By Amanda Kuhnert
Just as Mike Paulsen was getting his business, Stone Soup Concrete, established, five feet of water from the summer floods of 2024 blew open the giant roll-up doors of his facility in southern Vermont, washing away everything he owned.
“It was just an utter heartbreak,” he said. “But the upside is that teams of people—many I’d never met—showed up and helped me shovel out six inches of mud.” One neighbor, a paper historian, even restored a career’s worth of nearly illegible color formulas recovered from the flood.
“This cemented me there forever,” he said, laughing at the unintentional pun. “Cement—concrete.”
Stone Soup Concrete creates hand-crafted concrete products for the home, from countertops and showers to unique furniture.
A synchronistic move
Paulsen grew up in Vermont but had been living and running his business out of state for over two decades when the pandemic temporarily shut it down. At the time he was operating out of an 11,000 square-foot facility with 15 employees.
“It was one of those rare pandemic gifts,” he said. “I took the opportunity to relocate to Vermont and dramatically downsize.”
He moved into the 2,500 square foot former Black River produce building in Proctorsville—much smaller than his old shop, but with 25-foot ceilings, large roll-up doors, a fork truck, and room for warehouse racking. That setup would prove useful in an unexpected new venture.
Micro-cements—hand-troweled overlays for floors, walls, staircases, showers and bathtubs—have grown in popularity in recent years and now account for about 80 percent of Paulsen’s business. Last year, a distributor in Spain reached out about becoming a regional distributor of its micro-cement products.
“I had thought for years about becoming a distributor of these materials, because I had this big open warehouse space,” Paulsen said. “It’s the perfect marriage.”
A targeted marketing approach
Shortly after relocating, Paulsen reached out to VtSBDC for help growing his Vermont business. “My hope was to get to the point where I leave Vermont as little as possible,” he laughed.
Together, he and VtSBDC advisor Catherine Stack put together a targeted marketing campaign. Using a list of Vermont-based architects, landscape designers, and builders Stack compiled, Paulsen sent hand-signed letters in hand-written envelopes, along with a new rack card and business card Stack helped design. He later followed up with an email.
“Out of the first 15 letters I sent, I got two great projects,” he said.
Mike and Stack continue to work together as the company grows, refining his marketing approach, identifying new business opportunities, and navigating the potential regional distribution partnership.
“I can’t believe everyone and their brother or sister doesn’t take advantage of VtSBDC,” he said. “It’s ridiculously helpful.”
For more information: stonesoupconcrete.com.
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