Some woodworking hobbyists start to perfect their craft and wonder if they can start making money from it. Some people may even want to make woodworking their primary source of income. I will explain if you can make a living woodworking and how that may look like.
Directory
- Can you make a living woodworking
- How much to start a woodworking workshop
- What makes a woodworking business successful
Can you make a living woodworking
While it may be extremely difficult, you can make a living woodworking. You can make a living from woodworking. There are many other ways to make money from woodworking like teaching classes, creating online content, or selling books. Making a living woodworking is being able to support yourself, family, and prepare for the future with the money that you make from woodworking.
Here I am talking about starting you woodworking business where you are making wooden items by either doing it yourself or outsourcing the work to others. However, here I am talking about creating wooden items and selling them to clients.
“The number one thing to make your woodworking business successful is to learn how to run a business.“
Making a living woodworking is extremely difficult, and many people make a little money as a side hustle while keeping their main job. The common issue that many woodworkers face when creating
Below I will discuss how much you can expect to spend when you set up your workshop, what makes a woodworking business successful, how to get clients, and why people are not buying you furniture
How much to start a woodworking workshop
It is easiest, and the most common, to start a woodworking business if you already have woodworking as a hobby. Without any tools, you can expect to spend an average of $1,500 for tools and materials. Many people practice woodworking for years before making profit from their hobby. Not only does it give you ample time to perfect your craft, but the learning curve will not be nearly as steep.
“While it may be extremely difficult, you can make a living woodworking.“
If you start woodworking from a hobby and already have most of the materials, then you will likely only have to pay for specialty items. You will also have the knowledge on what you really need and what you don’t.
If you don’t have any tools, then you can expect to spend an average of $1,500 for tools and materials in a wood workshop. However, this price will vary based on the tools that you need for what you are creating. This is an example of the major tools that I bought for my shop.
- Jigsaw – $30
- Circular saw – $80
- Table Saw– $350
- Miter Saw – $400
- Craftsman Drill – $70
- Sander – $90
- Nail Gun – $90
- Clamps – $50
- Router – $250
- Handmade Items ~ $90
- work bench, outfeed table, miter saw bench, clamps, jigs, router table
- Other Items ~ $150
- Other jigs, rulers, combination squares
Total: $1650 before taxes
You cost will vary based on tools you will need. I started as a hobbyist and accumulated many of my tools over the years. You may not need as many saws or a nail gun. Additionally, you may need a planar, a drill press, and more advanced jigs.
What makes a woodworking business successful
There are many things that go into starting a woodworking business from running a business, marketing, your niche, pricing, and labor time and cost. In each section I will discuss each category that makes a woodworking business successful and the difficulty to reach that success.
- Learn to run a business
- Marketing skills
- Finance and accounting skills
- Picking the correct niche
- Profitable pricing
- Confidence
- Labor time and cost
Learn to run a business
The number one thing to make your woodworking business successful is to learn how to run a business.
Unless you hire a consultant or an employee to help you set up your business, you will need to learn how to do everything yourself. I recommend getting help because it can be a very dauting task without the proper training and background.
When starting a business, you will need to learn marketing, finance, accounting, and other skills. You can take an online or in-person course, go through the plethora of online content, or get your MBA. However, you will need to learn how to run a business, market yourself, and make a profit.
“If you don’t have any tools, then you can expect to spend an average of $1,500 for tools and materials in a wood workshop.“
Marketing skills
After you learn how to start and run a business, you will then need to master the basics of marketing. This will be how you get woodworking clients. Again, you can hire an employee or consultant to take on these tasks or you can do it yourself.
Setting up a business and marketing takes a lot of training. The issue with new business owners is the amount of money upfront to start the business. As a result, they may not want to outsource many of the tasks so that they can save as much money as possible.
I tried to take that route and quickly found that I do not want to run everything myself. I ultimately quit my business because I found that I like woodworking as a hobby and not a job. However, if I decided to continue, I would have had to hire people to help me thus wasting precious time in the beginning.
To learn marketing you will need to learn from the best, take classes, and/or go to school. The business side of running a business is the most important, no matter your skill.
Finance and accounting skills
Like marketing, you will need finance and accounting to run any business successfully. Without the two, your business is bound to eventually fail. You will need to monitor business transactions, and create cash flow statements and income statements. This is by no means an all inclusive list.
To do this you will either need to outsource the work by hiring an employee or consultant or you will need to learn these skills yourself. If you do not have the proper background, then you will need to take classes to master those skills.
The number one thing to make your woodworking business successful is to learn how to run a business.
Picking the correct niche
When you start any business, you will need to find your niche. This will help you market yourself to only those who are interested in your product. When determining your niche, you will need to account for the amount of potential clients.
For example, if you are selling expensive handmade real wood furniture your market may be <1% of those looking for furniture. If you are selling wooden cutting boards your market may be 10-15% of people looking for cutting boards based on how you market yourself.
Your niche size is not the end all be all. You will also need to take into account pricing and profit to make a good business plan.
Profitable pricing
You will need to price your pieces to get an adequate profit and to stay in the market for you niche. Many new business try to undersell to get the most customers. Additionally, some new businesses try to over price their products and price out of the niche that they market to. However, when you learn how to start a business or find a consultant, you will learn why that may not be the best idea.
Confidence
Your niche will also play into your pricing. If you are selling expensive specialty product to the highest 1% of customers, then your profit should be high enough to account for the lower demand.
Labor time and cost
When you are selling an item you will need to calculate the average time it will take the make the item. Then you will need to calculate the cost to make, package, and ship the item. Smaller businesses can cut the cost by selling their pieces at local markets. Larger companies can cut the labor time with larger machinery.
However, it is crucial to take into account labor time and price accordingly for specialty orders. If you do not charge for the extra 2-3 hours of labor, then you will quickly deplete your profits.
Tip: People love to see free shipping for items. Customers are more likely to click away if they think your product will cost x and ends up costing x + $15. Either you can charge separately for shipping, or just include it in to total price.
Conclusion
In this article, we learned the essentials to learn when starting a woodworking business and if it can be profitable or not.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article and I wish you luck on your woodworking journeys!
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