I’m just about to start my woodworking business and am looking for advice regarding getting clients; marketing etc.
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Replies
The way that worked for me is to find an magazine which you think would appeal to customers interested in your style of woodworking ( like Country Living for country style furniture). This approach is not cheap , as even small ads, cost many hundreds of dollars. Also a website is a good idea. The Front Page Express is an easy to use program to create a professional looking website without having to be a professional. Of course it is a kind of chicken and the egg situation, where do you get the furniture to put on your website until you get the customers to make the furniture for. In my case I made furniture for over 3 years before I really had any success. This was actually a good thing since some of my early pieces stank . One other approach that is similar to a lost leader, is to try Ebay. Your work will sell for far less than it is worth, but you will have people see it. Going to local artisan shows is also an avenue you might look into. In my case this was not a good idea, since many of these shows, look down their nose at reproductions. I also donated work to my local public TV station for the auctions they have each year, as a way to get exposure ( I may not do this again since they use my money for Now with Bill Moyers). At little praying didn’t hurt either.
Rob Millard
b,
I would encourage you to seek out your local BNI (Business Network International) chapter and give them a visit. Check out their web site at http://www.bni.com for more info.
RR
P.S. My only affiliation with BNI is as a member in a chapter where I live.
b
You may like to take out a listing in the Yellow Pages of your local phone book - about half of our work comes out of ours so it certainly works for us.
Just be particular under which section/s you list & how you structure your ad. Also some peolpe worry about getting swamped by too much work when all the replies roll in - you'll cope or learn to say 'next year' like you're doing them a favour (LOL).
Check out your local small bussiness agency to see if any courses are available which cover marketing, small biz admin or the like coz there's a lot more to all this than just making damn fine stuff. (It's Sunday & I've just spent 2 hrs doing admin & it's not even the end of the month).
Above all ggod luck
Don
The suggestions given so far are great.....one other I use and it serves many purposes....find a couple of good causes going on around your community and donate a sample of your work......these fund raisers usually have a couple of hundred people there, and you have a captive group...plus your helping out your community.
Good luck and enjoy
You may want to find out if you are zoned to run a small business out of your home. More then likely you are not.
If you are not zoned so you can run a small business out of your home.
Hi B,
I am only a hobby WW but I do own a computer shop that has been in business for 8 years. Recently one of my computer customers was in the shop and saw my creative work (I have woodcarvings, glass figures, jewlery boxes, plywood portraits ala Gary Browning, oil paintings and clocks that I have made in a section of the shop) and called the local paper (you could get a neighbor or friend to do this). They in turn sent out a reporter to do a story in the arts section which brought in a few new customers. That led to a larger paper doing the same thing. That article comes out next week so I don't know what it will do but it gets your name out in the community which is the important thing - and it's free. Donations of articles to charity raffles or that sort of thing also give you positive publicity as has already been mentioned. I don't know how well this would work for a woodworking enterprise, but putting a discount coupon of some sort in a regional or local publication can get the attention of people for a modest fee - something like a 5% discount with the coupon but factor that in to your price from the start. You've got to be careful with this though ... you don't want to be known as the "cheap" guy because that will reflect on what people think of your work before they see it plus the fact that many people don't know what quality is in furniture - they are more concerned with price. Check with the Chamber of Commerce - they may give out a welcome package to new homeowners and it is inexpensive to get mentioned in that. Anyway, various ideas ...
Good luck,
Ken
Hello B,
Its been my expeirence if you do good quality work all else will take care of its self.
I've been a carpenter/woodworker for just over 25 yrs and have had my current workshop for the last 7 yrs. When we built are new house and moved from are old one I didn't really think about advertising to let peolpe know where I moved to but low and behold they found me, just by me doing a good job for others, they in return give you praise to potencial new customer. My wife takes care of insurance and bills I just do what I love to do .....Create.......oh yes by the way be sure to put your phone number in the white and yellow pages,nothing fancy,just your name and number I also had some buisness cards made up it seems peolpe like it better if you have a card instead of having to search for a pencil and scrap peice of paper. I wont guarentee this for everyone but for me these things work real good besides the shops about 6 months out on projects right now,Less if I take on some help. But then that would intrude on my solitude.
Thanks,
Jim C
The old adage is it isn't what you know but who. I disagree; its a mixture of both. But both are important. If you already have the what part down, focus on the who, or networking. Advertising is a good way to get the name out, but inexpensive advertising such as newspaper ads tends to be very broad based and a low percentage of those viewing the ad will be prospective clients.
Are there businesses who could use what you do as a component to the sales they already make (sub work)?
Galleries, trade shows, etc give visibility. In some circles, winning a placing in something as niche oriented as the state fair garners some reputation. Membership in professional organizations such as a homebuilders or BBB lends credibility. If the local homebuilders chapter has a parade of homes, by all means, talk to the guys who have homes on the parade. They look for decor to stock the house with while those thousands of people are walking through. A nice chest of drawers with your business cards on top of it is a great way to generate interest.
Remodelers are good candidates for cabinet shops, over and above home builders. Remodelers are more inclined to need something custom made to match whats already in place or to upgrade a home beyond how it was built. Getting to know them is a great idea. That's my niche, and I have a friend with a cabinet shop who does some great stuff. We scratch each others back from time to time. I send him work, he sends me some. Even knowing your competitors on an amicable basis is good for business. I know other remodelers who don't do some of what I do and vise versa. If I can't do a job or don't want to, just my ability to give a good referral is a face saving gesture. Same for them.
As you gain experience in what the business feels like in your area, always be on the lookout for what the other guy doesn't do. Sooner or later, you'll find something (or more likely, it will find you) that you like doing, do well, and do competitively that others simply aren't interested in. I can think of a number of guys who started out thinking they'll do X, and when something different came along, they did it so well that everyone assosciates them with that now, and that's the work they do.
"The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb " lyrics by Roger Waters
I have done custom woodwork and finishing full time for the last 12 years or so. Never advertised for fear of being swamped. I have always had more business than I could handle. I have also had very few dissatisfied customers -- maybe one or two in all that time. All my work came through referral from satisfied customers. It helps that I am very good at what I do, that I care about my customers, and that I do things that most others can't or won't do. It is also despite the fact that I have a personality similar to a potted cactus, but not quite as engaging..........
I recently converted my business to doing mostly furniture repair, mostly on site. I do finish touchup, wood repair, upholstery repair and stain removal, leather repair and cleaning, springs and mechanisms, basically anything that has to do with furniture. Next week I am French polishing an 1870's rosewood piano one day, and refurbishing a kitchen on another day.....
Due to the change in focus, I have been asking my customers where they look when they seek out my kind of services. Their response was interesting. Almost all of them said referral first. When I ask them about advertising or yellow pages, they say that they have no way of knowing who's good and that they would much prefer working with someone known to them or a friend.
All this is to point out the value of doing good work and making your customers happy. It took a few years to work my way to the top end of the market, but the power of good will got me there.
With my new situation I will do a little advertising and PR, but I will concentrate mostly on networking, leaving handouts that describe what I do and how to contact me with everyone I have business contact with. I plan to put on a couple of employees in the next year, so I intend to force a little faster growth by advertising discreetly.
I am going to have to take a yellow pages listing, but I hate to, because it brings in so many unqualified and unprofitable inquiries. The beauty of referrals is that the customers are almost always qualified as to wanting the kind of work I do, and being willing to pay for it. I'll guarantee you that if you advertise broadly, you will initially get calls from lots of people just wanting things done cheaper than the next guy, and there is no future with that kind of clientele.
I hope you are very good at whatever you do. If not, get that way fast. Then concentrate on customers who want top quality work and will pay for it. Leave the hack work to the hacks. Same thing applies if you want to go big time. There's always more profit at the top of the market, if you're good enough to satisfy them.
There is NO money at the lower end, especially in woodworking, where your'e competing with every jackass with some spare time and a table saw in his garage.
By the way, RW's advice above is excellent, as is much of the other advice here. It's obvious that many of them are speaking from experience.
Michael R
Edited 8/24/2003 5:10:26 PM ET by Woodwiz
I'll second the BNI rec.
I've been going out on my own of late (very different field, however), and I think I'm good at what I do (at least I have a string of positive comments from previous customers back when I was actually employed, LOL). Any way, I started, as somebody said, where the money was. Since this is a brand new venture for me, I can't yet tell you I'm keeping the wolf from the door, but this client had me back a second time, and we're now discussing still another deal.
Find good ones, do just about anything to keep them happy, and more work will come your way. I prefer the rifle approach, in lieu of shotgun. Concentrate on a few, have some success, rather than scatter your efforts.
Oh, and no I've not put anything in yellow pages or the like. I've picked out what seem like a few likely candidates, and give them my best pitch.
Good luck!
Ok! I would like to add my 2 cents! Building good quality goes without saying. "I am not striving for perfection, it is unattanable, just professional excellence." Tiger Woods. You still have to market and sell YOURSELF! You are not selling a product you are selling your services. Word of mouth is nice but it takes years to get to that point. Your going to starve in the next few months if you can not get people to buy. And you family and friends will only buy so much fine made furniture. Yellow pages and magazines are very expensive and produce little results. Can you afford to invest 1,000.00 for one magazine add. Every call I have received from YP is "can you do it cheeper? NO!" Craft and home builder shows are excellent, a lot of people will see and touch your wood. But to improve on your already par-excellence piece, DO NOT SIT AND LOOK PRITTY. Work, yes work at these shows. Carve, plane, build a piece with your teeth, what ever it takes. Your time is very limited and shows are long, be working on your latest project. I am currently in a parade of homes carving a ball and claw chippendale writting desk. This project has followed me in the last 3 shows. Now future clients come to see what I am working on, they compliment and take a card. I have learned when they get to the exit door, imformation overload, your card hits the trash with everthing else. Ask them to sign your guest book, now you have a follow up for calling, writting and e-mail. Strive to get your works of art in front of others, it is much stronger that someone elses word-of-mouth.
Excellent book - What clients love!
[email protected]
don't send anything too negative, I am still working my butt off to get food on the table.
I know of a couple people who have built their whole business on Facebook and a website.
A good portfolio for the public to see is a necessity.
That said, finding a market for custom build furniture is not easy.
We have a local farmers/art market every two weeks in the historic section of our city. Theoretically you would have a better chance of getting exposed to a potential clientele interested in historic/antique furniture.
Renting a booth and displaying some items would give some exposure. Also, furniture repair might be a way to get a "foot in the door".
“[Deleted]”
I started a a word-of-mouth business. A friend has a successful business with plenty of foot traffic. Near the entrance he had a plastic table he uses for pamphlets, etc.
I made a mix 'n match table for me. M&m meaning 8, 2' pieces of different hardwood species edge-glued with legs made from joined and turned different species. Example; 1 leg is Osage Orange & Black Palm.
My friend let me replace the plastic with my table. I didn't get rich, but I got orders for 4 similarly-designed tables. The customers choose and pay for the wood and finish upfront. My side, I autograph the piece, get to keep scraps & let the customer spread my name around.
In the end it's only fair to say I'm a hobbyist who sells pieces to afford my stash of Gabon ebony for 1 masterpiece in the future.
Mikaol
Wow...this thread is nearly twenty years old!
Yes it is. I didn't look at the date until I saw someone recommend getting an ad in the Yellow pages.
Usually because a spammer dropped something in with a link...spam gets removed and thread stays live because of the recent activity.
Yeah, it seems a lot of old threads suddenly pop up and start drawing comments. It always pays to look at the OP date (in fine print) first. But sometimes the topic is still too interesting to resist.
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