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    Woodworking Business 101
    Woodworking Business 101
    Woodworking Business 101
    Ebook79 pages2 hours

    Woodworking Business 101

    By A. William Benitez

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This book, like all my previous books on woodworking, is based entirely on first-hand experience as a full-time, self-employed woodworker. While running your own woodworking business is a lot of work, it's also an adventure that I enjoyed for over twenty-five years. This book is another opportunity for me to share my experiences with you and others interested in operating their own woodworking business.

     

    As indicated by the title, this is a basic business guide and is geared specifically for the one person woodworking business. In the one person operation, you are the cabinet-furniture maker, the designer, the sales person, the accountant, the helper, and the clean-up person, all in one. You have a unique opportunity to learn all aspects of the business and your level of financial success will depend on learning it all. This is no small feat and requires a dedicated person who is willing to learn every day.

     

    Before coming to woodworking I worked in my father's construction business beginning as a cleanup person, progressing to helper then to carpenter and builder. Finally, I ran my own business. My experience with building cabinets and furniture was almost nonexistent because as builders we usually hired out the cabinet work.

     

    I took a stab at being a general contractor and built several homes and did quite a few large remodeling jogs but I got tired of the entire process of coordinating the work of subcontractors. So many times homeowners were disappointed because subcontractors failed to deliver on their promises. While discussing this problem with a contractor friend he asked me, "Do you know how you can tell when a subcontractor is lying?" I couldn't answer that question so he answered it, "His lips are moving." That is certainly an exaggeration but at this that time I could relate to what he meant.

     

    I developed my cabinet and furniture making skills by fine tuning my carpentry and building skills, reading everything I could find about woodworking, and practicing on projects for myself. I also learned that making the best possible use of your present skills is a great way to grow a woodworking business and it is one of the subjects in this book. Getting a successful start in the woodworking business requires taking full advantage of all your abilities, getting paid well for your work, and developing a long list of very satisfied customers to serve as good references for the future.

     

    There are many levels of woodworking ranging from the extraordinarily well designed and constructed heirlooms to basic cabinets and furniture. Contrary to what some publications would have you believe, most people are not looking for nor willing to pay for heirlooms. Those who are willing to pay for heirloom quality are often looking for woodworkers with proven track records and a reputation. Even if you do get some of those jobs, unless your skills are up to the task it could be problematic and even if you can deliver an acceptable product, you could wind up making minimum wage or less because of the time involved. I'm definitely not trying to discourage you from building heirlooms for customers, just cautioning that an extraordinarily high level of skill is important for this kind of work. If you have those skills then there is no reason not to accept this kind of project.

     

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBill Benitez
    Release dateFeb 15, 2022
    ISBN9798201018559
    Woodworking Business 101
    Author

    A. William Benitez

    From age twelve I spent my summers and weekends working with my dad, a general contractor, building homes and buildings. I contracted my first home at age nineteen and built my own home by age twenty. I’ve operated one-person businesses for more than 30 years. Twelve years of my life were spent working for local government managing federally-funded housing programs. I started as an inspector with a three month assignment and left as Director of Community Improvement with 78 employees twelve years later to do writing and consulting. Writing, Publishing and Consulting I established Rehab Notes Library, a publishing company that published a monthly newsletter (Rehab Notes) with subscribers in all 50 states, Canada and England and nine books on housing related topics. I also did consulting and public speaking on housing related topics for agencies and organizations in cities across the country. After 1980 when most federal funding was pulled from housing activities, I took advantage of my construction and business experience and started a handyman and woodworking business. Over Twenty-Five Years of Woodworking For over twenty-five years, first in Tampa, Florida and then in Austin, Texas, I built hundreds of small and large cabinet and furniture projects for individuals, companies and government agencies. During these years I began writing books about my experiences. Positive Publishing My company, Positive Imaging, LLC at http://positive-imaging.com, does what I call positive publishing for my books and the books of other authors. To date I've published over a hundred print and ebooks and presently have several books in various levels of completion.   

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      Book preview

      Woodworking Business 101 - A. William Benitez

      PREFACE

      Back in the mid-eighties I wrote a little book called Simplified Woodworking 1: A Business Guide For Woodworkers. It was an interesting book based entirely on my limited experience during my first years as a full-time woodworker. It was well received and got great reviews from woodworking magazines including Fine Woodworking. It still contains valuable information but is definitely outdated and has been out of print for years.

      I was reading through a copy recently and realized that it could be of real value if all the information it contained were updated and supplemented with a lot of new and valuable lessons that I learned over the next twenty years in the woodworking business.

      This book is comprised of everything in Simplified Woodworking 1 that still applies after all these years, many things in that book that could be updated to be applicable to the present time, and a long list of additional information learned during many more years in the woodworking business.

      I think you will find Woodworking Business 101 of real value and I would definitely appreciate hearing from you at bill@positive-imaging.com .

      INTRODUCTION

      This book, like all my previous books on woodworking, is based entirely on first-hand experience as a full-time, self-employed woodworker. While running your own woodworking business is a lot of work, it’s also an adventure that I enjoyed for over twenty-five years. This book is another opportunity for me to share my experiences with you and others interested in operating their own woodworking business.

      As indicated by the title, this is a basic business guide and is geared specifically for the one person woodworking business. In the one person operation, you are the cabinet-furniture maker, the designer, the sales person, the accountant, the helper, and the clean-up person, all in one. You have a unique opportunity to learn all aspects of the business and your level of financial success will depend on learning it all. This is no small feat and requires a dedicated person who is willing to learn every day.

      Before coming to woodworking I worked in my father’s construction business beginning as a cleanup person, progressing to helper then to carpenter and builder. Finally, I ran my own business. My experience with building cabinets and furniture was almost nonexistent because as builders we usually hired out the cabinet work.

      I took a stab at being a general contractor and built several homes and did quite a few large remodeling jogs but I got tired of the entire process of coordinating the work of subcontractors. So many times homeowners were disappointed because subcontractors failed to deliver on their promises. While discussing this problem with a contractor friend he asked me, Do you know how you can tell when a subcontractor is lying? I couldn’t answer that question so he answered it, His lips are moving. That is certainly an exaggeration but at this that time I could relate to what he meant.

      I developed my cabinet and furniture making skills by fine tuning my carpentry and building skills, reading everything I could find about woodworking, and practicing on projects for myself. I also learned that making the best possible use of your present skills is a great way to grow a woodworking business and it is one of the subjects in this book. Getting a successful start in the woodworking business requires taking full advantage of all your abilities, getting paid well for your work, and developing a long list of very satisfied customers to serve as good references for the future.

      There are many levels of woodworking ranging from the extraordinarily well designed and constructed heirlooms to basic cabinets and furniture. Contrary to what some publications would have you believe, most people are not looking for nor willing to pay for heirlooms. Those who are willing to pay for heirloom quality are often looking for woodworkers with proven track records and a reputation. Even if you do get some of those jobs, unless your skills are up to the task it could be problematic and even if you can deliver an acceptable product, you could wind up making minimum wage or less because of the time involved. I’m definitely not trying to discourage you from building heirlooms for customers, just cautioning that an extraordinarily high level of skill is important for this kind of work. If you have those skills then there is no reason not to accept this kind of project.

      Just remember that most prospects for woodworking are looking for good, practical, well designed and built furniture, cabinets, and other wood products that are attractive and will provide years of satisfactory service. If you can build and deliver this quality work rapidly, your business will be profitable. This is what I did for over twenty-five years. During those years I did built very few heirloom quality pieces for customers willing to pay for them but mostly I built much simpler projects that were appreciated by many who found it to be quality work and affordable.

      When I wrote Simplified Woodworking 1 I had developed that term to refer to the basic methods that I was using to make my projects easier to cut, assemble, and finish. Even though I now build cabinets and furniture only for our home, I still use the same basic tools and efficient methods, using hardwood plywood with

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