By Andrea Lannom
Register-Herald Reporter
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Jay Petre never expected to win an award for his business, Renick Millworks. Even when he was nominated by the Small Business Administration for Entrepreneur of the Year, he still had his doubts.
His attitude changed shortly after, however, when he did win.
“I figured that even when I was nominated, that the chance of winning was slim to none and then I got a letter in the mail and wow! I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
Petre, 27, wasn’t the only one excited about this honor.
“Everyone at work was really excited and of course they told me that I couldn’t have done it without them and that’s true,” he said. “They are great people, great employees.”
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The Young Entrepreneur of the Year award is given to a person 30 years old or younger who has served for at least three years as an owner of a small business. Nominees are judged by sales, jobs created and demonstration of long-term entrepreneurial potential.
Renick Millworks manufactures hardwood floors from reclaimed wood. When structures anywhere from 80 to 150 years old are disassembled, the wood is taken out, de-nailed, kiln dried and made into hardwood floors.
“It’s an environmentally friendly process and it has an interesting look to it as well,” Petre said.
Petre was inspired to create the business when he was 18 and working on contract for the railroad. When buildings were taken down, the wood was kept and sold to their now competitor.
“After we saw how much money was in this business, we put the mill in,” he said.
The mill started out in 2005 as an 8,000-square-foot building. Since then, they have added another 6,000-square-foot building to do the manufacturing.
“We were doing everything from that one building and as time went by, we needed all the space we could get,” he said.
Starting out held many trials for Petre, however. Luckily, he says he had his father there to help him the entire way.
“As a young entrepreneur especially, it’s hard and my dad helped me out a lot by getting me into business,” he said. “For one, he sold the farm but he also gave me good advice and taught me how to work hard to get the job done.”
Petre says if he had to tell young aspiring entrepreneurs one thing, it would be to have faith.
“Don’t give up on your dreams,” he said. “The first year can be tough but you have to crawl before you walk. After you get over that crawling stage, then you’re on the road to a good life and a good business.”
— E-mail: alannom@register-herald.com
