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+-- Thread: Who is a pro? (/showthread.php?tid=7286319)
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Re: Who is a pro? - John Mihich - 05-20-2016
I'm not but my brother is. Been doing it for - probably 25 years. Cabinet maker. I get his little jobs from time to time; mostly refinishing and repair work.
Re: Who is a pro? - packerguy® - 05-20-2016
Im in my 9th year of making urns. I have built up to 250-300 a month. Id consider myself a pro at this point
Re: Who is a pro? - RLMillard - 05-20-2016
WaterlooMarc,
For years I've been saying, I can make anything out of wood, but a living. It used to be funny, not so much anymore.
I do not have a day job and make most of my very modest income from woodworking. I could never support a family on what I make, hell I can barely feed my cats. Still I'm not the most motivated person either, so I could do better. I'd gladly trade some of my innate woodworking abilities for some marketing abilities.
Rob Millard
www.americanfederalperiod.com
Re: Who is a pro? - WaterlooMarc - 05-20-2016
Wow Rob. That is some incredible work!
Re: Who is a pro? - daddo - 05-20-2016
05 mustang said:
I am a cabinetmaker.
I have worked for over 30 years with 2 different companies building & installing cabinets & millwork.
Currently work as a cabinet estimator since recently the arthritis in my knees has gotten worse.
When my joints started getting stiff and achy, I stopped eating sugar/sweets, dairy, breads and fried foods and it improved greatly!! I make Kefir and eat more salads and take minerals. Maybe it will work for you.
Re: Who is a pro? - Joel H. - 05-20-2016
WaterlooMarc said:
Wow Rob. That is some incredible work!
You ought to see it in person, he's an amazing woodworker.
Joel
Re: Who is a pro? - Scoony - 05-20-2016
I do have a custom furniture business and have made some money from it, but I consider it my hobby business. I need to keep the day job to pay the bills, but I am hoping that someday I can quit that and focus on building furniture.
Re: Who is a pro? - bigbob - 05-21-2016
I have made my living doing custom furniture for over 25 years. Now I sell more lumber then furniture. Tastes have changed. I did traditional work most of those years. Now its more contemporary. Some mission style as well. Marketing is a huge challenge.
Re: Who is a pro? - MsNomer - 05-21-2016
Rob, I feel your pain. I was a pretty decent lawyer, but I could have made about as much money as a day laborer. The skills required to make money doing X are not usually the skills required to do X.
Re: Who is a pro? - Dave Diaman - 05-21-2016
As someone has already pointed out I make my living in a shop since 2008. I'm fairly young and I think we are a dying breed. I don't know many people my age or younger making their living as a furniture maker. My bread and butter is reproduction and period furniture but I do build a kitchen or two a year. I don't like it but high end cabinetry pays really well and it is easy money for the most part. As I believe it has been stated being a talented craftsman and a successful business man are two totally different skill sets. There are not that many people who have enough talent in both areas to run a successful lucrative business. If they can make a living you can bet they are not afraid of hard work. I always say the greatest thing about working for yourself is you can work any 16 hrs of the day you want. Throw a wife and two young children in the mix and it gets that much more complicated. All I can say for anyone who wants to try to make a go of it is you better REALLY love what you do.