Replies

1. 
   nvwoody | Oct 17, 2004 04:12am | #1

   woodworling is the best, most rewarding thing in the world. If you can do it for a living and enjoy it then you are blessed .  I'm planing on starting my own woodworking biz around the summer of next year ,  I have many things (mostly boxes and tables) ready to go but i feel i have to show more than just one or two types of work to the masses. so i can show my skills off a bit. Then I'll be ready. Thanx for your time

2. 
   john | Oct 17, 2004 11:14am | #2

   Interesting subject, this, and one that crops up at regular intervals.

   The main problem is to get people to pay enough money for each piece that you make so that you can cover your costs and make a living at it. The lower your costs, the better your chances. 

   I believe that most people who want to stay in woodworking end up making cabinets, especially custom kitchens. This is because the majority of furniture purchasers prefer to go to a store and choose their tables, chairs etc etc from a large selection and pay by credit card and have the stuff delivered the next day. You are not going to be able to compete with that.

   I make kitchens, and some parts of what I do are interesting and enjoyable, but making batches of doors, maybe 16 at a time, that's 32 rails and 32 styles, can rapidly become boring. It's still better than working in an office

   Good luck whatever you decide to do

   John

3. 
   sawdustmaker | Oct 17, 2004 02:12pm | #3

   I am in the "transition" process myself. I "officially" started my business two years ago. What started as nights and evenings is slowly growing to a legitimate part time job. I was fortunate to land a 20 hour a week job repairing furniture for a large retailer here in Michigan. Full benefits with low and flexible hours. That gives me time to concentrate on my own work.

   Know ALL of your costs before going in. Insurance (business and health), overhead, advertising, etc. Talk to a qualified accountant, along with a lawyer.

   I think many people will verify the fact that they aren't in it for the money. Adding employees or contract labor complicates things. Look over all of your options. Good luck.

4. 
   BrianF | Oct 17, 2004 02:48pm | #4

   I have been doing woodworking for a living for the last 14 years. First for a large custom cabinet maker and for the last 8 year as a part-time woodworker in my own shop behind the house and a full time stay-at-home dad. Life couldn't be better, unless making alot of money is high on your priority list. I'm lucky, I have a couple of customers that really appreciate hand made custom pieces and are willing to spend the extra dollars to get it. I will say that it takes work on your part to cultivate such relationships. Not everyone knows or cares what the difference between your bed or table is and one at Oak Express. You have to spend the time and teach them. Of course that time doesn't pay but if you want to have a good client you need to spend the time.

   I love working with customers to define and refine their ideas into a design and then making it a reality. I love spending time in the shop making an idea and a sketch become a piece of furniture. I love the look on the face of a customer when they see their new piece in their house. I hate estimating and charging people for my work. I hate paying bills and doing taxes. It makes me a pretty good woodworker bu ta pretty bad business man. I think though that I am in pretty good company from what I have read in past posts on this subject

   good Luck, Brian

5. 
   jimmyk | Oct 17, 2004 04:10pm | #5

   I made the leap 6 months ago. I made the leap from a boring and unrewarding 9-5 engineering job to custom woodworking. I made the change only because I got a great deal from my last employer to quit since they were relocating: 2 years full medical & dental insurance, 3 months of severance pay and I cashed out my pension so I had some up front capital to buy more machines.

   Even with all that great stuff, it's been rough starting but I'm finally getting some of the types of clients I (we) need to survive. Most of my work is entertainment centers and home office.

   Greatest benefits and joys:

   freedom

   never sitting down

   see the kids in the morning

   no more hour commute

   knowing every effort I make is for me, not the giant Corp. I worked for.

   Difficult parts:

   finding GOOD clients

   never sitting down

   not knowing if I'm paying my bills next week

   selling myself

   learning tax rules

   motivating myself every morning

   being a hard boss to myself

   being in 4 places at once

1. 
   Dave45 | Oct 17, 2004 05:31pm | #6

   Molten-

   Your situation sounds like mine except for the nice 'buyout' package from your engineering gig.  I got laid off in '03 with no warning and two weeks pay.  After 30 years in engineering, my 'game plan' had been to work as an engineer for 3-4 more years then 'retire' to my shop and do cabinets, entertainment centers, etc as a retirement job.  After a few months of sending resumes with no response, I decided to make the jump while I still had some resources (money) in the bank.  The past year has been pretty hectic, but things seem to be improving.  I got my general contractors license a couple of months ago and have been doing jobs for friends and neighbors.  Word of mouth referrals are coming in and I'm bidding on (and winning) jobs in a couple of nearby gated communities.  Oddly enough, the fact that I have both the P.E. and G.C. licenses sems to be a big plus with the high tech crowd.

   Your 'benefits and joys' list is dead-on but I would add the following;

   1. Forget "free" evenings and weekends.  Most of mine are spent meeting prospective customers, bidding jobs, doing bookwork, or working on jobs.

   2. Unless you're a bookeeper, hook up with an accountant ASAP.  A good one can help you get set up correctly from the start.  Lots of folks think they're doing OK until tax time rolls around. - lol

   3. Learn to lose a job gracefully.  Even if you lose a particular job, that customer may call you for something else or refer you to someone else.

   I could keep going but I'm sure you get the idea.  One of the biggest benefits for me has been the challenge of learning something new - engineering was getting pretty boring. - lol

   Good Luck

1. 
   Thew | Oct 20, 2004 08:31pm | #7

   Thank you all for your thoughts - I appreciate the advice.