We recently connected with Colton Rosman and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Colton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so one thing we think people don’t talk about nearly enough is investments – either time or money. What’s one of the best or worst investments you’ve made and what did you learned from the experience?

The best investment I made was increasing my working space from 380 square feet to 1400 square feet. My business was operating out of a small pole barn and space was extremely tight on large projects. With the success of the business, we decided to take the plunge on building a large addition on to that space to increase efficiency and opportunities. While we’ve only been in the space a few months now, it’s already starting to show how much quicker we can operate and will allow us to continue to grow! The big lesson learned was that having a large move scheduled during a large project can be a big headache and should be avoided if possible.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m the owner and craftsman at Bearded Moose Woodworking. We build custom furniture and cabinetry in West Michigan.

I started the business almost 3 years ago now in Oregon. I started off with small home decor projects (cutting boards, blanket ladder, etc). I transitioned over to larger furniture projects after some time and have recently started to add custom cabinetry to my portfolio.

My focus is always on providing the client with exactly what they are looking for in their commission. I spend a lot of time working through the design with them and making sure the details match their vision. I offer 3D models to all my clients so they can see their project in more than a sketch. It’s something that I believe sets me apart from other furniture makers.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media for me has become a much bigger part of my business over the last year. It was a slow growth situation in the start and was something that at times didn’t feel worth the effort. But after being extremely consistent, I began to see larger growth and the value that it can bring. My advice is to be consistent with posting and try to have a good mix between entertaining content and educational content. Sometimes showing how or why a product is made can draw a much bigger audience than just the product itself.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I started this as a part time business to keep myself working with my hands and allow myself to have a creative outlet. The focus during that time was smaller items. After we moved from Oregon to Michigan, I knew I wanted to scale it from part time to full time. I decided to pivot to larger furniture pieces that would allow the business to grow at a faster scale. I focused on some projects for our home to grow a portfolio to show clients. Soon after those projects, I booked two large furniture commissions that really launched me in to that scale of project. Since then I’ve also added custom cabinetry to my portfolio which opens up even more avenues for the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beardedmoosewoodworking.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardedmoosewoodworking
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beardedmoosewoodworking