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Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Matt Barber & Joel Doub, Part 2 - Tales from an Entrepreneurial Adventure

Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Mountain & Prairie Media

Places & Travel, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2021

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Matt Barber and Joel Doub are the owners of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths, one of the West's most renowned custom fly rod companies.  I was introduced to Matt and Joel nearly three and half years ago and was quickly fascinated by their entrepreneurial journey and Tom Morgan Rodsmiths' storied history in the fly fishing world. As longtime listeners may remember, I recorded a podcast with Matt and Joel in January of 2018, about a year after they had purchased the company from Tom and Gerri Morgan. In that conversation we talked in depth about the history of the company, Matt and Joel's unconventional backgrounds, and their plans for the future of TMR-- it was a fun conversation that led to a great friendship between all of us.

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But in the more than three years since I published that episode, Tom Morgan Rodsmiths has grown in size and scope, and Matt and Joel have continued to evolve as business owners.  They've enjoyed highs that include being featured in the New York Times and steadily growing their sales year over year. But they've also faced unexpected challenges, most notably a global pandemic and its far-reaching supply chain and economic effects. But thanks to their creativity, planning, complementary skill sets, and unwavering commitment to the values of the founders Tom and Gerri Morgan, Matt and Joel have thrived as entrepreneurs and built wonderful lives for their families in Montana.

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A quick, one-time snapshot of any entrepreneurial venture can never provide the full, vivid story of a company and its owners, so I wanted to bring Matt and Joel back on the podcast to give us an update and share some of their hard-earned wisdom and lessons learned. We talked a bit about the specifics of the fly fishing business, but most of the topics we discussed were around resilience, teamwork, marketing, managing complex work, and maintaining a positive attitude-- actionable advice that almost anyone could put to use in business or creative endeavors. You don't need to listen to our first episode to glean value from this one, but it's worth a listen too, so there's a link in the notes to access that episode if you'd like.

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Be sure to check out the Tom Morgan Rodsmiths website and follow them on social media-- links to everything are in the notes. They will be celebrating the company's 25th anniversary in the coming weeks and offering some special, one-of-a-kind products that will be of interest to anglers and outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes. Thanks to Matt and Joel for the inspiring conversation, and I hope you enjoy!

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • 4:30 – Introduction to Matt and Joel
  • 11:30 – Update on the progress of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths
  • 16:15 – Matt and Joel discuss the benefits and challenges of co-owning a business
  • 12:15 – Matt and Joel discuss how they navigate owning Tom Morgan Rodsmiths while respecting the legacy of its founders
  • 27:45 – Matt and Joel talk about coverage they received from the New York Times
  • 31:45 – Matt and Joel explain their thoughts and practice of marketing their products
  • 38:15 – How Matt and Joel stay organized to manage the many, many challenges of running a business
  • 49:30 – Matt and Joel discuss generosity in their work and lives
  • 53:15 – Matt and Joel talk about living in Montana, having recently moved there
  • 56:15 – Matt and Joel's book recommendations
  • 58:45 – Matt and Joel's parting words of wisdom

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey you said before we get started I've got some quick announcements I want to run by you.

0:03.7

Number one I've got a virtual event coming up with New York Times best selling author David

0:09.5

Gessner who has been on this podcast I think three times and he'll be coming back on later

0:15.1

this summer but he's got a new book out about Henry David Thoreau and I'll be doing

0:19.9

a interview with him through the tattered cover which is Denver's

0:24.3

premier independent bookseller you can go to mountain and pray dot com

0:28.3

slash events to learn more about that event is free you can sign up if you're not zoomed out I can pretty much

0:35.0

guarantee it'll be a funny and informative conversation about everything from

0:40.3

Henry David the Road to Theodore Roosevelt to Public Lands to Wallace Stegner, Edward Abbey.

0:46.8

If you've listened to those episodes with Gessner, you know it's always an entertaining conversation.

0:51.6

And I've started doing more of these virtual events about topics that may or may not be related to the West. I don't release them as podcast if they're not related to the West, but there are a few video conversations that are up on the website most recently with Dr. Drew

1:06.0

Lanham, ornithologist from Clemson University that a lot of people seem to enjoy so

1:12.0

you can just head over to Mount and pray.com and look around and

1:14.7

see if there's anything that catches your attention thanks a lot. Hey, this is Ed Roberson, and this is the Mountain and Prairie Podcast, where I introduce you to some of the innovative individuals who are shaping the future of the American West.

1:38.0

I meet most of these people through my work in land conservation, or through my hobbies and interests that revolve around spending time up high in the mountains.

1:45.2

My guests include ranchers, writers, entrepreneurs, conservationists, athletes, artists,

1:50.0

adventurers, pretty much anyone who's doing important work has an interesting story and

1:55.2

loves the American West.

1:57.8

My guest today are Matt Barber and Joel Dowb.

2:00.9

Matt and Joel are the owners of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths, one of the West's most renowned custom flyrod companies. I was introduced to Matt and Joel nearly three and a half years ago and was quickly fascinated by their entrepreneurial journey and Tom Morgan-Smith

2:15.4

storied history in the fly fishing world. As longtime listeners may remember, I recorded a podcast

2:21.1

with Matt and Joel in January of 2018, about a year after they purchased the company from Tom and Jerry Morgan.

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