The Dream - Many woodworkers dream of making a living using their skills. From the outside looking in, it seems an enjoyable livelihood and it certainly can be. It's a worthwhile goal for anyone who really loves woodworking. After all, what could be better than making your living doing something you really love.
After spending more than twenty years making my living with woodworking, I would never discourage anyone from trying it but I would definitely caution them to have a true picture before jumping in. If you really know what is involved you will either change your mind or be prepared for any difficulties.
Making A Living - First, realize that what you will probably be doing, if things work well, is making a living. If your taste run to living in luxury, it's unlikely to happen with the output of one woodworker. There are very few woodworkers who are getting wealthy from this work. These are the few who have become famous and make much more from their books, magazine articles, product endorsements and TV appearances than from woodworking. A few of these sell their woodwork projects for enormous sums because of their fame. Unless you become famous, you will have to sell and produce a lot of woodwork to make a good living.
Your Own Space - If you are fortunate enough to work from your garage or a shop space that you own, your costs will be much lower. If you must rent a space, as I did, then your monthly expenses will include additional rent, electricity, phone, garbage pickup, security, etc. It all adds up and means that you must produce a minimum amount of work each month just to pay those bills and of course, your personal bills.
Constant Marketing - The romance of woodworking must be balanced with the constant marketing necessary to keep the work coming in. In time, word of mouth brings in lots of work if you develop a good reputation. Until then, you must get the word out consistently. Once the work comes in you must have good production methods so you can complete the projects promptly and keep the money flowing. If projects take too long and the money flow stops, it can become difficult to pay the bills. Speaking of money flow, you must develop and adhere to consistent collection methods. This is one area where many woodworkers fail. The payment for the work must be as important as the work itself. If you are lax in collecting, you will run into customers who fail to pay you and this will cause serious cash flow problems.
The Business - Even though you love woodworking, you must do the business if you are to make a living at it. Success requires an in-depth knowledge of both woodworking and business management. If you don't have both, I suggest you hesitate to jump in until you have honed your business skills.
Looking back I realize that my lack of knowledge during my startup many years ago could have been offset with some basic information and someone to advise me.Unfortunately I had to learn most things by trial and error.
Bill Benitez owned and operated his successful woodworking business for over twenty years. He has written several books for woodworkers. Check out his newest book now at:
http://woodworkers-business-guide.com
For valuable woodworking information and pictures of projects check out Bill's web site at:
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