130: Building a Custom Shutter Business w/ Rick Skidmore of Timberlane

Background on Rick Skidmore of Timberlane:

Rick Skidmore is the Founder and CEO at Timberlane, Inc. Having been born an entrepreneur, it should have been clear early on that despite considerable success in the insurance and investment industry, Rick's future was outside the traditional career path. Rick founded his current company, Timberlane Inc., in 1995, based on a passion and a gaping need in the industry.

Timberlane “dresses” the homes of leaders (the White House!), iconic buildings (Disney), universities, commercial endeavors, and private homes. Then Hollywood called and Timberlane was featured by major motion picture set designers while also becoming the first company to develop a formal partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Today Timberlane is recognized as the leading exterior window shutter manufacturer in the United States not only by builders, but also by architects, restorers, home owners, and by your neighbors. Rick continues to lead Timberlane as the Owner, President and CEO to industry success and recognition. Timberlane has been featured in numerous on-air programs including PBS, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Curb Appeal, P. Allen Smith, and Katie Brown Workshop.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[1:08] Rick Skidmore founded Timberlane, which produces custom-made window shutters and window shutter hardware. The company has been doing business for 24 years.
[3:09] Timberlane manufactures high-end custom window shutters that are more detailed and dimensional. Rick explains further what makes their shutters very special.
[6:01] In the early 90s, Rick was trying to restore his old house but he found out that nobody is selling shutters anymore. This gave him the idea of starting the business.
[8:55] When he was still a kid, Rick already had that drive to be an entrepreneur.
[10:46] At 12 years old, he had a job at an old pet shop. This job gave him so many important lessons on how to run a business.
[14:29] After finishing college, Rick got a job at Metlife selling insurance. This is where he met his second meaningful mentor who pushed him to succeed and taught him about leadership.
[19:10] After his first child was born, he decided to go out on his own and start a business. His wife was not happy when he told her that he was quitting his job to become an entrepreneur.
[21:42] Rick tells the story of how he was able to start his shutter company from the ground up.
[24:50] Rick explains the process of what he needs to do when a customer orders a shutter from him.
[27:00] During the early days of the business, Rick’s dad helped him get accustomed to industrial woodworking.
[35:28] Rick talks about the major growth of his company and the factors that brought about their rapid growth.
[42:13] The first major problem he encountered in his company was when three of his employees started to take over his business.
[47:22] Rick survives those huge challenges that he faced because he surrounded himself with mentors, coaches, and peers that he could lean on.
[52:08] He emphasizes on the importance of people and culture in the company.
[54:30] Adopting a strategic system is one of the important tips that Rick suggests when building a culture within the company.
[56:26] Rick gives one last piece of advice to the listeners who want to build their business. He also talks about having a gratitude journal.

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Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? Good to Great by Jim Collins, e-myth by Michael Gerber, Scaling Up by Verne Harnish
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? 5 minute gratitude journal
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Salesforce, Hubspot, Trust Pilot, Trello, Commit to 3
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Lack of more “A” players (talent)

Key Point from the Interview:

“It’s not so hard to double when you’re starting at zero. Zero to something is easy, going from zero to $180,000 in sales is an accomplishment for sure, but it’s not the same as going from 5 million to 10 million.”

Resources Mentioned:

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