We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Corey and Kim Siegler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Corey and Kim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Picture this, two small town high school sweethearts whose lives seem to just intersect and intertwine. Falling in love because friendship just didn’t seem like enough. Getting married because life couldn’t get any better unless together. Having children because it is the best parts of both mixed into one… Now, give those two lovers the spark of entrepreneurism and what do you get? You get Rough Cut Company, started in 2016. If there was ever anyone that we could share our ideas with, it was each other. And if there was ever anyone that we would jump into the darkest and deepest pit of unknowns together with… it is each other. We have always had ideas, and dreams. Luckly, Kim always had to keep her hands busy and Corey always loved her crazy and wonderful creations. It all started then with a simple $20 hand burning tool from the hardware store and a spring of sawing some large cedar post into one inch boards. When you have a plethora of wood boards, what do you do? You make, and you create, and you craft. Kim started hand burning signs. Simple free handed designs that reflected the things she loved and enjoyed. Now with a product, it was time to sell. And sell she… sort of… did… Folks started purchasing, however, how does one make more signs, with greater detail, and with better consistency? With a laser machine of course!
We are now in 2017 and there is a giant laser machine that takes up a third of the living room in our 700 square foot home. It is huge, and noisy, and the game changer in our whole brilliant scheme. Orders are small and only adds an extra few dollars in the bank account each month. BUT it opens up the door to so many possibilities and options. Play is the key to any brilliant business. Playing with ideas, with materials, and with equipment can lead so much more. And with this simple phrase… we hit the “jackpot… “Pet Memorials”… Kim approached Corey one day with the idea to create a photo engraved pet memorial as an option in their shop. The first response was something to the effect of “really? pet photos?” And with that a business boomed. Why do you ask? Well, we could get into many fine details, however, I will lead with this simple question. What do people search for? No one knows or knew at that time what a laser machine was so no one would be thinking of searching for “laser engraving” or “photo engraving”. What do people search for? They search for “pet memorials”. Now, we could go into depth and detail as to why pets seem to be the star in our little story, but we won’t bore you with those hypotheses. Just know, that one idea and much trial and error lead to a boom for Rough Cut Company. So much so that we outgrew TWO homes in just a few years. We had more equipment, more orders, and much more income streaming through. We also had many more mini “helpers” aka children to assist in our crazy and wonderful creation. After Corey made the courageous leap to leave the secure 9-5 job to work on Rough Cut Company full time, our business expanded in ways we never thought possible. Not only did our product line grow but the quality of our product became unmatched. Corey’s attention to detail and ability to comprehend and learn virtually any topic created an unstoppable force. The heart and soul that goes into each piece extends into our own being. We truly do stand for integrity and quality. There is so many fine details to our pieces that makes the total difference. But that is exactly what makes us special… down to the wood grain, we craft each and every piece specifically for the customer. The soul of Rough Cut Company is embedded into every fiber of the wood. When our customers receive their pieces, they know that it was handcrafted for them, and them only. We are special. And three laser machines, a CNC machine, an entire workshop, 7 years of marriage, and 5 children later… we are just as excited as ever!!!
Corey and Kim, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We create for the customer. Simple and true. Each of our pieces are completely customized with no limits to the possibilities. But it extends so much further than that. When a customer has a vision or a photo or even just a saying they want engraved. We take that idea and see it as something precious. And when you have something precious, you need to treat it with the upmost care and respect. That is why we strive to and commit to quality materials. Our materials are all hand selected by us. Most of our wood is actually sustainably harvested right off our own family land. Sawn by us. and prepared into the boards we need for the finished product… all by us. We handle the piece from tree to finish. And why? Because the customer has something precious to put on that piece of wood. That piece of wood is more than just a fallen tree in the forest. It is now destined to hold memories, to create humor, and to export us into something beyond ourselves. Our specialty is photo engraving and we believe that the reason why we get so many repeat customers is because they know we will care and cherish their memories just as they do. A picture is worth a thousand words… but we go behind that. Our photo engraving is everlasting. It is a never-ending story, an heirloom, a permanently engraved moment in time that can be felt and touched and returned to. We dedicate each and every day to perfecting the craft of memory preservation. We are more than just a photo engraving on wood. We weave that memory into every fiber of the wood. We make treasures and heirlooms. But the best part is that it isn’t just us that creates them. It really is our customers. It is their memories, it is their visions and dreams… we merely weave those memories and dreams into a piece of art.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Most folks say they could never imagine having to work with their spouse all the time… we couldn’t think of life any other way! From the start we always had a dream to build something together. Being apart and out of each other’s lives for 40 or more hours every week was not an option. We just wanted to be together. That is what gave us the motivation to create a business… children also seem to have accelerate that goal. It seems like for each child we expected their was some major pivot we had to make for our business (new machines, new home/location). It forced us to always keep moving forward. But here is the secret… Kim, had a hard time really trusting in the idea of Rough Cut Company being the full source of income for the family. A family of seven, living on this single business that she initially created from a $20 hand burning tool… IMPOSSIBLE! That isn’t how the real world works!… and cue Corey… A man who never seemed to (or at least show any) doubt in the two’s ability to grow a business out of nothing. And it is with that persistence that made a “side-hustle” a striving and successful business. Marriage does that you know, it makes you a better person. Or it should. It gives hope, encouragement, sanctuary, and love; but expects nothing in return. So, how could a “side-hustle” not turn into something bigger with all those great attributes behind it?! Was it easy? Absolutely not! But here is the advice when it comes to building a business… the world is not stagnant and stationary. It is always moving, like the ocean or tides. If you, as a business owner whether big or small are not moving forward… then you are most certainly slowly being pushed backwards. Owning a breathing business is not easy, and it is not for the faint of hearts. It takes more than a few books or lectures to build and maintain a company. It really does take guts. It takes virtues, It takes discipline. It takes fighting with yourself and knowing when to just stop and go to bed or stay up and keep pushing through. It takes prudence and good judgment. Those things are not learned in a classroom, trust me. They are learned through becoming a better person… and who helps you become a better person? Your spouse. It is each other that made the “side-hustle” a true and thriving company.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Let’s keep this short and sweet… the lesson to unlearn… There is no straight path to success. There is no magic ladder that with each step leads you closer to your life’s goal and fulfillment. Just because you do one thing and the next and the next does not guarantee the outcome you deep down desire. Society and culture pushes “get good grades, go to college, get a good job, then get married, then have kids… but make sure to have them later so you “enjoy” your life”… For us, that was counter to our true calling and vocation, and we thank our lucky stars that we did not climb that imaginary ladder of “success” that seemed to be pushed at us each and every day. In the inspirational words of Pope Benedict XVI — “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness”. Every choice you make when you wake up needs to be for something more than just yourself. It isn’t easy, and there are days that you wish you would have chosen an easier path, but deep down in the depths of your heart and soul, you know that an easier path would not lead to the joy you possess today. And joy is something beyond just happiness and pleasure. It is the true fulfillment of one’s vocation in life. Joy doesn’t mean lack of suffering, but merely the knowledge that you suffer for something greater than yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.roughcutcompany.com
- Instagram: www.intagram.com/roughcutcompany
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/roughcutcompany