The story of a locally owned and operated business - Chris Carroll Story

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Chris who loved trees and all things wood. Chris also loved his dad and followed him everywhere. One day, he followed his dad and Uncle Scott to an old saw mill building where they were to take apart the mill. Being a little guy (even now), everything seemed larger than life! He stared in awe at the stout hand-hewn beams which supported the building. He kicked the mounds of sawdust on the floor, sending flurries in the air.

As his dad and Scott delved into their task, Chris watched in wonder as the two men disassembled the massive blade then took apart the gears, belts and pulleys. They even let Chris use a hammer to pull nails out of the wood. He loved it! So much, in fact, he made it a habit.

Every day, he'd go into the woods to scrounge for saplings and other small trees. Chris would use his boy scout hatchet to cut the tree then use his hammer and nails to make forts, fences and all kinds of cool projects. The older he got, the bigger the projects became. His skill grew with age until the boy became a man.

Because he was so good at building things with wood, he was hired by a general contractor. From tree houses to full-size houses, for the next twenty-five years, Chris built them all, perfecting his skills along the way. 

That changed when Chris arrived to work on a house and found someone new already at work. His name was John and HE had a mobile sawmill sawing trees into lumber. Instantly, Chris zoomed back to when he was four years old, standing in that old sawmill building. From that day forward, Chris built houses during the week and helped John saw lumber on the weekends.  The day finally came when the economy tanked, new construction stopped and Chris was laid off.

Because he had spent his life turning trees into something beautiful, he decided it was time to be his own boss. He enrolled in the NC REAL program, taking every class they offered. He networked, bartered and worked hard to become the go-to guy for custom woodworking. His commitment paid off when the Rural Center of NC chose him from over 350 business owners to be their small business success story. He was interviewed on tv, radio and in newspapers. He was a speaker at the Governors Entrepreneurship Summit. His business was growing, but something was missing. He had lost that primal link between harvesting a tree and using his hands to turn it into a finished product. He stopped buying lumber from Lowes, opting to buy rustic rough-cut lumber from a local sawyer, but he still wasn't satisfied.

He trudged along for a year until finally, Chris fulfilled his life-long dream and bought his very own sawmill! Today, people from all over bring Chris trees, call Chris to saw their trees and ask Chris what he can make with their trees. Every piece of furniture or lumber he makes has a story and he can tell them all. Finally, that void left in a four-year-olds heart had been filled and the man he grew into was fulfilled.

Learn more about Chris at: http://chriscarrollwoodworking.com/

One of the items made by Chris Carroll

I asked them to write up their story and share it.
Remember to #ShopLocal, #BuyLocal, #InvestLocal and #ReviewLocal!
- Thanks
Martin Brossman

The story of a locally owned and operated business helping their community find great local education! - Mo*Bee’s Class Finder

Once upon a time…there was a woman named Dee, who worked very hard, long hours in an auto manufacturing plant.  

Every day…on the production line, dozens upon dozens of cars would pass her by. She began to realize much like the cars, her life was passing her by.

One day…Dee forced herself to look beyond the endless line of cars and decided that she would make time for herself.  She dreamed of an artistic adventure.

 Because of that…she began to scour the internet looking for a sculpting class to take. She clicked through numerous websites – community colleges, local art schools and even the yellow pages - but still could not find a single class.

Because of that…she allowed herself to defer her dream a little longer. She was determined to make class searching easier.  Instructors should have a place to showcase their skills and upcoming class offerings. 

 Until finally…she created Mo*Bee’s Class Finder, a website that promotes classes so instructors can easily be found and students can quickly find fun and interesting things to do.

 Learn more about Mo*Bee’s Class Finder at: https://www.mobeesclassfinder.com/

I asked Mo'Bee's team to write up their story and share it.
Remember to #ShopLocal, #BuyLocal, #InvestLocal and #ReviewLocal!
- Thanks
Martin Brossman

The Mo*Bee’s Class Finder team has come to many of my Social Media Marketing classes offered by the Small Business Center - Isothermal Community College - Thanks for your support! 
My classes can be found at NCSmallBusienssTraining.com