I (like many others) have been long considering quitting my cushy day desk job and doing furniture and cabinet making professionally. My portfolio is getting large (modest to most of you I’m sure) and I have plenty of business education. Is it impossible? Is there any words of encouragement and/or discouragement you pros can offer?
Yes, I’m aware of contracts, insurances, business loans, capital investing, estimating…etc…etc. I’m not looking for direction on how to do it but I’d like to know if it’s still practical these days and how many of you wish you could get out of it because it’s not all that great.
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Depends on your motivation, and not just a little. I'm big on doing what makes you happy. I already had the fun life of booze and girls, (and WHAT fun!) then I had the responsible life of leadership, authority, and lots of money. The first was more fun, but I can't be 20 again. Now I have the calm(er) life of being in charge of me.
Honestly, all the things it takes to be a business (contracts, insurances, business loans, capital investing, estimating) are kind of a downer, since I'm pretty much happiest when there's a hammer in the paw, but without the down sides, you know the drill.
But I'm not rich, and don't think I will be, even if that was some kind of goal. I make now about a third of what I did when I was 28. I drive my paycheck more than my ego, and we have a roof over our heads and food in the fridge. I still don't sleep at night (gotta go bid this tomorrow), but I don't have any moral qualms about what I'm doing with my life. I could get hit by a truck tomorrow and wouldn't have many regrets about recent decisions.
And I get to end things with Twain quotes.
" Clothes make the man. Naked people have litte or no influence in society" - Mark Twain
There are certainly many folks who would prove that it can be done. Besides all the knowledge that you bring, there are several personal characteristics that are valuable/necessary.
1) Being in business for yourself requires that you be a self starter, and not too prone to procrastination. There's nobody else to do the work. And that you take responsibility for what happens.
2) My experience is that you need to be able to manage money very carefully. Besides the fact that there will almost certainly be less of it, it tends to come in lumps at somewhat unpredictable times. Lumpy cash flow is hard to get used to and often stressful, unless you get far enough from zero to have the lean times still well above the "broke" level.
3) It pays to figure out a way to grow the business somewhat organically. If you start off cold, you are liable to make some large mistakes before you get enough customer/business feedback/support to correct your direction. For example, what tools do you really need? If you go buy a bunch of them brand new, you could end up selling them at 25cents on the dollar if you run out of money or burn out. After you've worked for a while, it will become clearer what tools will make your work more pleasant, or more competitive, or both. There are always tools I lust after, even with a really well equipped shop. :-)
4) I'e always been happy doing custom work to order, designing within the parameters of a customer's needs/wants/environment. Lots of customer satisfaction, and the work is always sold when I get it done. Others have a burning desire to create particular pieces, then try to figure out a way to sell them. I prefer my way (I'm also a backup harmonica player, happy to be in the background instead of needing to be center stage all the time.)
5) I've always been lucky to get good customers, or have made them that way by how I treat them. I also try not to promise anything! that I can't deliver. Word of mouth is the best advertising (my only kind.) WOM will also kill your business quickly if you have unhappy customers.
In one of the early Fine Woodworking magazines, they had a trio of articles about being a professional woodworker: a guy who described the trials and risks of trying to create a medium sized production cabinet shop, a guy who quit his factory job to become a professional (entitled "Stepping Back Up to Amateur Status" when he tired of the numerous compromises that being in a hurry forced on him, and looked for another way to earn his money) and the third, entitled "How I Get By" by a craftsman who stayed flexible, low cash flow, etc. Good trio. I identified with the third guy.
So who am I to talk? I worked construction in the late '70s while getting my shop started, and have been earning my living with custom woodworking since around 1981. There have been some lean times here and there, and a lot of satisfaction. A close friend became my partner in the mid '80s. There are some perils in that idea, but it's great if it works out.
There are apparently some regional variations in the woodworking culture. Here in central Tennessee, the woodworkers stick together, help each other with advice/feedback, and send each other customers when we aren't right for them. I have heard that this isn't always the case. It might be prudent to visit a few local shops and find out what kind of reception you get, or try to find a local woodworking club. Even if most of the club members are amateurs, some can be quite knowledgeable, and others may end up as your customers (or you could help them with custom planing, etc.)
I guess the summary is that if you're right for it, it's a very satisfying life, with a lot more lasting output than many of the more lucrative but transitory things people produce these days (like memos.) Good luck! and welcome to the club!
The HARDEST part of being self-employed is SELLING your product or service. If you can't do that, then it won't matter how good it is because it will not sell itself. My suggestion would be to keep your day job and try to start on a spare time basis. Custom furniture can be sold in many ways other than on a commission basis. One way is to sell on consignment with small stores, particularly in larger metropolitan area. The idea is to build a reputation by letting others sell for you by providing them with examples of your work.
Like engineers, woodworkers are usually lousy salesmen. It is very difficult for most to promote our own products so we need to find ways to get around that shortcoming to be successful.
Well thanks to all who replied. I didn't see any real discouraging comments. I'm not at all concerned about getting rich but having a future is concerning. As for working after hours I've done that for years and have sold several pieces to customers who have come back and referred others to me. Currently, I have no free time so I've turned potential customers away!
I have a cushy engineering job that pays a modest but stable 70K a year salary with full benefits, but the only way to remain in my field without getting "bumped" by some rich kid right out of grad school is to get a higher degree. So I'm back in college taking 9 credit hours, plus doing 12+ hours a week of homework, working full time and raising a family just so I can remain employed at my stable but boring job. Whenever it's 11:30 p.m. and I'm studying for a calculus exam, I think to myself, "Is this worth it? My job is so boring and the only thing I look forward to besides family time and sleeping is woodworking in the shop."
I don't mean to whine to anyone about my horrible chosen profession, I'm just wondering if there's anyone out there that was in a similar situation (secure job, benefits, etc.) but went for the job they really loved and made it work. Or did you fail miserably and have to crawl back to work with your tail between your legs? Or should I take the ultra conservative approach because there's no real future in self employed woodworking.
Change your carreer and your life will change.. or will it?
Realize that if you go into it as a carreer you will have lost your hobby.. No matter how much you like something we all need a break from it occasionally.
The money you would earn would not be great, (there are more people who want to be woodworkers than those who can be engineers) thus the relative "value" of each.
Selling a few pieces is a lot differant from selling everything.. When you need to sell something to pay the electric bill, it's worlds diffeant from selling the results of your part time labor.. Make no mistake. at least 20% of your job is marketing! at least!
Right now you have a fall back position. If something should happen to your engineering job you could still survive on your woodworking skills, could you do the same if something happened to your woodworking skills after quiting your job?
In my opionion (and worth exactly what you've paid for it) in a while your woodworking would become as boring as your ngineering job is now (without the woodworking hobby)
King,
I know how you feel. A bad day in the shop is better than a good day at work. Your cushy job is not just 70K plus benefits but more like 30 to 40% higher with health insurance, retirement, savings plans, 401K, paid vacation, sick and personal leave, etc. Would the job be more comfortable after the higher degree and extra security? Darn nature of the buisness these days, a kid fresh out of college would love someone elses' job for 10 to 20K less, and sorry to say, so would the company.
I've heard it many times from family and friends (and I bet many others here have too). "Why don't you do woodworking full time, your work is beautiful?" Well I just can't make the money I make at my full time job doing woodworking. Maybe maybe I could but after all cushy is comfortable. So I keep my aerospace job and spend some weeknights and most weekends in the shop. And frankly at 46 I'm beat after a 8 to 12 hour day in the shop standing on concrete.
Enjoy, Roy
Thanks to all for the reality check. I guess this is what "you can't have your cake and eat it too" means. I'll just wait until I win the lottery to quit my day job.
MDF King,
I started woodworking when I was 12. I've really haven't done much in the way of jobs other than woodworking. I now make custom furniture for a living. When I started my business I had no customers, I had no savings, actually I was collecting unemployment insurance at the time. I bought a house for 170 and borrowed another 40 for additional tools and set up shop. The shop was my lower floor of my house. The first few years were terrible but in about three years things started to get very busy. I'm now backordered about 8 months to a year.
Now there are a few very large differences. I have no wife or children to support and I've been working wood most of my life. On the other hand making 70K a year I'm assuming you have some savings which will help in the start up phase because most don't make a lot of money at first. It can definitely be done but I think you should do it because it's really what you desire to do the most. It sure will be hard to match your present income doing custom woodworking but by the sound of your post I'd bet you'll be a lot happier. And for me happiness and having something to show for my hard work is all I really need.
I'd take the plunge
Cheers.
Yes, there are people who have quit dwelling in cubicles, "giving it all up" to do what they love. I am one of them. Last March 15th, I joined the ranks of the lucky SOBs who have a partial retirement locked up and waiting, while I run a business that I truly enjoy.
Although my business is not woodworking, it sometimes includes some. I'm a handyman. Starting my business was a bit sluggish at first. Then it sort of when in fits and starts. Now I have more customers and more jobs than I can handle alone. I am currently debating the merits of hiring a laborer, versus maintaing my level of perfectionism for quality.
For what it's worth, it didn't take all that long for me to become the handyman for the "carriage trade" in my town. (That's what the funeral industry calls the rich folks.) I am currently remodeling a bathroom in which the client is spending more for the fixtures, than I spent for my first two cars. I guess I never realized just how much you could spend on a toilet if you really wanted to.
One thing that you should consider very carefully. No on can make it in business, and stay married, unless thay have 200% support from the entire family. If they aren't with you and behind you, you should think again. I am very fortunate in that regard. My SWMBO is the greatest gal in the world, and couldn't be more supportive.
Best of luck -- and post some pictures of your finest pieces in the first year.
Dave
MFG
Ditto destindave. I have been WW for 30 and have no thoughts of doing it for a living. I had my own company for 14 years ( un-related to WW) and shut it down 4 years ago. Did what I set out to do and work part time for a fun company now.
Ocassionally I put something on consignment at a shop of a freind that does high end decorating. Could probaly bump out a nice check from that, but do not like to work with stress of deadlines. To me, the thrill is gone when I add these factors. dd's suggestion of getting your feet wet slowly makes sense. You don't have a large out-lay and comittment that way and if you decide it's not for you, you can stop as easily as flipping the light switch.
Good luck..you are going through what most of us have, at some point...
sarge..jt
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