Nick Mooers – Maverick Sawmill

Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today’s guest is Nick Mooers from Maverick Sawmill. This is Nick’s second time on the podcast, and he and Steve discuss the changes that have happened since his last appearance.
Nick notes that he was certainly burning the candle at both ends when he was on the podcast last time. He was working his day job, taking care of his family, and building the wood business simultaneously. In the year that has passed between podcast appearances, Nick has successfully transitioned to full time work with the wood business, and notes that he is in love with his work.
He adds that it was a carefully made decision, as they waited until they had a good backlog and consistent sales as well as enough work in the pipeline for about six or eight months before making the change. Since then, Nick and his family have had more time during the day to meet with commercial clients and other important people, which has been an incredible transition.

“My family’s always been a huge supporter. And my wife’s always supported me to do this full time too. And so she was a big part of it, and just having her support basically was really all we needed. But at the same time, I didn’t want to jump in and cause us to be struggling financially not having, you know, that guaranteed additional income from the day job. 

So, you know, it took a little bit of back and forth and we kicked the idea around for quite a while before we actually pulled the trigger. But when we finally made that decision, it was you know, in six months, we’re gonna do this. And once we flip that switch in our minds, it was like two months, you know, we went through a winter break and came back and I put my notice in right after we got back and it was like I’m ready.”

• Nick Mooers

Taking Control of his Time

Nick explains that going full time has allowed him to have the available time to do all the work needed to run and grow the business while also getting to spend more time with his family. He adds that he and his wife got to see each other so infrequently when they were both running around managing two jobs, but especially now that they just had their second daughter they are so happy to get to spend all of their time together.

Nick notes that the flexibility was a huge part of the advantage of going full time into his business. Even if they aren’t pulling in as much money total, he feels that the freedom of being able to do what they want to do, when they want to do it more than makes up for it.

Steve agrees that a big part of the lifestyle that comes from working in this industry is having more control over your time. You can take a day off when you need to, but you need to make sure that you’ve got things done when they need to be.

He then adds that Nick has what so many business owners need, which is a supportive partner who works with them to achieve their collective goals. Steve and Nick discuss some of the changes that have come from the transition from going to a day job everyday to now going to his own shop as his regular commute.
“It’s actually kind of nice, I’ve always wanted something right out the front door, but it is kind of nice having a little bit of a separation to where I have to drive to it, even if it is just a mile. When I leave, I leave, you know, I’m away from the shop, I can’t just walk out there and do something. So I’ll just do this and then before you know it, I’m covered in sawdust three hours later. And so it is nice being close, but not right outside the door.”

• Nick Mooers

Renewing Focus

When asked about where the business is at right now, Nick explains that they have been spending most of their time on finished tables, counters, desks, with a recent surge of commercial projects lately as well. He notes that they have been having so much fun cranking out oversized and wild tables for their clients.

Nick goes on to say that their focus recently has been on dialing down on the important equipment that they need to upgrade. Recently they picked up a new Lucas mill to handle some of the larger logs that they come across. Another major purchase has been the addition of a Timber King which has been an enormous improvement over the manual bandsaw they had been using previously.
Steve and Nick take a moment to discuss the effectiveness of the iDRY kiln, and how they have progressed to the point where they are not drying wood for any clients, they are only drying their own product currently. Nick adds that ultimately he wants to sell his own wood, and drying for other people meant that they fell behind on the material they sell in their shop, so it didn’t make sense to take that direction with it.

“I would say, last year, if we were to look at the year as a whole, we were probably doing 60-65% lumber sales, and you know, 30-35% finished work. Now it’s kind of transitioned this year to where we’re 70% finished work and about 30% lumber sales. It’s been a really kind of a big shock to us. You know, that wasn’t the original intent, but it’s kind of just transitioned over that way. And it’s been nice, because we have you know, over these last five years, we have built a pretty big stockpile of green slabs that we can just kind of pick from and throw in the dryer and have some flexibility to dry and build with whatever we want.” 

• Nick Mooers

The Woodpreneur Mentorship Program

Steve and Nick take some time to discuss the materials and changes that have happened over the last year in terms of their product demand before turning to discuss the mentorship program that Nick participated in with Steve. Nick notes that he and Steve have chatted many times over the years and Steve has given them so much advice when it comes to focusing on the aim of their business.
Nick notes that especially during the transition to full time, Steve’s advice has been an incredible resource and one that has helped them by being the outside eyes and ears to give a different perspective on the business.

“So it was a ton of fun, because you’ll see things that we don’t see, or see avenues to go down that we hadn’t really thought of before. And it’s worked out great, because we can kind of focus on that. And it kind of hits a whole new market for us, when we just wouldn’t have ever noticed it, or just overlooked it completely before. 

An outside view is always always a good thing. Because when you get focused on what you’re doing, you kind of get a little bit of tunnel vision, or you can, so it’s very good to have some outside perspective.”

• Nick Mooers

Nick adds that since the mentorship program, business has steadily been picking up. He cites one of the most important things being the attention to posting more photos and videos of what they are up to each day. He notes that he can’t mention how often he has created a quick video of something going on in the shop and he’ll instantly get a message talking about how much his work has inspired them or otherwise spoken to them.

Steve’s Advice Corner

Throughout this episode, Steve and Nick talk about the advice that Steve has given him over the years, and they continue that discussion. Nick notes that Steve has always seen a very clear path ahead, which he provides to Woodpreneurs and those who participate in the mentorship program.
Steve discusses the importance of the abundance mindset, as well as knowing your lane and sticking within it for the success of your business. He adds that knowing your target market is one of the most essential aspects of having a successful business, and that your goals need to scale with your business, your revenue, and the space you’re working within.

“The program wasn’t cheap, but that’s a good thing. I think because the amount of effort you put out, I felt like the value was well beyond what we paid. I could call you at any time. I could bounce any questions off of you. You always had what I thought was a really straightforward path on where to go and what to focus on. And it’s worked. I mean, and I saw you do that with the others in the class for everyone’s specific situation. You care about what they’re doing and you want them to succeed and you take personal pride in it as well.”

• Nick Mooers

Website: www.mavericksawmill.com
Instagram: @mavericksawmill