working from home shop

[chizlr40]

hi all don't get on that often but I have a question. I am retiring in a couple of years and thought about doing some woodworking jobs to supplement my income but I am not sure. I have done some jobs for friends and stuff through the years but it was always at my own pace. didn't charge a lot, In fact probably undercharged. don't what to do to much but am afraid if I do more it will take the fun and enjoyment out of it. any opinions or experience. thank you for any replies.

[museumguy]

I know for me, I never charge enough, which is why I don't do a lot of side work. There are those on here that do make a living working out of their shop so hopefully someone will be able to help.

[TomFromStLouis]

For me charging for work changes everything about being in the shop. Suddenly the clock matters and setbacks become more stressful. Maybe that's just me.

In any case, I HAVE sold some work, but only work I chose to do and then offer for sale, never a specific commission. My line is "I do not take commissions, but I do woodworking favors." If the favor involves lots of wood then I charge that cost. Everyone (except LOML) seems to understand that their number of favors is not limitless.

If I were retired and wanted just a little extra cash then this approach would change, but right now my focus is on making things I enjoy making at a pace that is my own. Your goals and priorities in the shop will provide your answer on this subject.

If the work you are going to accept is pleasurable and the client agreeable then the clock and money is really of secondary importance.

[Bill Holt]

For the most part my customer covers my out of pocket expense...no labor.  If someone wants something specific, I tell them "The good news is I'm cheap at $25 per hour, the bad news, I'm very slow".  I only do what is interesting to me.

So far I'm happy.

[Hank Knight]

I worked most of my life trying to please my clients and not always with great success. It is a stressful, anxious way to live. My woodworking hobby is mine. It's for my pleasure. Many people have suggested that I start taking commissions, but I have no intention of doing so. I do not want to return to pleasing other people for money, especially not with my hobby that I love. I work at what I want, when I want, at my own pace and I have no one to please but me. That's the way I like it.

[cvillewood]

I recently started a small part time Woodworking business. The income isn’t needed so there is no pressure there. I take commissions as I want, and don’t set deadlines. That being said I still work on them and try to turn them around in a timely manner.

But a goal of mine is not to take the fun out of it - leave time for shop and home projects, restoration projects, etc. and my family always comes first.

As my kids grow and I have more time, the more business side of making furniture for income might (hopefully if I want it to) start to take more time.

My main advice is not to undervalue your time. I can’t say I’ve ever hit an estimate for labor hours, and if I only charged $20/hr I’d be hosed and basically be working for free. If you make high end nice stuff, charge for it. Buyers are out there. When you devalue your time is probably the start of the fun going away.

[EricU]

maybe find something you can sell at craft fairs.  Doing commissions seems like a can of worms

[jteneyck]

hi all don't get on that often but I have a question. I am retiring in a couple of years and thought about doing some woodworking jobs to supplement my income but I am not sure. I have done some jobs for friends and stuff through the years but it was always at my own pace. didn't charge a lot, In fact probably undercharged. don't what to do to much but am afraid if I do more it will take the fun and enjoyment out of it. any opinions or experience. thank you for any replies.

I started taking woodworking jobs after I retired; not because I needed the money, but because I wanted to build things and my house was full of stuff I had already built.  I don't charge based on time and materials.  That is a poor approach to pricing, especially for a hobbiest.  Yes, I figure those out but as a hobbiest you likely won't have the machines, set ups, and experience to be nearly as efficient as a pro shop.  What they do in a day might take me 3 or 4, often because what I'm doing is the first time I've ever done it, but also because of my machine limitations and shop logisitics.  Besides, watching the clock guarantees your stress will climb.  I tried it when I first started doing work, and I almost always missed my estimates, then I'd press to work faster, that would lead to a mistake, etc.  I soon realized that was no way to work.  I wanted to have fun, not turn my hobby into a real job.  So that all led to how I price work - what I believe it's worth to the customer.   I always start by telling people if they can find what they want at a store they should buy it there because I most likely will be more expensive.  That has gotten rid of a couple of tire kickers who thought a hobbiest would/should work cheap.  Nope, never said I was cheap. You soon figure out by talking with people what they want and need, and how interested they are in the project.  I have been fortunate to have found some people, or they have found me, that are really interested in something.  They want to participate in the process if not the actual work, the conceptual design reviews and decisions, choice of materials, finish, molding details, hardware, etc.  When you find people like that, the further you get towards developing a quote the better you will understand what the price should be and the more confidence you have they will approve your quote.  Cearly I need to charge more because I've only ever had one quote rejected, and he came back a year later and bought it.  But I get paid for what I think the work is worth to them and have a lot of fun building things I never would get to build otherwise.  Taking these jobs has made me a better woodworker, too.  Paying clients rightly have an expectation of basically flawless work, wood w/o knots if that's what's called for, grain that matches and flows well, crisp fitted joints, and a consistent, quality finish.  You can't say good enough when you are selling your work, it simple has to be right.  What you sell defines your reputation so make sure it represents the one you want to be known for.  

The danger here is getting sucked into more work than you want or jobs you don't want to do.  It's pretty hard to say no, especially to a prior or, even worse, repeat customer.  But I'm learning to, and I'm learning to carve out "me time" where I do work only for myself.

One unexpected benefit has been meeting some really great people, a few of whom have become really good friends. 

So give it a try if it's of interest.  You're in control as long as you don't go into debt buying new machines, etc. thinking your profits will justify them.  Start small and see if you like it.  If you do, great, do more; if you don't, stop.  It really is that simple. 

John

[Dave Diaman]

I make a living out of my shop. Something I found out early is to not take commissions for things I know I don’t want to build. I build period reproduction furniture. Early on I took commissions for other styles of furniture too simply because I needed the work. I found that if I was working on contemporary furniture I was just miserable. My heart simply wasn’t in it. As I became more established I quit taking anything that wasn’t a period piece. Also as others have said don’t give away your time. You should start by figuring just custom furniture makers charge $65-$100 an hour. If you are fast then $100 an hour, if you are slow, well, it will depend how slow. You can obviously only charge so much for a piece before you price yourself out of the market. Your final hourly rate will be determined by what you decide to build. Some work is more lucrative than others. Do yourself a favor and shop around at some furniture and craft shows to see what the market is for what you make. I know when I first did this I was surprised. Good custom pieces bring a lot of money. It isn’t unrealistic to see a good philadelphia Highboy with a price tag similar to that of a nice 4 door sedan. I’m in my shop every day and still love what I do. I have been at it for about 10 years so it can be done. I also have two young boys (7 and 8) who get a great deal of enjoyment out of the shop too. On occasions I start to feel like I am burning out so I force my self to do something different for a few days. After a few day I’m back in the shop and feel great again.

[AgGEM]

I decided to put a couple of pieces up for sale to see what happens. They were two tables that I would enjoy making again, so if I got a buyer, I woulld again, be building something that I enjoy. Sigh, no takers as of yet.

But I think that is a good way to think about it, if you sell, fine. If you don't, fine too.
Ag