Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matthew Morgan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Matthew , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

This year was a big milestone for us because i have finally left my dayjob and dedicated 100% of my time and effort to M² Lumber. Yes, for the past 7 years I did actually still have a full time job as a Mfg Engineer for a large automotive company here in the Upstate. The reason for this was Risk aversion. I probably could have quit a few years ago and in hindsight i probably would have been just fine, but i. have a vision for my business of what I want it to be and how i want it to grow, and I knew the best and fastest way to get it there was to invest very heavily. This means for the first 5 years I was in business, I did not pay myself one penny. 100% of profit went right back into the business to buy better tools, equipment, hire people etc so that I could grow my business into my dream. In February of this year, it finally felt like the time was right so i left my engineering career of 12 years to pursue my dream.

Matthew , 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?

My name is Matt Morgan, I was born in the late 1900s and grew up in the Upstate of SC. My beautiful wife of 12 years, Maria, is a Northerner, but she is a loving and amazingly talented educator helping young minds grow, so we’re letting her stay :) (just kidding I love her and she loves my sense of humor). We also have two beautiful daughters ages 9 and 14 that keep us fairly well preoccupied. My journey in woodworking started a long time ago however, back in the late 1900s. Growing up my Father had a woodshop and always had something to build, craft, or invent and I was all too often a set of extra helping hands. To say I grew up in a woodshop would not be too far off. More importantly though, I grew up around a man whom I witnessed repeatedly take on tasks he had no idea how to complete, yet somehow figure it out through research and trial and error (this was pre-internet and youtube era). The mentality of not giving up and not being afraid to fail has probably been the most important realization of my childhood that has stuck with me and enabled me to accomplish my goals thus far.
I started building furniture in my garage about 10 years ago for friends and family, learning every day, improving my skills and expanding my tool-shed. When we moved to Laurens in 2015 to escape the Hustle and BUstle of Greenville we landed on 4 acres of land and that is when things really changed. I took a chance on myself and decided to purchase a sawmill and learn hwo to make my own lumber for my furniture making. That quickly spiraled out of control and now here we are 7 years later with a team of 5 working almost every day running a full time wood business that offers custom milling, kiln drying, custom built furniture and now Woodworking classes.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

For growing clientele, I would definitely comment that the specific strategy you choose will depend on the type of clientele you expect to have. In other words, there are a lot of people who are looking fro goods and services via the internet (google etc), and this is usually the majority of people too. If this is your clientele then I think a combination of paid google ads and social media is a great way to reach these potential customers. However, there are some clients that will only be interested in businesses they find through relationships or recommendations and so networking with other businesses that refer you or your services will be crucial as well as positive customer experience. A customer that is 100% satisfied will do wonders for your business because they will tell everyone they meet about how awesome your products or services are.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the biggest challenges has been wading through the ups and downs in our economy over the last 7 years. I will say that we were not hurt too terribly by covid ironically. Most of “us” decided to take on home improvement projects while we were in lock down and as a lumber supplier that actually stimulated our business quite well. However, in the aftermath of inflation and higher demanding costs for everything, we are seeing the challenges. Fortunately for us, our business model offers many different revenue streams and we have been able to make up for some losses in certain areas by focusing and pushing hard in others; a prime example is our Woodworking classes that we started this year. The added revenue in our classes has helped us to not only reach more potential customers but also keep us “busy” in times where things may have started to slow down.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.m2lumber.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/m2lumber
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/m2lumber
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2w2Vj_P-PNPiDxf5KoLMeA
• Other: [email protected]