Guide to Starting a Woodworking Business

Do you have a love for woodworking? If so, the thought may have crossed your mind to start a woodworking business. Doing so would allow you to spend your days doing something that you love all while bringing in some money. Unfortunately, a lot of people who want to start a woodworking business don’t really know where to begin. To help you out, here are a few steps that you should follow if you want to undertake this venture.

Make Sure You Have the Right Skills and Knowledge

First, it’s important to make sure you’re ready to start a woodworking business. If you know absolutely nothing about carpentry, chances are your woodworking business won’t go so well. And, even if you’ve been doing some carpentry as a hobby for a while now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t more to learn. So, before you jump in, make sure you know everything there is to know.

How can you do this? To start, look for local classes in your area. Your local community college may have some classes on woodworking which will help teach you the basics and get you started. Another option is to look for an apprenticeship. See if there is an established carpenter in your area willing to show you the ropes in exchange for some free help. Next, spend some time watching video tutorials online. There are plenty of video guides on sites like YouTube, which you can use to learn all sorts of things about carpentry.

Finally, the best way to learn something is often to just do it. Get yourself some basic woodworking supplies and see what you can make. Just be sure you’ve at least learned the proper safety procedures when working with wood so that you don’t injure yourself in the process.

Gather the Right Tools and Materials

Now that you have a good knowledge base, it’s time to start compiling a list of the things you’ll need. To run a successful carpentry business, you’ll need to have the right tools and materials at your side, and this isn’t cheap. To start, you’ll need things like saws, hammers, nails, clamps, levels, screwdrivers, and more. To advance your craft even further you’ll want to look into things like joiners, a CNC machine, a drill press or an oscillating spindle sander. Some of the materials required will be Seals, Wood Oils, Epoxy resin etc. The better the tools you have, the more complicated work you can do.

After you get the tools, you’ll also need plenty of supplies. Different types of wood, nails, screws, glue, sandpaper, finish and paint are all common needs for woodworkers. If you don’t have a credit card or account with your nearby hardware store, now might be a good time to get one, as you’ll be there often.

Form a Business Plan

To run a woodworking business, you’ll need a solid business plan. You can’t just put up fliers in your town and hope that enough customers find you to turn a profit. To form your business plan, you’ll need to ask yourself the following questions:

• Where can I perform my work, and how much will it cost to work there?
• Who is my target market?
• How can I best reach my target market?
• What is my primary source of funding?
• What should I charge for different services?
• How many projects do I need to complete to turn a profit?
• What sort of timeframes am I looking at?

By answering these types of questions in as much detail as possible, you can form a comprehensive business plan. Then, with this plan in place, you’ll be able to make better business decisions going forward and give your new business the best chance at succeeding.

Start Marketing

The last thing you’ll want to do is start marketing your new business. Hang up those fliers around town, but don’t stop there. Put some ads in your local newspapers, sponsor a nearby charity event, and partner with other businesses in your niche who aren’t competitors. After that, develop a digital marketing plan. Create a great looking website, have profiles on all the major social media networks, and start implementing email and inbound marketing strategies. If this sounds like a lot, consider getting some help with your digital marketing strategy to take the load off.

Get Started Today

How does a carpenter build stairs? One step at a time.  You may be excited about the new woodworking business you plan on starting, but don’t get ahead of yourself. Plan everything out and make sure you have a solid foundation in place before you proceed ahead. That way, when your business is up and running, you’ll be able to keep growing without hitting too many stumbling blocks.