Today’s guest is Nick Harvey from Bay Area Redwoods. We met Nick at the 2019 Urban Lumber Conference and knew we needed him on the show!
Nick fell into the Woodpreneur sphere when he happened to see a pile of wood on the side of the road and stopped to check it out. The owner of the wood saw him and offered him not just the wood pile, but also a different pile of Redwoods that he had. Not knowing how to mill, Nick found a local mobile miller and had the wood milled right on his suburban home’s front lawn! Shortly thereafter, he happened to meet a board member from the “Save the Redwoods” organization who gave him a lead on what he said was “a few Redwoods”. It turns out, they were giant Redwoods that were 5 ft in diameter and over 100 ft tall. With a yield of over 50,000 bd ft of wood – this was the moment that Nick says Bay Area Redwoods truly became a business.
His Business Model
- Nick was involved in a previously successful startup and took the business lessons that he learned there into Bay Area Redwoods
- Nick functions as a Woodpreneur “broker” by purchasing trees from his network of arborists and then sending the logs to local millers or his retail shop
Challenges In The Business
- Nick sees getting the word out about the things happening in the wood world and educating people on how wood is being repurposed is one of the biggest challenges. However, social media been a great avenue for showing people how this is being done.
Nick’s Thoughts On Working Together
- As woodworkers, millers, and arborists, we’re not competitors we’re colleagues. And we’re here to give new life to trees through working together and building relationships within our communities
Words To Live By…
“In my business, what I focus on is how to get the most value out of my time.”
- Nick Harvey
Contact Nick Harvey and Bay Area Redwood
Instagram: @bayarearedwood
Website: https://www.bayarearedwood.com/
What exactly is a Woodpreneur?
So, why the term “woodpreneur”? When Steve first started Acres of Timber three years ago, the wood community and industry wasn’t what it is now.
Slab dealers, wood designers, and more specifically at the time – sawmill users, didn’t have a community or a brand and were going largely unnoticed by potential customers who would look instead to the Home Depot and Lowe’s of this world for their products. Steve sought to change that by creating the Sawmill Business Instagram account and the #sawmillbusiness hashtag as a way to share the products and creations that these innovative makers were producing. It didn’t take long for the account to grow to over 136,000 followers and with a hashtag that has been used over 35,000 times, the Sawmill Business community grew and grew quickly!
As the Sawmill Business following grew, Steve began to notice that this community didn’t just include sawmill owners. Furniture designers, woodworkers, arborists, tree climbers, chainsaw users, slab sellers, and even tree house makers became an integral part of the Sawmill Business family as well. It was at this point that Steve knew the business needed a new name that would truly encompass all that the wood community represents. Hence, @acresoftimber and the term “Woodprener” was born.
With the maker movement now in full swing, there are more podcasts, content creators, (like Anne of All Trades) youtubers, and makers, (such as Matt Cremona) that are putting a spotlight on sawmill users, furniture makers, and other wood related niches. Not only has the wood community turned into a “maker movement” it’s also filled with people who now view the work that they do as a profitable business and not just a hobby. A perception that was lacking without a community behind it.
A “Woodpreneur” Is A…
- Sawmill User
- Wood Business Owner
- Furniture Designer
- Hardwood Flooring Professional
- Woodworker
- Slab Dealer
- Kiln User
- Welder
- Content Creator
- Maker
And an overall innovative, brave, and creative entrepreneur in the wood industry!
“Woodpreneurs care about building their business as much as they care about the quality of the products they make, create, and sell. They don’t just want a job, they want a company. They invest in this company with blood, sweat, and tears and love every minute of it.”
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Are you ready to scale your woodworking, flooring, or tree service business?
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