Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Doerrer.
Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Chisel Stoneworks began with a dud, four years ago. At that time, I was working as a stone mason for a landscape design & build firm out of Newburyport during the week and working on side projects on the weekends, building small patios & walkways. I’d finish a job and a neighbor would ask me if I can build something similar for them. It got to a point where I was working 70 hours a week and I had to choose between the security of weekly paycheck and starting my own business. I choose the latter, struck out on my own with little to no idea of how to run a business and Chisel Stoneworks failed three months later. Shortly after that, my wife and purchased a home in Swampscott and for the next two and half years, I worked as a mason for a two different landscape companies to help pay the bills. It was during that time that Chisel Stoneworks as we are now, began to take shape.
I started to notice a lack of quality and craftsmanship in the trade. With the increasing growth of the hardscape industry, it seemed that every landscaper was now a mason and I saw a need in the market for a boutique masonry company, specializing in custom residential stone work. In September of last year, I was unexpectedly laid off while my wife and I were expecting the birth of our child. During my unemployment, I started to research marketing and branding, business management, and social media marketing. Once my daughter was born, I felt a strong desire to show her, by example how to carve out your own way in the world and follow your passion. I designed the logo, launched the website, hired Matty Marini, the best mason that I knew and re-launched Chisel Stoneworks in January of this year. We are currently booked into the fall and are starting to plan projects that will start in the spring of 2018.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I’m learning that starting a business is never a smooth road. There are so many variables and contingencies that at first, I could not foresee and account for such as scheduling conflicts, material selection and availability, delivery delays, change orders, etc. We are trying to stay lean, making due with what we have and trying our best not to accrue too much debt in the early stages of our business. But it is a double edged sword so to speak. For example, we were relying on rental equipment for some of our early projects. While we were saving money up front for not purchasing some of the necessary equipment, such as a plate compactor and a gas cut off saw, we were losing productivity on site by having to pick those tools up and drop them off. The same problem would arise when we did not have a dump truck. We’d schedule our materials to be delivered and when they did not arrive as scheduled, we would lose valuable time on site waiting. While we were saving money in the short term, we were losing money on the back end as projects were not being finished on time and on budget. We now have a dump truck and the necessary “big ticket” tools that we need to get the job done on time and within budget. We can now select, purchase and deliver our materials on demand to provide our customers with the service, quality, and craftsmanship that they expect. There is no doubt in my mind that we have more growing pains to endure, but as long as we keep our focus on satisfying our client’s needs, the rest will fall right into place!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Chisel Stoneworks specializes in custom, high-end residential stone work and masonry services. We build stone walls, patios, walkways, fireplaces, and outdoor living spaces that enhance the look, value and feel of your property. All of our stone is finished and fit by hand and our signature is dry fit, tight and uniform joinery with little to no mortar showing between the stones. While we do our fair share of interlocking concrete paver walkways, driveways, and patios, it is our custom cut, natural stonework that I believe sets us apart from others. There are a lot of talented masonry companies on the North Shore that are doing great work and I believe our passion for working with stone and our drive to exceed our clients expectations will help us stand out from the crowd. What I am most proud of as a company is our branding. I put a lot of time and thought into our company name and logo. I drew out the rough sketches and then sent those sketches out to a professional graphic designer who came back with a final design that I believe helps set us apart from others. I’ve received a lot of compliments on the logo and name and it fills me with pride every morning when I throw on my Chisel Stoneworks tee, slap on the chisel hat, lace up my boots and head out to do what I love.
What were you like growing up?
You should probably ask my mom that question. Haha. I was born and raised in a blue collar family on the North Shore of Boston. I grew up Chelsea, Reading, and Melrose and was always a “hands on” type of kid. I’d be the dirtiest kid at the playground, so much so that my mom nicknamed me “pig pen”. In high school, I played football and I wrestled. I’ve always been a physical type of guy and that is one of things that I believe draws me to stone masonry, the physicality of the job. It’s hard and dirty work, hammering and chiseling large stones but its work that I love. I was never a great student, I preferred experiential learning over traditional “classroom learning” and probably would have done better at a vocational school. It’s kind of funny now that I think of it. While I never received great marks in high school, I work in a trade that often requires me to recall all my lessons in physics, geometry, and art history on a daily basis. That being said, I have always loved history. Maybe that’s because I grew up in a city with such a rich and proud one. That also may be another reason why I became a stone mason, masons where revered and respected tradesman, especially during the Middle Ages when some of the great cathedrals of Europe were built. The medieval mason was an architect, builder, craftsman, designer and engineer wrapped into one and that is what I’m trying to bring back to the trade today.
Pricing:
- Free Estimates (if no extensive design work needed)
- $3,000 – $50,000
Contact Info:
- Address: Swampscott, Ma.
- Website: www.chiselstoneworks.com
- Phone: 781-732-9802
- Email: mike@chiselstoneworks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chiselstoneworks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chiselstoneworks/
- Twitter: @Chisel_Stone
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chisel-stoneworks-swampscott
- Other: https://www.houzz.com/pro/chiselstoneworks/chisel-stoneworks
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