i was told it's a pipe dream

[red oaks lumber]

in 2010 when i bought the beef farm from my parents i knew it was an uphill battle.the first year i fenced in 45 acres to graze bison, that came with alot of nay sayers
spring of the following year the local county ag agent payed a visit to see what i had in mind with the farm. we had a good conversation , i explained how i was keeping the 45 beef cow herd and was planning on raising the young stock as grassfed also wanting to get back to farrow to finish hogs ,along with the bison,doing rotational grazing.
he looked at me for a few seconds and then came the reasons why my plan wouldn't work or at the best as a hobby.  ;) not enough money he said , when i explained that i was going to create specility markets for all my finished animals.he looked at me again raising his hat to scratch his head, he said steve i gotta tell you thats a pipe dream :(
my answer to him was, well i guess you don't know me then.2 yrs later he was sending people out to talk to me about how i do things,also he was getting me to give speaches and host events at the farm. to this day he won't say hum you are making it work :D
  to date i created markets for all my animals for which i have the been giving nothing but high praise for the quality product, wheather its grass fed beef, or pork or my grassfed bison .most of my product goes to fine restaraunts in the new york city area my proudest moment for me is there is a big grassfed conference (3 days)this year it's held in the mid west, one of the carcass judges asked me to supply a beef carcass for the conference as mine are some of the best in the industry(his words not mine)

[beenthere]

That is a great success story.  thanks for letting us know.

[Autocar]

Good for you only in America  ;).

[WV Sawmiller]

A hearty well done Red Oak. Its always rewarding to hear the naysayers have been put in their places. If we all listened to them nobody would ever get anything done. Keep up the good work.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

You left out the part where Jake came up there. 

A journey to be proud of Steve. 

[kwendt]

Awesome... Everyone keeps telling me to 'know' your market. Well... there is NO market near me... so how do you go about developing one? You prove that it can be done. Just seems that most of us don't know how to go about figuring it out. If you ever feel like sharing sometime.... PM me. I'd like to know what steps you used to create markets for your product. Can such steps be used to market anything else that's organic, etc.?  Is it a start big, instead of small like everyone says... ? Interesting. I love hearing stories....   Kim

[WDH]

It has to be rewarding to reap what you have sown (old saying) and to be able to stop and smell your roses (old saying). 

[red oaks lumber]

the funny part about naysayers they push me harder to prove them wrong

[curdog]

That is pretty cool, and something to be proud of. I wish you wasn't so far away, that would be a perfect topic for our monthly agricultural breakfast.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

OK Kim, heres a story.
I've sawn lumber for 4-1/2 years. All the other sawmills in my area saw pallet contracts.
I have a market by myself suppling barn siding to oodles of horse owners, cattle farms, lumber for craftsmen, specialty contractors, historic home renovators, cabin builders and on and on. I do something nobody else does.

Now get this......just for kicks, I ordered a tenon cutter to cut tenons on cedar legs for benches. I love building benches...its a relaxing side line for me.
Well I got so busy, I hired a guy to help me. We built 10 log benches using Cedar and just set them on the road.
Now keep in mind, we still saw lumber on the mill to sell and custom saw too. So we are busy.

Those 10 benches sold in 3 days. We got busy, after hours and built 20 more. I posted a pic of my benches on Face Book and low and behold, Camp Cherokee with the YMCA saw them.
They bought all 20 benches the first round and we finished 7 more for them. Now they want more for other camp grounds and will be patient while we build them.

Other camp grounds found out from the YMCA where they were getting theirs and now they want benches.
Tomorrow, I have a guy starting work doing nothing but sawing 2-4 inch cedar logs from the woods to make legs with. I will teach him how to use the tenon cutter and finally letting him and ANOTHER guy build benches. The other guy will start next week so my new guy can teach him so me and my off bearer can saw lumber.

Now my off bearer is in Gatlinburg this week with his wife on vacation. He handed out some business cards from my mill and got a big hit. A woodworker needs Poplar lumber BAD. There are NO sawmills in his area. He also wants Cedar lumber which I can't provide but I will be calling member CEDARMAN when I work out the details. Plus this business in Gatlinburg wants to buy Cedar benches and pick them up when he picks up his Poplar lumber. Its like a spiderweb.

As it stands now, I probably won't saw anymore of my cedar for lumber because I can get more for benches than I can lumber.
An 8 foot Cedar log, sawed in half and then sawed in half again will produce 4 benches. Each bench sells for $125.00. Thats $500.00 per Cedar log and it doesn't take long to build a bench.

The point is....the market is there. Its NOT gonna walk up to you unless you beat the bushes.
Business cards, pictures and ads on Face Book, Pictures and ads on Craig's List. Make a folder with pics in it and describe what you do and mail it to camp grounds and other places where crowds gather.Display what you do in Farm Stores. 2 years ago, I loaded my
benches on my trailer and went to Lowe's and parked in their parking lot while I went in to buy some sand paper. It was in the spring when Lowe's was CROWED with people buying flowers, grills and water fountains. When I came back out, I sold 4 benches and handed out oodles of business cards which lead to more benches and more custom sawing jobs. Plant seeds in people's heads....they will grow and tell others.
Again....it is a Spider Web and ya gotta get folks to see your stuff. By the way, I purposely took a full trailer of benches to Lowe's when I went to get sand paper. That marketing idea paid off.

Its hard work and I'm dragging some night but its fun and I love it!

****Just a note for another market which we have not tried yet but there is a demand for. WEDDINGS!
You can rent 12 foot log benches, log cookies, whiskey barrels, birdhouses etc, for country weddings. You set it up and get $$$$$....they have the wedding and then you pick it up for the next wedding.
The rent ain't cheap and Daddy will pay your price because Daddy's little girl wants a county wedding!*****

[fishpharmer]

Congrats red oaks lumber!  Good to hear success stories.  David's building an Empire!  well done my friend. 8)

[thecfarm]

Great stories guys!!

[Den Socling]

Good stories!  8) I get Chinese emails for Walnut slabs even though I don't sell them. They are just mentioned on our website. A hot market!

[red oaks lumber]

basically if there isn't a market, make one.
there is 2 types of failure. 1) try something and it doesn't work out thats a failure.2) not trying something for fear of failure is still a failure so, you really have nothing to lose

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

( OLD SAYING )

[WH_Conley]

It always tickles me when somebody doesn't know that something can't be done and makes it work anyhow. 8)

[Magicman]

We often see folks wanting to buy a sawmill and start sawing without a clue about marketing or creating a niche market. 

A fellow FF member has contacted me twice recently about filling some orders for him.  I declined both of them because it is a market that I do not wish to enter.  Nothing wrong with it, I just do not want to start another venture,

Yes opportunities are there and only the innovative ones will "find" them.  I emphasize "find" because you have to find them.  They ain't looking for you.

Congrats to ROL & David for stepping out and pursuing an opportunity.

[Peter Drouin]

 smiley_clapping   
Good for you, Get an Idear and giddy up :D :D ;D 8) 8) 8)









I'm going to try [fruit tree stakes] .   A hard wood overrun when cutting trailer decking or cutting timbers. I made the 1½x1½x4' and 6' sharpen in a pack of 4.
Well see. :D :D :D


 

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

If ya want to eat...you got to fish.

Good idear Peter!  8)

[sawguy21]

Well done guys. I love it. 8) Will Rogers once said " I was too ignorant to know it couldn't be done so I went ahead and did it".

[Peter Drouin]

If ya want to eat...you got to fish.

Good idear Peter!  8)

That bench thing you got going on is nice.

[yukon cornelius]

I love hearing success stories! we have one going on here as well. A year and a half ago I didn't make/ had never made much out of wood and now we have a real business of it.

If someone had told me when I was young there would be a place you could type in anything you would like to know and find it. a place to go converse with others. watch 1,000s of videos of cats knocking stuff off of tables. all at the touch of your fingers. I bet when they thought up the internet idea there were plenty saying it wouldn't work or last. yet here we are

[customsawyer]

I have been there and seen it. It is a fine operation and one to be proud of. The meat tasted mighty fine too. Congrats Steve.

[red oaks lumber]

i'm working on "vodka" infused pork.. marketing  is key there is a new local distillery that is making vodka and i'm getting their distillers grain, which basically is fremented wheat ,the achochol has been drained off but,the pigs love it :D

[Cedarman]

RO, I know how you feel.  In the beginning, there is a dream,  sleepless nights as you ponder the whole thing and try out scenario after scenario to find the pitfalls.
Then you start putting it together.  People around you covering their mouths as they snicker a little.  Then all the hard work and pinching pennies to get over the hump.  Then success.  Doesn't happen overnight.  You wake up one morning and the wonder hits you.  How did I get here. 

RO, You would have loved it when Aaron and I were in a bank in Oklahoma wanting money to start the grinding business of whole cedar trees.  They actually laughed at us when they read our business plan.  No one had ever tried what we were going to do.  Told us to come back if we made it work, then they would help us.  Don't need their help now.

Poston, I bet I have a thousand benches laying out in my log piles.  Way to go!!  We sell cedar to a guy that makes lots of signs and sells them in Gatlinburg.  Just sent him 700'.  How far is Morganton from you?  Guy buying some 1 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 10.  Shipping is 50% more than the wood.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Cedarman, when Kirk gets back from Gatlinburg tonight, I will PM you with the businesses contact info.
They are looking for Cedar pretty bad.
Thanks.

[red]

I thought this was about Smoking.  .never mind

[Cedarman]

Red, when RO, Poston, I and others are in the entreprenuerial mode, we are "smokin".  All those brain wheels get turning , the friction causes :D :D smoke to come out our ears.

[LeeB]

I thought smoke came out of the goats ears because he had a few cogs missing in there.  :D

[kwendt]

Love the stories, guys! When my grand dad bought 300 acres of swamp... they said it couldn't be done. 40 years later... he had a beautiful family camp/compound, his own gravel pit, orchard, stable, coral, lake front hand built showcase log cabin, other cabins for guests, 3.5 mile of road, a sand cove, drinking water off the mountain so pure it was certified...and a saw mill for big timber/whole logs. And those 'snickerers' called it "Lumbago" Lodge. Anything can be done, with wit and know how...

I've got the wit part anyways... lol!

[Magicman]

Da last picture I saw, da Goat had no ears, and there was a rumor that his head was full of sawdust anyway.   

[Joe Hillmann]

Those 10 benches sold in 3 days. We got busy, after hours and built 20 more. I posted a pic of my benches on Face Book and low and behold, Camp Cherokee with the YMCA saw them.
They bought all 20 benches the first round and we finished 7 more for them. Now they want more for other camp grounds and will be patient while we build them.

Any photos of those benches?

[Dave Shepard]

To the original post: I'd give that guy a rope and tell him to break one of those bison to lead. :D

[Magicman]

Any photos of those benches?

Look HERE

[buzywoodliff]

Thanks for sharing, and well played!!  No regrets

[coxy]

i'm working on "vodka" infused pork.. marketing  is key there is a new local distillery that is making vodka and i'm getting their distillers grain, which basically is fremented wheat ,the achochol has been drained off but,the pigs love it :D

ROL we did that with some of our own beef the meat was great but the fat witch I love was not so good it put a real strong flavor almost like a rotten/sour flavor  good luck hope it works out

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Thanks Magic. Took the family out tonight. I'm back now.

Here are some pics of the benches.

Cedar half log benches where I used a dull blade for saw marks.


  

 

Smooth Cedar half log benches.


  

  

  

 

Here are the half log Pine benches with Cedar legs.


  

 

Slab Pine Benches. We also sell Pine log tables. 16 inches tall.


 

We sell Flower Boxes.


 

The log Flower boxes are made in 12 foot sections and then sawn into 3 - 4 foot boxes after completion. They are built on the mill.


 

The benches are built in 12 foot sections a lot of times. Then the legs are installed by glueing and driving them into the holes. I then sink a deck screw into each leg for extra security. Then the 12 foot bench is placed UPSIDE DOWN on the mill to saw the legs off level. The the 12 foot bench is chain sawed into 3 - 4 foot benches.


  

 

I have found that leaving the bark on sells faster than the debarked benches. 

The YMCA Camp folks showed up today. Loaded and payed for every bench I had for their camp ground.
We will start in the morning finishing off 2 milling jobs and then get back to building more benches for Mother's Day/

[Magicman]

You are da Benchmaster.   8)

[WDH]

David,

That is awesome.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Thanks Y'all! 

[kensfarm]

Wow.. nice benches.  No wonder you're making so much money.. you're using child labor.  Where are the kids..  baaahhhhh.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Wow.. nice benches.  No wonder you're making so much money.. you're using child labor.  Where are the kids..  baaahhhhh.

This is how this child makes his money and I'm very blessed he don't mind breaking a sweat.
He gets payed good and that may have something to do with it. :D
40% of every dollar he makes goes into his bank account. He can do what he wants with the rest. 

[kensfarm]

That's a nice life lesson that's hard to learn..  saving money.   

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

That's a nice life lesson that's hard to learn..  saving money.   

[Magicman]

And you will be "Bestest Buddy's" after he is grown.....I know. 

[kwendt]

Wait a minute! Mom always had me pounding stuff for her.... And I never got paid! She always told me it was my job cause I was 'closer to the ground' than she was....

Obviously.... This warped me for life! I'm STILL pounding stuff!

[sandhills]

And I bet you're a better person for it?  ;)
ROL, it's nice to hear stories like that.

[beenthere]

Raised four kids (2 girls, 2 boys) and didn't give any allowance nor pay them for work done. Chores were assigned and IIRC there was little complaining. If they wanted something or needed something, money was tight but usually they didn't have to "go without".

All four are grown up, are ambitious, are great parents, and have good jobs that they work hard at. I don't attribute that to anything we did or did not do when they were at home. But am real proud of them.

Then again, my children didn't have the distractions that our youngsters have these days... such as cell phones, computers, horrible examples for TV programs, etc.
Along with the fact that the teachers preach to the kids that anything even mildly abusive by words or deeds at home should not be tolerated and should be reported. The wheels can easily be set in motion for the state do-gooders to take control of their life in place of the parents.     'nuff rant.

[red oaks lumber]

had a couple meetings this week discussing marketing  exspansion. the one outfit i do alot for has an opportunity to supply a high end food service  company with grassfed bison and grassfed beef. where i come in is more on the beef side,i was asked if i was interested in increasing  my beef herd,which i was already planning on doing that anyway. good news the price offered now and for the for see able future is almost 15% more than  my current pricing structure.
my long term vision of having our own market is still alive in my head :D the name would be west wind market   slogan.. from our farm to your table  the products would all come from our farm, beef, bision , pork,chicken, eggs. oh ya i never mentioned my neice and i also have a aquaponics farm  so we could supply the market with fresh greens all year, currenlty we just supply a couple resturants and a grocery store.

[kwendt]

red oaks, I. AM. IN. AWE. nuff said....

[red oaks lumber]

stop you'll make me blush