Resistance when I mentioned I wanted to start a wood working business

[lesuer27]

I was in the military when I started my first furniture business. I sold curly Koa to furniture to Martin and Macarthur on a small scale. I decided I would get out of the military and pursue woodworking full time. Although I made 4-500 a week at my peak just selling cutting boards at the local farmers market, I eventually decided to get an accounting degree.

Now I am an accountant at city hall in and I hate it! I have tried several other accounting positions and hated them almost as much. I did my first woodworking event and didnt sell much but had alot of interest, and now my wife wants me to give up again pursue my masters in accounting! AAUUUGGHGH! But the problem is that this was her idea to help me keep my sanity! She even ordered my business card and registered me for the event!

Anyone else have this problem? Experience? Need to vent like me? Advice? or want to tell me to stick it out at accounting becasue woodworking is hard? ( I have been doing it for hobby for 10 years)

I didnt konw where to post this, but it seemed like a newbie question :0)


Edit* by the way my first woodworking business failed because I told customers that I wouldnt build/install their item because I wanted to stay in my Niche (and really i was unsure of my abilities). It was part of my business model but was a huge mistake!

[DickB]

In my opinion woodworking as a hobby and as a business - sole means of support - are very different. I am a hobby builder and I do sell items, but my prime motivation is not to make money.

Woodworking as a business is hard. You must work efficiently and make very good use of resources to make money. If I take 5 instead of 2 hours on a project as a hobbyist, no big deal. In a business, that could put you under. What do you plan on making? Is it unique, or is it a crowded market? Can you maintain sufficient volume to pay yourself an adequate salary?

I feel one of the most overlooked aspects is marketing - how are your customers going to find you?

I had a friend who tried to get into the cabinet-making business. He was not in it long. BTW he found that he could order raised-panel doors much cheaper than he could buy them, so he was basically building and installing cabinet carcasses.

I urge caution.

[lesuer27]

Thanks Dick for the reply!

You really got me to turn the old cogs and think about my strengths and weaknesses!

I do believe I have a solid business plan, and through my past experience, failures, and successes, I believe that marketing is my strongest point! With one phone call, and email with picture, and a meeting I had a returning customer that purchased $5000 in cutting boards over the summer! It's all I could make at that time as I was full time in the military, but I also have had great success with farmers markets, people have contacted me again and again for years asking me to build them a cutting board for a wedding or aniversary. If I was able to get someone talking, I could sell them something, so sales is a major strong point too. Where I fail is getting the items turned out in the shop, I fail to setup my shop, and take the time to keep it clean enough to work in, but I always work really hard at what I do, and everything comes out perfect, or it doesn't get sold.

I have a bunch of ideas for marketing, everything from attending events, large social media presence, art booth, and contacting custom furniture stores like I have in the past. I have even thought of contacting realtors and other people who like to give out gifts to their clients ( an engraved cutting board is the best closing gift a realtor can buy in my opinion). The problem is, I think I can out market my production! My focus (if I get another chance) is to market, market, market, sell, sell, make. I have learned alot from accounting!

A friend of mine supports his entire family engraving names on shiny little pieces of metal that goes on a bracelet. He quit his big time supply chain management gig to do that with his wife, and have been at it for 4 years. He spends$100 a day in advertising on etsy, and has been willing to help me set up my shop.

I feel like I'm back trying to sell this to my wife again with this rant ;) ha!

[Canemaker]

Bottom line is your wife depending on you being the sole provider and having enough income to support your family as well as your wood working career. I have a friend who just recently gave up his high tech job and is only doing wood working. He has an Etsy store and seems to be doing well. He also sells cutting boards and a vast array of other items he has made using his 4x8 CNC which he built himself. He has recently finished a guitar and has orders for several others and has a contract doing plaques. As far as myself, it's only a hobby as I give most everything away. My wife tried the accounting avenue for several years and hated it as well, except for a stint doing taxes for farmers. (something quite different w/travel and adventure). So if your not the sole provider, go for it...

[DianMayfield]

I have 5 months and 3 weeks left at my day job... Finally getting into this full time. My company was bought by a big guy. For 3 months I believed I was just part of the transition team. I couldn't have been happier, or scared, lets be honest :) Then, just two weeks shy, I must have impressed the wrong person and they offered me a job. I took it, more I think because I had lobbyists, and they were on the way out. How graceless of me not to accept, right!?

Gotta say, I am miserable. So now, I am banking the money until the end of the year, then its all about my 3 machines and me and a dust collector :)

Have a 1 year safety net, you can't leave the family frightened of the future. You cannot measure the value of ending the day loving how you spent it. You will be more loving to those around you as well... it's contagious.

[lesuer27]

. My wife tried the accounting avenue for several years and hated it as well, except for a stint doing taxes for farmers. (something quite different w/travel and adventure). So if your not the sole provider, go for it...


What did she switch to? My wife has been pushing me to do accounting for farmers, thats I ironic! We live on a mini farm, and I thought it would be a neat avenue for us to do some farming and farm accounting and woodworking. If one business took off, stop all the others and focus on that one.

[lesuer27]

I have 5 months and 3 weeks left at my day job... Finally getting into this full time. My company was bought by a big guy. For 3 months I believed I was just part of the transition team. I couldn't have been happier, or scared, lets be honest :) Then, just two weeks shy, I must have impressed the wrong person and they offered me a job. I took it, more I think because I had lobbyists, and they were on the way out. How graceless of me not to accept, right!?

Gotta say, I am miserable. So now, I am banking the money until the end of the year, then its all about my 3 machines and me and a dust collector :)

Have a 1 year safety net, you can't leave the family frightened of the future. You cannot measure the value of ending the day loving how you spent it. You will be more loving to those around you as well... it's contagious.


Congrats! See, what do you do to keep money flowing through to keep 3, THREE! machines running? Not looking to steal your niche but seriously thats alot of sawdust and noise!

To be fair, I have a pension from the navy and I own our house and shop outright, I already have all the tools that I need including a gang rip, molder, drum sander, and ofcourse the carvewright. We wouldnt get into a dime of debt to start it, the only risk is "ruining my career."


Oh and I love that last line! Everyone around me could tell how excited and at peace that I was after the vendor market, I had hope!

[lesuer27]

Just to throw some added thought into the discussion, I have also thought about manufacturing wood products instead of doing crafts. I know we have tough competition, but the markets are changing.

The market is already there. Go to the store, every where you turn we see wood products. Someone has to make those products. I know that all of it comes from overseas where everything is cheap to make, but i read a blog somewhere, and the author had a contract for 5000 wood boxes within a few weeks of starting his business. Pricing and timing would have to be spot on in order to fill that order, but I would give it a shot if I could find an order like that.

Also, another guy I knew made wood chairs for restaurants for all over the country. Seems like that would be an awesome gig as chairs are unique and fun to build and see the finish results.

To add to the predicament that I am in, I can get my own logs turned into planks and kiln dried for .72 a board foot. This really helps the bottom line and to make everything affordable. There is no shortage of free logs where I live, everything from walnut to pine. People sell table slabs around here for $500 plus, so I can keep cash flowing through the business that way aswell. Get a walnut slab kiln dried for $15 and sell it for a few hundred bucks!

[Canemaker]

Well, knowing what you have in equipment, home and inventory, I see no reason you shouldn't take that one giant step. As far as my wife, she went from accounting about 25 years ago to selling online. There will always be someone that needs accounting services so I don't see the risk for "ruining your career" you could always do taxes and/or accounting on the side. The City that I live in has for some reason a very large artist community and wood working professionals. There are several people that make original one of a kind pieces of furniture, pool cues and many other wooden items and they all see to do well in that area. Craft shows aren't for everyone, but there are other avenues such as linking up with artist consignment shops, gift shops, etsy, ebay, etc. I don't think I could be happy making 5000 of any one item.

[want2b]

Interesting question. Never was in a position to make it. My thought would be what would be the end result of either a success or a failure? Can you/family survive either? Your mention several 'options' of things to do in the 'wood' arena. A lot of what you have mentioned was about others successes but only in one 'deal'.
Can't give you an answer that is guaranteed but it's obvious you're not happy doing what is current. If you never make the jump you will always wonder, if you at least have the safety of knowing you can 'go back' to something from your experience?
Luck,
Rick H

[DocWheeler]

Lesuer, when I read your post I had to reply. I too considered accounting at one point in my life thinking that it would solve my problem of supporting my family after becoming "disabled", even though I did not care for that vocation (I ended up in two other occupations, but that is another story). If for no other reason than your mental health, do not try to support your family with a job that you don't like!

[lesuer27]

Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement and things to think about. I really enjoyed reading all of your posts. I want to take the plunge, but cannot without full support of my family. Alot of you have mentioned mental health being a problem at a job you hate, I have been hearing friends and fam tell me that for 2 years. My wife mentioned "maybe mcdonalds is hiring" haha! She is ready for me to move on cause she wants to see me happy, but she is not ready for the risk of a business.


What I might be able to do is teach my 9 year old son how to create signs, and then I'll just cut the wood for him so he can feed it into the machine. He would love it and it would be a great way to teach him a skill. He can then post the items online and maybe we can grow the business organically while I work.


About accounting...

I do like accounting, and the people I work with are really great, they are just not great to work with. I am use to mechanics, service members, shoot I even had a great time working with the nurses at the hospital. I sat down with a vet yesterday for lunch and we just talked for an hour about how great the military community is, and how we would do anything to get back in! Anyway, I would work for myself as an accountant, but unfortunately I just am not "gifted" in it, and don't have the knowledge required to go off on my own. I know more about wood working and auto mechanics then I do about accounting, even though I have been working as one for 3 years, and have gone to school for it 4 years! Accounting makes sense to me, but its not natural like tangible things are.

Beside the woodworking business I am also considering going back to school as I have GI Bill benefits left. I am just not sure what to go back for, but I have tossed around the idea of getting my MS in accounting, maybe it would help fill in any knowledge gaps, and I could do taxes and bookkeeping on the side like some of you mentioned. If you had 2 years of free school, and wanted to go back, what would you do?

[bjbethke]

Hi Lesuer27; I don't use my CarveWright unit for a full time Business. I belong to Club Wyndham and use there Condos to travel across the USA - To offer my Wood Carvings for sale.

Do you know how to make the CarveWright wood patterns? It helps a lot if you do not need to buy all your pattern files. I print all my own Business Cards with my carving images on the back side. and my address and Email on the other side.

I could send you some samples if you "PM" me your Email address. I don't use my Phone Number for my Business; It messes up the book keeping. If you send me a Line Drawing, of an image you would like me to try to make for you. I have lots of Customers that do that; I work on donations for that service. I live in Yellville, AR 72687. I also use my PO Box 652, Yellville, AR 72687-0652 for my Business.

I live on a small home place, 10 Acres, I have a shop full of wood working tools, Two Carvewright units, A band saw Mill that cuts 16 inch 24 feet long logs. I dry and plain all my carving wood. I like making Clocks. and rectangle carvings that fit in the US Post office mailing boxes; three carvings can fit in them. I started this in 2007 and have over 5000 pattern files. I turned 80 years old last May, not sure how long I will keep this up. BJB

[edsingletary]

Not to put a damper on things, but my woodshop is for hobby carving. Iv gone to numerous shows and no one wanted to pay what it costs to make. So I continue on doing what I love, but as my hobby. I'm retired so I can afford to spend 8 to 10 hours on a single project.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[oscarl48]

It is about finding a niche that needs filling in your area or market. This is also a hobby for me and I mostly give my projects away or sell at cost but I would love for this hobby to be able to pay for itself some day.

I live near a military base that has two excellent plaque stores and on-base wood shop that supports that population so my market is a bit saturated. It hurts my ego a little but they are also better than me. I buy my lumber from the base wood shop. They also have a full size cnc machine (4'x8') and several large format engraving laser to support the base craft projects.

BJB, you have a few more decades in you. We need to see the century mark though I am only half way there.