Tips for starting your own home-based woodworking business
Self-employment as a carpenter provides independence. He allows for the unique situation where he can create wood products, furniture and cabinets at a pace that is comfortable for him without anyone looking down on him. You essentially become your own boss. If you’re tired of the rapidly changing job market and growing demand for tech workers, then woodworking provides a degree of technical stability. The woodworking industry is very slow to evolve and unless you are involved in the highly computerized and mechanized CNC end of the market, the woodworking industry is very traditional. There are many types of tools and machinery used in conventional woodworking dating back a century or more, to give you an idea of how relevant any knowledge you gain will be in the future.
You’ll also need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a self-employed carpenter versus having a day job. A day job often provides stability and a regular source of income without the need to worry about the next paycheck. Of course, we know that this is not always true, especially in today’s rapidly changing economy and the threat of a downsizing or job loss is a reality. However, until this happens, a day job is a reliable source of income. However, the downside of spending forty hours a week at a day job depends on the type of work you do, and more importantly, do you enjoy what you are doing? If there are so many people in the workforce who get little to no job satisfaction, then you should follow your dream and investigate the idea of becoming a full or part time carpenter.
Being in business for yourself involves more than just woodworking. There are other aspects of a business that you need to consider. Other things to worry about outside of carpentry include: bookkeeping, inventory control, equipment and tool maintenance, purchasing, marketing, advertising, and shipping. These aspects of a business take valuable time away from the main carpentry, but are necessary for the business to survive and thrive. However, you will learn to manage these other business-related tasks in due course, and once again return to woodworking as your primary focus.
Important questions to ask yourself if you want to start woodworking as a business:
Have you successfully made furniture or wood products before?
Are you comfortable dealing with clients?
Are you familiar with the joinery used in carpentry?
How skilled are you at applying finishes to wood products, furniture, and cabinets?
How long does it take you to make a wood product or create furniture?
Are you able to work within deadlines?
Can you handle businesses that detract from woodworking?
These and other questions are at the core of any woodworking business and you will have to deal with these issues at one time or another.
I haven’t touched on the immense satisfaction that comes from the independence and freedom that comes from being a self-employed carpenter. Speaking from personal experience, I can attest that the freedom gained is unparalleled. There is no longer a need to dress up and travel back and forth to a workplace that may provide little satisfaction but mostly only financial security. Guaranteed jobs have also become a thing of the past. In my opinion, the often small and irregular income that is a part of being a self-employed carpenter is well worth it. You will also need to determine if you can survive as a carpenter at this point in your life, however, by weighing your monthly costs which include housing, family expenses, etc.
More information on the subject of woodworking business can be found at: http://www.woodskills.com/Courseware/WoodworkingBusinessCourse.html