Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Checketts.
Hi Tom, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The roads we travel do not always take us where we expect to be. An example of that is me retiring five years ago from a defense contract company and now I am selling hardwood lumber. It was never my intention to start a small business at 60. I was looking forward to spending retirement photographing birds, woodcarving, woodworking, spending time with my family and traveling with my wife. While I still get to do those things, I am fortunate to be able to meet woodworkers of all skill levels, visit with them about their woodworking businesses or hobbies and sell them lumber.
About 15 years ago, I became good friends with a coworker, Jim Grace, who had recently moved to Utah from Iowa. In Iowa he owned a small farm that he had purchased years ago as an investment and Jim’s focus with his farm was to manage the hardwood trees growing on the property. Each year, Jim would take multiple trips to Iowa, to plant, thin, trim or harvest trees. On his return trips to Utah, he would bring some lumber back with him. Jim would sell this lumber to help cover his travel cost. During this time I had purchased lumber from Jim for personal projects and even went to Iowa with him on a couple occasions.
About five years ago I retired, and shortly after Jim accepted a job in Iowa and was preparing to move. He had a small storage unit full of lumber in Salt Lake City, and I offered to sell it for him. I brought it to a storage facility in Layton and started to advertise in Marketplace and KSL Classified. What I thought was going to be a miserable task actually turned into a very fun activity. When most of the lumber was sold I asked Jim if he had more lumber in Iowa that I could buy from him and sell in Northern Utah. Now Jim and I work together to provide hardwood lumber to woodworkers and carvers in Northern Utah. Jim is buying trees, logs or lumber that is already milled. He gets it cut and dried and stores it until I am able to pick it up. I take multiple trips each year to Iowa and bring back lumber to sell in Layton, Utah.
I am still selling lumber out of storage units. I meet customers by appointment, and I sell both live edge slabs as well as straight edged Lumber and carving blocks. The majority of the lumber I sell is provided by Jim and comes out of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. I have made trips to North Carolina, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota and Texas to purchase unique lumber that Jim is unable to provide.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenge for me is finding balance between being retired and selling lumber. I enjoy the trips to get lumber, and I enjoy selling lumber; but I don’t think I will ever be financially successful selling lumber. My goal is to make enough money to cover my cost to sell lumber as well as the cost of lumber that I use to fuel my own woodworking hobbies.
I realize that selling lumber out of storage units may not be the most convenient for my customers, but this allows me to keep prices at a very reasonable rate and it allows me the flexibility to enjoy being retired. I try to keep my schedule as flexible as possible in order to meet customers when it is convenient for them. I have sold lumber as early as 6:00 in the morning and as late as 11:00 at night
My number one goal with Tom Checketts Lumber is to enjoy what I am doing. Making a profit would be nice, but as long as I am selling enough lumber to cover my cost and I have the flexibility to be retired, travel a little with my wife, focus on personal hobbies and spend time with my family, then I am enjoying what I am doing.
As you know, we’re big fans of Tom Checketts Lumber. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I sell rough sawn, kiln dried, hardwood lumber from the Midwest in the form of live edge slabs and straight edged lumber. The most common woods I keep in stock are Walnut, Cherry, White Oak, Maple, Spalted Maple, Eastern Aromatic Cedar, and Butternut. When it is available, I also carry Hickory, Ash, Catalpa, and Birch. I also provide Basswood, Tupelo, and Jelutong for woodcarving.
Customers who purchase my lumber range from hobbyist to full time custom furniture makers. I encourage my customers to send me photos of the projects they make and I post these on my Facebook and Instagram pages. These projects range from cutting boards for Christmas gifts to conference tables and reception counters in hotels. There is a certain amount of satisfaction when I see a finished project and know that I had a small part in its creation.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My interest in woodworking and lumber was not something that I learned from my parents. My father’s idea of woodworking was using a handsaw, hammer and nails to build a fence. I did not learn woodworking from my father, but I realize that he was responsible for my attitude of why buy it when I can make it. My dad let me use his hand saw and his hammer to build rabbit hutches and a chicken coop when I was eleven or twelve years old. Even though the rabbits would escape and the chickens spent more time wondering the yard than sitting in the coop, building those projects was a great accomplishment for me.
A few years later, my grandfather passed away and during my teen years I spent a lot of time staying with my grandmother. I enjoyed being there and helping her with yardwork and even fixing a few things around the house, but most of the time it was pretty boring for a 14 year old. I found myself spending a lot of time in the garage out back tinkering with the tools that had belonged to my grandfather. I taught myself how to use power tools, and most of the time I taught myself the wrong way how to use power tools. I enjoyed the freedom I had to experiment with the different tools. Fortunately I survived without any major accidents. The first thing I remember making was a rubber band gun and then a picture frame. A few years later in that garage I made a piano bench. Woodworking has been something that I have enjoyed for a long time.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Tom Checketts Lumber
- Facebook: Tom Checketts Lumber
