How 2 teens carved out success in the lumber business

Their business has grown rapidly, with revenue increasing by nearly 50% each of the last two years

The following article appeared in the September 18, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.

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During the depths of Covid, two teens started selling specialty wood on Facebook; today, they have a showroom and a sawmill and are planning to expand to the N.C. mountains

Jake Johnson (left), 23, and Spencer Bloom, 18, started Bloom & Johnson Millworks four years ago by selling wood on Facebook Marketplace. Today, their growing business has a warehouse showroom in downtown Davidson, a sawmill and plans to expand to the N.C. mountains.

by Tony Mecia

When most entrepreneurs start a business, they typically confront challenges such as raising money and finding customers.

But when Spencer Bloom started a milling business with a friend in 2020, he encountered a different set of obstacles: He wasn’t old enough to drive or sign contracts.

At the time, he was just 14.

Today, Bloom and his business partner, Jake Johnson, have recently opened a warehouse showroom in downtown Davidson. They have three employees and plan to add three more next month, and their revenue has grown by nearly 50% each of the last two years. It’s an impressive start by two teenagers in the months after the Covid lockdowns.

Bloom acknowledges that he’s having different experiences than most of his friends, who take the typical route of summer jobs and heading off to college.

“We negotiated the lease for this building last October, and my friends are all, like, getting into their dorm rooms, and I’m going through a redline on a lease,” he says. “It’s just — it’s different.”