Zach Wedekind: Rustic Lumber Store

 

“So we, you know, kind of just winged it, but we enjoyed it so much that we decided we wanted to get into doing more actual log and timber frame construction.”

 

• Zach Wedekind

 

Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Zach Wedekind from Rustic Lumber Store, based out of Louisville, Nebraska. For a unique piece of podcast trivia, in over 200 episodes of the Woodpreneur Podcast, Zach is only the second guest from Nebraska to be featured on the show!

 

In its current form, Rustic Lumber Store has been in operation for three years now, but they have operated in the wood industry since about 2010 with their Timber King sawmill. Originally the intention was for the business to focus on cutting up logs and timber beams for construction. However, over the last few years, the slab and woodworking industry has exploded in popularity, which has shifted the focus of the business.

 

 

 

 

Understanding Presentation

 

“We still do a lot of log home timber frame construction. But because we have a sizable shop that we were mostly using to store construction equipment stuff, and we had a decent-sized inventory of wood slabs that we’ve cut up throughout the last few years. People would occasionally get a hold of us and ask, ‘Hey, do you do wood slabs? Do you have some?’

 

We have some here and there. But it wasn’t something we were necessarily marketing specifically for. We had our inventory in some dry sheds, just rough cut slabs stacked here and there air drying for many years. So three years ago, I realized a need, especially in our area, for an easy source to buy wood slabs and lumber.”

 

• Zach Wedekind

 

Although small sawmill operators in the Omaha region of Nebraska were doing similar things, selling slabs and lumber, they were missing a critical aspect that Zach was able to capitalize on. Most of the smaller sellers would post pictures of a stack of wood slabs in a dry shed without a proper inventory description or prices.

 

This meant that prospective customers would need to go to these places and sort through unprocessed green cut wood, which made for an unpleasant experience. Zach recognized this as an opportunity to set his business apart from everyone else by posting neatly organized, well-photographed products with transparent pricing, all available on his website.

 

 

 

 

The Professional Touch

 

“Don’t play those games where you say, ‘PM for a price.’ No one wants to do that. They want to look at your website and know how much it will cost. So that was my absolute focus, ready to use wood. It’s inventoried on a website, easy to find, and you’re not going to go to someone’s shop or their barn and just run into a stack of slabs.

 

I made it look more professional and more inviting to people. Maybe if you’re working with a more hardy rural guy, he’s cool with going into a barn with gravel floors. But when you’re talking about city people, they want to go somewhere clean, organized, not overwhelming. When they walk in, they want to know you’re even going to have what they’re looking for so you don’t waste their time.”

 

• Zach Wedekind

 

Easily one of the greatest assets to Zach’s business is his shop. He grew up doing construction with his dad in the 80s, and as a kid, they built several homes, which gave him lots of experience building and living in that environment. His experience only grew after graduating from school, when he moved up to Canada and lived there for four months while attending a log home construction school.

 

As a self-proclaimed ‘farm kid,’ Zach loved living and working in the rustic environment during his time in Canada. After returning to the US at the height of the 2008 recession, he worked for a few people doing construction, framing, and later specializing in tile work. Zach has grown up and worked in so many fields, genuinely living a Woodpreneur lifestyle that it’s only natural that he has created his successful business.

 

 

 

 

Steve’s Advice Corner

 

“I would say that the biggest thing is creating a definitive end game. I know what my end game is, but I guess I try to wear too many hats on different things we do. On the construction side of things with log in timber frames, the only part I want to be doing is log in timber frames. So how do I delegate out the other aspects of the business to focus on that?

 

• Zach Wedekind

 

Delegation is an essential topic for business owners within any industry to focus on. However, within the wood industry, it is pervasive for business owners to want to focus on the hands-on work without needing to spend time and creative energy on things that are less interesting to them.

 

“So you have a beautiful, beautiful lumber store. Have a party and invite a bunch of general contractors and say, ‘I want to start handing out my GC projects to somebody. I want to have a partnership with somebody.’ Or you could do it individually and then literally ask them who you can partner with.

 

Some of those general contractors will want to do only certain parts. So if you could develop the system, and you say, ‘This is how much the project will cost. Give me my part, and you take care of the rest.’ They handle all the client communication, and you get it written down on paper.”

 

• Steve Larosiliere

 

Website: https://rusticlumberstore.com

 

Instagram: @rusticlumberstore