Build a simple website with photos of your products.  Tell your story the way you want to.  This is one place where there is no editor - be yourself!  You will find that a website is a great tool to attract local business and inform your customers.  If few people live within a hundred miles of your operation, the website can be developed to sell wood direct to areas with higher populations.

Install and finish some of your wood flooring as soon as possible, even in your own home.  Showing the flooring in use is the best sales method of all.  As you sell and install flooring, each home then becomes another showroom for your product.  Be certain the homeowner is thrilled with your flooring, and they actually become your sales force as they show off their new improvement to their home.  Show them that you appreciate their efforts to tell others where the floor came from.  Satisfied customers are essential to a successful business!  "Word of mouth" must be mastered.

Selling a blend of wood species for a floor helps a small business be more efficient and profitable.  A mixture of the "ring porous" or coarse grained woods; oak, elm, ash, hickory, and locust is very attractive.  Another blend of the "diffuse porous" or smooth grained woods; maple, birch, beech, and cherry is also popular.  These blends let you utilize what is in your inventory from natural forest management.  People need to see these blends installed and finished to believe how beautiful and interesting these floors can be.

First reactions may be that following all these steps, from forest to finished flooring, is too complicated.  Once you get the full picture though, there are many benefits to operating the complete system.    Each step of the way gets easier, safer, and more profitable.  Forest owners and loggers normally make the biggest investment and do the hardest work - for the least return.

The feedback of seeing the wood put into its final use in a home, and receiving a fair and full income is very rewarding for the landowner - encouraging the best possible management of the forest.  Wood is easy to work with utilizing even simple tools and offers unlimited opportunities to add value to this renewable resource.  And everyone uses wood everyday - everywhere!

Birky



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