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+-- Thread: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? (/showthread.php?tid=7338703)
Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - FloridaRetiree - 04-06-2018
Reason I ask is that a long time friend just informed me that her 40-some year old son has formed a business.
Also sent a few photos of what he is making and I am not impressed -- a Kamado grill surround which I can buy anywhere.
Saying this having owned a large high end shop for 20+ years, and prior to about 15 years ago.
Before giving her my opinion on his new venture I wanted to check with you guys.
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - John Clifford - 04-06-2018
Failure is life’s best teacher.
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - FloridaRetiree - 04-06-2018
(04-06-2018, 07:31 AM)John Clifford Wrote: Failure is life’s best teacher.
Sooo true.
BUT, woodworking is an addictive hobby for many, and when the family and friends compliment you on something you have done it can delude one to think about moving up to the next level.
Agree?
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - goaliedad - 04-06-2018
Say nothing. You have. I thing to gain
It shocks me the junk that people sell- and the prices they get for it. I have seen pieces at craft shows that made me want to ask if the builder knew what sand paper is. Simple stuff that requires next to no skill, and people falling all over themselves about it.
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - packerguy® - 04-06-2018
Its funny, when I started making urns over 10 years ago, most people would laugh when I said what I was doing, especially when we had four kids in toe.
But a decade of working really hard I make a nice profit now, and to the point where in the next 4-5 years my bride is going to get out of her six figure healthcare job, in her early 40's and work full time with me.
Some people still are really baffled when they learn what I do, and make money doing it. They cant figure it out because they are so conditioned to the lie that America doesn't make anything anymore.
Your take might be right, but you would be shocked how many people that have grown up in the ikea/screw together particle board furniture generation will buy something, if even poorly built if they save substantial money. Some people just dont know the difference between good and shotty construction too....but if it were me, sounds like a pretty seasonal product that is completely at the mercy of the economy and many competitors. Not a good stand alone woodworking product IMHO.
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - bhh - 04-06-2018
I looked at this 15+ years ago and probably the best advice I got was from a former owner, "There are a lot of ex-custom furniture makers out there working on paying off IRS debts." I decided to get into the repair/refinish business instead.
But (and having never been in the business) I see three types: and JMHO
- High end custom shops whose 1% customers don't care about the price or the fact that it takes you a month or more of work and will pay for it
- Production shops that turn out essentially the same thing with the help of CAD, CNC, and machinery that reduces most of the work to semi-skilled labor moving parts from one machine to another
- The rustic, cheap crap to compete with Asian imports. I am not sure that most of these people assess the true cost of business (materials, equipment & depreciation, cost of sales, insurance, taxes, & other business expenses, etc.) and are just doing something in their spare time without realizing how little they are making.
But I agree, keep your mouth shut.
Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn at no other. Benjamin Franklin
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - WilliamHodge - 04-06-2018
(04-06-2018, 06:53 AM)FloridaRetiree Wrote: Reason I ask is that a long time friend just informed me that her 40-some year old son has formed a business.
Also sent a few photos of what he is making and I am not impressed -- a Kamado grill surround which I can buy anywhere.
Saying this having owned a large high end shop for 20+ years, and prior to about 15 years ago.
Before giving her my opinion on his new venture I wanted to check with you guys.
It doesn't matter what the young man is making, as long as he can sell it. Does he have a strategy for selling the products at a profit? If so, he's good.
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - Bob10 - 04-06-2018
I was watching PBS show the other day and it was about a guy that made wood spoons and spatulas. I was thinking to myself Cost Plus about a buck a piece from someplace without not much in the way in plumbing. Yet this guy has employees and sells across the country.
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - Admiral - 04-06-2018
(04-06-2018, 06:53 AM)FloridaRetiree Wrote: Before giving her my opinion on his new venture I wanted to check with you guys.
Wish him luck. Other than that, stay silent.
RE: Anyone here have a profitable woodworking business? - Cecil - 04-06-2018
(04-06-2018, 08:27 AM)goaliedad Wrote: Say nothing. You have. I thing to gain
It shocks me the junk that people sell- and the prices they get for it.
It shocks me the junk that my ex wife bought and the prices she paid for it.
Fixed