Tim Mills: Lakes Region Woodworking
“I started off in high school, absolutely fell in love with woodworking, working with my hands, and it’s just kind of grown from there. I’d never really gotten into the actual woodworking aspect of it until I moved into the house that I have now. Now, my basement is huge, so I took over part of that as my actual wood shop.
I’ve just been acquiring tools and stuff over the years. And being a trim carpenter, you kind of learn a lot of things about different woods, how to do different things, and I’ve always just liked creating. I get these ideas in my head and then I just want to bring them to life. So that’s what really sparked it all.”
– Tim Mills
Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere is joined by Tim Mills from Lakes Region Woodworking.
Tim started in high school and immediately fell in love with woodworking and creative work. From there, it just continued to expand. He hadn’t actually begun woodworking until he moved into the home he currently resides in. He converted a portion of his spacious basement into his actual woodworking space. Tim has amassed a variety of equipment over the years, and as a trim carpenter, he learned a lot about various kinds of wood and other skills, and he has always enjoyed making things. He has these thoughts and wants to make them into reality. That is what ignited it all!
In this episode, Tim discusses his most recent business venture—starting a handyman service—as well as his objectives for 2023 and his intentions to pivot his business to do more carpentry and built-in work.
Listen now and get the whole story!
“Going to focus a lot of energy on the handyman business, but what I really want to figure out is how to incorporate the handyman part, but also incorporate my trim carpentry skills to be able to do woodworking, possibly.
I’m kind of leveraging a little bit toward that stuff to find out what people really want from me. I guess that the hardest part is really finding out. Just starting a business, what do people want out of you? What do they look at?”
– Tim Mills
Pivoting Your Business Model
Turning moments abound in life, and the best stories frequently feature many of them. Even though turning moments first catch you off guard, they often serve to jump-start critical growth and transformation. This desire for change can be referred to as a strategic pivot in a company, and it’s not as difficult as it might seem. Tim would adore having a good blend of being in his wood shop, doing more carpentry work, more handyman-type tasks like building built-ins, and not having to leave. And he believes everything is a fresh experience. There are many things to discover and understand; all it takes is a plan and some execution. Whether you’re thinking about a minor name change, a complete rebrand, or developing an entirely new venture, businesses frequently reach a turning point where a transition is necessary to ensure continued success.
“I would love to be doing more carpentry work, more handyman-type stuff. Creating built-ins, having a good combination of being in my wood shop so I don’t have to leave.
As you know, with anything, it’s a new adventure. There’s a lot of things to learn and figure out and it’s really just a matter of having a plan and executing it.”
– Tim Mills
Want to get in touch with Tim Mills?
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lakesregionwoodworking/