easy woodworking as a side business

[karmstrn]

According to this article:

's easy to start a side woodworking business making deck furniture to earn a few extra bucks. Maybe they're right.

[Charlie Self]

Uh, sure. It's easy, few tools are needed, and...

I've got a friend who for years made lawn and deck furniture for people, sold it to a wide variety of businesses and locals, and made himself a whole 12-15 bucks an hour for working his ass off.

It isn't easy, you have to have a decent shop, not three tools, you need space for lumber storage, you need a place to display your furniture...and so on. Bobby has a front lawn on one of the businest roads in town (fortunately, a small town), so had the display area as well as a 1,000 square foot fully equipped shop. He'd been a woodworker for about 30 years at that time, and he did it pretty close to exactly right. He made money. He didn't make much more than a supplement to has wages.

As he was successful, more and more competition popped up. How many lawn/deck furniture makers can a small community support?

As usual, easy is a pipe dream, but it can be done. Now, though, in the middle of a very deep recession, buyers might be harder to find. To continue the easy theme, that may mean advertising, which may enhance sales, but increases upfront costs considerably.

[Alan Squires]

This article is known as a 'little pot boiler', i.e. it was written to make money.

I didn't see that one on the list though.

[rnrbrogan]

I will pile on with Charlie with some more considerations.

If you are talking about a cash-only retirement supplement, it might be something to consider. If you are talking BUSINESS, you need to think about things like taxes and insurance.

If you develop a taxable income stream, from self employment, your tax bill might go up with self-employment taxes...about 14% of taxable revenue on top of income taxes. Of course you might have good writeoffs too.

Woodworkers are not necessarily the favorite folks for insurance providers either. If you cannot demonstrate some near OSHA like storage and process controls your premiums can go up. Every time my home shop equipment comes up with my agent he says "Now this isn't used for business is it?". Also consider what can happen if your lawn equipment breaks under someone and they get hurt. Business liability insurance? If you get successful and need to hire help ---Workmans Comp.

Not trying to scare you off, just things to think about. I am self employed as a consultant but I am also approaching retirement. I have built some pretty classy (my words) rocking horses from contrasting hardwoods that get a lot of favorable attention. Material cost is about $200 and the internet suggests I could market them in the $400 -

500 range. With 60-70 hours of labor invested I can make a LOT MORE money shoving hamburgers across a counter at McDonalds. As a retirement supplement and labor of love, the horses are a good thing. As a business, not so good. Retirement rocking horses would probably be a cash-sale item.

RonB

[HeyBub]

Not only all that.

I had a co-worker who made trophies in his small workshop - you know, bowling league, largest fish, local golf tournament stuff. Pretty straightforward, a few blocks of nicely finished wood and commodity brass ornaments.

He got a contract from Ward's to make 1,100 small trophies of "World's Best Dad" for a Father's Day promotion. He finished the project, made a nice profit, and got out of the trophy business.

"If I never see another f*ckin' trophy, it'll be too soon!"

[Leon]

Ummmmm! The Spam'n Eggs has a different smell this morning.

[Gerald Ross]

I like Garage Sale Management. What's to manage.

[jo4hn]

[snip]

A lady in town lost several (four) of her family to cancer and car accident last year. She asked if I would build a mamorial bench for each of them, complete with plaque. I built the Japanese style bench that was on the front page of FWW last year. By the time I finished the first, I knew how to do it. By the time the last coat of finish was put on the last, my mantra was similar to your co-workers.

They do look pretty good. I'll put some photos on ABPW bye and bye. mahalo, jo4hn

[Robatoy]

Ahh yes. That wild-eyed desire to "Be My Own Boss".... "take all the time-off I want, sleep in when I want, rolling in the dough, buy what I want, go on long vacations, the chicks will all dig me, because, I'm, rich, Rich, RICH!!! HhahahHAHHYHYYAAA..*coughs*................*flat-lines the dream*

Life is MUCH easier when on somebody's payroll.

Is it as rewarding?

[Lew Hodgett]

================================= Ahh yes. That wild-eyed desire to "Be My Own Boss".... "take all the time-off I want, sleep in when I want, rolling in the dough, buy what I want, go on long vacations, the chicks will all dig me, because, I'm, rich, Rich, RICH!!! HhahahHAHHYHYYAAA..*coughs*................*flat-lines the dream* ==============================

Did you miss out on that part of the fantasy?

=================================== Life is MUCH easier when on somebody's payroll.

Is it as rewarding? ============================== Ya, but it's not half as much fun.

Lew

[Charlie Self]

message

If articles written to make money are potboilers, then about 99% of articles are potboilers. I've written maybe 2,000 articles, all to make money. Some even did.

That one is probably written to please an editor who thinks "10 Ways To..." or "10 Best ..." are fantastic headlines.

[Charlie Self]

LOL. You gotta get all the unsold junk back inside in te right order so it can come out and be unsold at the next garage sale.

These articles are in a league with those in women's magazines, "10 Best Ways to Hold On To Your Man," "10 Ways to Lose Weight," "10 Ways to Clean House Effortlessly," and so on. Basically, mindless bullshit.

[Leon]

LOL. You gotta get all the unsold junk back inside in te right order so it can come out and be unsold at the next garage sale.

These articles are in a league with those in women's magazines, "10 Best Ways to Hold On To Your Man," "10 Ways to Lose Weight," "10 Ways to Clean House Effortlessly," and so on. Basically, mindless bullshit.

LOL Probably a pretty darn good comparison you have made here Charlie!

[HeyBub]

As long as you're going to work for a loon, it might as well be yourself.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I've done both with varying degrees of success. Working for yourself is tougher than working for someone else. As for rewarding, that depends. If you mean working on the assembly line putting knobs on the toaster as it goes by, I doubt it very much. Being in a position with responsibility can have many rewards. I have my dream job and actually enjoy going to work.

[karmstrn]

So the article is probably just ill-informed fluff. I can believe that.