When did you start your company? 2007

How: Eshleman got into the wholesale lumber business after being a bartender at a holiday party for a sawmill owner. Eshleman says he hit it off with the owner, so he asked for help getting his foot in the door at a wholesale lumber house. Eshleman says he ended up getting a job in the business because of that chance encounter. After that, he worked at four houses over 20-plus years.

"Working with other [lumber] traders is a big ego show ... it is a very competitive, cutthroat environment. Not entirely unlike the movie 'Boiler Room,'" Eshleman said. So, he started working Fridays from home for his last employer, which he says made it easier for him to realize that making the transition to being a home-based, self-employed boss in this business wouldn't be that hard. But what also helped him go out on his own, he says, was the support he received from others in his field.