way.  Taking them to a higher use was the beginning thought and we started to look into milling and kiln drying, it took quite a while. Then in 2003, we sold Horigan Tree Ind