Mike Hoy: Rocky Mountain Wood Slabs
“Rocky Mountain Wood Slabs, how it became was, it started back when I was a little kid just being interested in working with my hands, being interested in building things. At 12 years of age, my mom’s ex-husband had a welder and he taught me how to weld. And then I just really took off from there. I got into construction. I worked with one home builder and he was awesome. Because I told him my goal was, I wanted to do built-ins, I wanted to do cabinetry, I wanted to build furniture.”
– Mike Hoy
Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Here with us today, together with your host Steve Larosiliere is Mike Hoy, owner of Rocky Mountain Wood Slabs & Handmade Bespoke Furnishings. Mike’s humble beginnings began when he was just a young child who enjoyed crafting things using his hands. With time, Mike got into construction while building himself some capital, and now, as he gains a lot of experience, his focus is to do more built-ins and build more furniture.
In this episode, Mike shares how he understood that every piece of wood has a tale to tell, and it is the artist’s job to make that narrative come to life. Mike believes his mission is to fulfill the goal of each tree being cut down. His most excellent satisfaction comes from infusing new life into the wood and revealing its hidden beauty. It’s his passion, not just work or leisure.
Now is the time to hear the whole story!
“This has been my dream since I was young, but this has always been my dream to just do this type of work and just do it myself, if I need help moving stuff, I’ve got a 20-year-old daughter, you can ask her. I drag her out all the time.
“Come on, help me move this lab, or help me do this.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
Yeah. But she comes, she helps. I try and keep it just to myself, my overhead’s low.”
– Mike Hoy
Building Relationships in Your Business
Before our professional careers even begin, networking is frequently stressed as crucial. However, it involves more than just online meetings, emails, and business card exchanges. Developing relationships with specific individuals can make all the difference for your business. Mike got most of his projects through word of mouth by building relationships with many designers in Denver and Colorado Springs. He had business tie-ups with designers who knew the quality of his works by heart.
Making connections with people with the same industry and niche as your business sounds like an excellent strategy. Developing a relationship with someone in the same sector fosters trust, which can expand your referral business and help you keep customers for subsequent purchases. Establishing long-lasting business ties can result in brand advocates and fruitful outcomes.
Just word of mouth. I’ve been doing it for a long time, I have a lot of relationships. One of the big relationships that I have is with designers. I’ve got a few really good designers in Denver and in Colorado Springs that I’ve had a few of them that just told me,
“If I get a kitchen it’s yours”
“If I get a built-in it’s yours.”
They know my quality, they know the type of work I do, and so they’re like
“I don’t even ask anybody else”
which makes it so much better because when you’re going directly through the client, still people are like,
“I need 15 beds”
And they’ll make a decision and whereas you go to a designer, they do all the bid work, they do all that stuff, and then you just say,
“Here you go, you got the job.”
– Mike Hoy
Want to get in touch with Mike Hoy?
Contact him through:
Website: https://rmwoodslabs.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockymountainwoodslabs/