sgregory Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 I am thinking of starting a part time business creating smaller, quick turn around projects to earn some extra money; which in turn can finance some bigger projects. My question to some of you long time woodworkers is this: what are some of those smaller projects I can turn out that have a decent profit margin? I've batched out quite a few of the end grain cutting boards in different sizes and have had mized luck. I am in WI...and being new to selling my items vs. giving them away as presents...I really dont know what to do! I would consider my skill level above average, but well below a master. I have been doing this hobby for about 10 years now so I have a good base of knowledge. But I also have a limited shop...my shop being my garage Any input would be greatly appreciated! -Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 i have done a few craft shows and people want unique iteams. for example when i batched out pens while everyone thought they were cool they took long time to sell even though i was selling for 10$ but the small turned keep sake boxes with simple inlays in the top i made and sold for 40 bucks each and they took about the same amount of effort. so my advice is if you do the craft show thing make stuff that is unique looking and artistic. and usualy its women that buy stuff at those sales so make stuff that a women would pick up and want to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Boxes, cutting boards, birdhouses, patio furniture, wine racks...... The problem is where to sell them consignment shops, farmers markets, roadside stand, craigs list, ebay, etsy, out of the shop sales...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 I have framed a lot of photos and mirrors. These are relatively simple, and can be easily customized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgregory Posted March 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Thanks guys, I appreciate the input! Some of those things I hadnt even thought of. Most of my projects that I do currently focus on furniture and toyboxes... I think I will try to bang out some unique jewlery / keepsake boxes. Next thing will be to figure out how to sell them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgregory Posted March 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 and is it just me, or when you try to price your items out by looking online do you wonder how they come up with that exorbanant price? I was pricing the endgrain boards I do and see them in the 300+ range. Below is a sample of one I did (not my best sample, but one I like the coloring of) what would you guys figure a good price would be on stuff like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 stick with lumber you can get localy, find a small mill that you can buy lumber from rough cut. to save money then you can carry that saving to your customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 and is it just me, or when you try to price your items out by looking online do you wonder how they come up with that exorbanant price? I was pricing the endgrain boards I do and see them in the 300+ range. Below is a sample of one I did (not my best sample, but one I like the coloring of) what would you guys figure a good price would be on stuff like this: 300 for a cutting board? I would think the ceiling for price would be much lower for a product that you beat up with a knife daily! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgregory Posted March 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 stick with lumber you can get localy, find a small mill that you can buy lumber from rough cut. to save money then you can carry that saving to your customer. I do have that; in a fashion. Kettle Moraine hardwoods has dang near anything I want all in rough cut that I usually mill myself. A lot of my larger glue ups I end up taking back to them as they have a huge drum sander they let you use for a small fee. has anyone had much luck in the way of building items like kitchen tables (sans chairs) for sale? I see so many of those things in furniture stores for a small fortune that I know i can built just as well if not better. I spent the weekend just going around to fine furniture stores to get ideas of what people were buying...and the prices just blew my mind. and those are from factories; not hand made. guess I should just stick to small items for now to get my name out there and start building a client base as well as upgrade my tools / get additional tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Hi Sgregory, I am in WI too, and live near the Hartford KM Hardwoods. Their prices are good for rough cut (#1 Common) domestics, but they ding you a bit for exotics or turning stock. The problem with larger builds like tables and chairs is that you will sit on the inventory for a long time between sales, unless you are contracted to build a custom piece. Do your best to find some smaller projects that people will want, that can be shipped some what inexpensively. The easiest way to build up a reputation is to amass several recommendations. Word of mouth will spread, eventually and you can get some bigger projects. Big projects are very hard for a part timer to get on their own. Both to solicit and complete in an acceptable time frame. You may want to consider using a marketing site like Custommade.com. It lets you bid on projects, but you pay a hefty premium for the jobs you land (10%). The biggest problem I have with bidding out larger projects is that shipping can be as much as 50% of my material costs, so it's tough to compete unless it is a local build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 just what i was going to tell you get a client base then use the small cash to fund your supplies and tool buys. build a table or what not on request. that is one thing you will be able to sell is custom work. if i went to walmart if i got a shelf i have to make do and hope it fits fairly well. in my house is a strange nook that is set into the wall between the furnice chimney and turn in the hallway so i have a 2feet by 1 foot depression in my hallways. its weird but it is what it is . i built a shelf that fits in that space perfectly looks like a built in shelf. no store in the area had something that was 8 feet tall, 2 feet wide, and 1 foot deep. when you have people who buy from you you can offer indiviual service and make them something that they want exactly. im only a hobiest but the hoby has paid for itself i bought my lathe and all its parts, my carving motor, scroll saw, and band saw. with cash from craft sales and saving my change every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 has anyone had much luck in the way of building items like kitchen tables (sans chairs) for sale? I see so many of those things in furniture stores for a small fortune that I know i can built just as well if not better. I spent the weekend just going around to fine furniture stores to get ideas of what people were buying...and the prices just blew my mind. and those are from factories; not hand made. I would not bother with craft items like boxes and cutting boards unless you can find a small shop/store to actually sell them for you. Id do only larger item. Tables and chair dont sell fast but they do sell. Put some on CL and see what happens. I sold a maloof copy table on CL years ago. It was purchased by a designer that now buys them on a regular basis. Crafts are quick and fun but they are a dime a dozen, every joe woodworker across the US is doing the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgregory Posted March 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 Hi Sgregory, I am in WI too, and live near the Hartford KM Hardwoods. Their prices are good for rough cut (#1 Common) domestics, but they ding you a bit for exotics or turning stock. The problem with larger builds like tables and chairs is that you will sit on the inventory for a long time between sales, unless you are contracted to build a custom piece. Do your best to find some smaller projects that people will want, that can be shipped some what inexpensively. The easiest way to build up a reputation is to amass several recommendations. Word of mouth will spread, eventually and you can get some bigger projects. Big projects are very hard for a part timer to get on their own. Both to solicit and complete in an acceptable time frame. You may want to consider using a marketing site like Custommade.com. It lets you bid on projects, but you pay a hefty premium for the jobs you land (10%). The biggest problem I have with bidding out larger projects is that shipping can be as much as 50% of my material costs, so it's tough to compete unless it is a local build. Hey Chris! nice to meet a local guy. I drive though there dang near everyday. i live in Fond du Lac and work FT in Milwaukee...so I know your area well. I signed up at CustomMade. Figure for $1 might as well. Maybe i can focus on smaller furniture items with unique inlays or something of that nature. I, myself, am a Vet and might try doing for Armed Forces inlays or something unique in that arena for some item to capture a niche i havent seen addressed. Augmenting those projects with some easier bang out projects to keep income. Thanks so much guys for your input and keep any ideas you can think of coming! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghmyn Posted March 26, 2013 Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 Hey Chris! nice to meet a local guy. I drive though there dang near everyday. i live in Fond du Lac and work FT in Milwaukee...so I know your area well. I signed up at CustomMade. Figure for $1 might as well. Maybe i can focus on smaller furniture items with unique inlays or something of that nature. I, myself, am a Vet and might try doing for Armed Forces inlays or something unique in that arena for some item to capture a niche i havent seen addressed. Augmenting those projects with some easier bang out projects to keep income. Thanks so much guys for your input and keep any ideas you can think of coming! Steve That's a heck of a drive. I live just south of Milwaukee and have to drive to Oconomowoc every morning for work. I couldn't imagine FDL to Milwaukee. As for your idea, my dad used to do craft fairs and had quite good success. He would build random furniture and what not, and he had good and bad days. He built these random benches from scrap wood and sold out in the first 2 hours making about $1,000 (net, not profit). But, there were days where he just covered the gas to get to the place. I say try it out, and see what you can do. I want to make some items that can be packed flat and semi-assembled by people. Basically and IKEA type model, but with much higher quality materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted March 27, 2013 Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 The problem with some of the craft shows is the times they get put on... Sometimes they require you to show up Fridays mid day for set up. And, particularly since my "day" job is actually weekends, this interferes with weekend shows. If you can get family and friends to chip in for sales, you can add help. Also, check out some of the Renaissance Faires out there; you might be able to get some wooden swords or "cheap" knick-knacks out in other seasons to stretch your sales periods out. Locally, we have a Yankee Peddler festival that mimicks RenFaires: there's another option for you. If you can make a contact with a gallery, you might be able to make small pieces or small furniture they can display other art on.... and sell on commission for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgregory Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 I finally have a webpage; not quite as clean / polished as I want...but I have a lot of tweaking left to do. Put together a facebook page too. @jhop, I agree with the craft fair things. Here, in my town, we have maybe 3 per year. Im looking at local shop that may consider consigning larger pieces (and some smaller shelves / trunks) and thought about working out a cash deal with them for the consignment %. This avoids both of us having to worry about 1099's etc. I figure if I try that, more might be amicable to consigning for me if they can end up with $ in their pocket. http://timberridgewoodworking.com/wp/ -- website https://www.facebook.com/pages/Timber-Ridge-Woodworking/140612362783140 facebook (feel free to like it ) Thanks again guys....I hope this pans out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 I fixed the links, so if you tried before and got "page not found", try again. Nice table! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 I finally have a webpage; not quite as clean / polished as I want...but I have a lot of tweaking left to do. Put together a facebook page too. @jhop, I agree with the craft fair things. Here, in my town, we have maybe 3 per year. Im looking at local shop that may consider consigning larger pieces (and some smaller shelves / trunks) and thought about working out a cash deal with them for the consignment %. This avoids both of us having to worry about 1099's etc. I figure if I try that, more might be amicable to consigning for me if they can end up with $ in their pocket. http://timberridgewoodworking.com/wp/ -- website https://www.facebook.com/pages/Timber-Ridge-Woodworking/140612362783140 facebook (feel free to like it ) Thanks again guys....I hope this pans out! Dont fool yourself. Businesses are more likely to do business with you if you stay above board. Its alot easier on their books to deal with you. You dont need a 1099 for under $600 a year. Do yourself a big favor and dont use other peoples pictures on your web site without permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Looks like a good start Sgregory! A few things that will help you land some bigger clients. First, consider investing in an D-SLR camera. A decent one will set you back about $500-$700. It's tough to swallow, but customers won't give you the time of day if your work is photographed with low resolution and poor lighting. Even the best work will look questionable. Second, get familiar with Google SketchUp. I didn't do this at first, but I have found it to be incredibly helpful for custom jobs. People who are not craftsmen can have a hard time visualizing, so SketchUp helps with that, and it's free for both of you. It has the added benefit of helping you assess materials, and time needed to complete a project. I had a bad habit of discounting how much time it takes to build with proper joinery. Don't forget to take and post pictures of personal projects too. You never know when someone will see something they like, and want to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 I have to disagree with spending money on a dslr. A decent dslr will set you back alot of money because the lens is where the money is. I have a cheap panasonic lx5 that will shoot on par with any crop dslr for internet product photos. Your posting low res on the web anyways. Good lighting is the key, dont crop and dont zoom. Cheap work lamps and bed sheets for diffusers is really all you need. I use a panasonic lx5 for almost everything except things that will go to print. Anything that will go to print I hire out or use a canon 5dmk2 and a 85 1.2 lens. I doubt you will ever need anything expensive to take your product photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Or, you could find a college student who is doing a photography class and needs studio efforts to complete a classwork project. YOu will have to add transportation worries, but you can get by with a cup of coffee or half a pizza instead of a couple hundred bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 I have to disagree with spending money on a dslr. A decent dslr will set you back alot of money because the lens is where the money is. I have a cheap panasonic lx5 that will shoot on par with any crop dslr for internet product photos. Your posting low res on the web anyways. Good lighting is the key, dont crop and dont zoom. Cheap work lamps and bed sheets for diffusers is really all you need. I use a panasonic lx5 for almost everything except things that will go to print. Anything that will go to print I hire out or use a canon 5dmk2 and a 85 1.2 lens. I doubt you will ever need anything expensive to take your product photos. The main reason I recommend a dslr is for the flexibility to use different lenses. Point and clicks are adequate for some things, but auto-focus is a major weakness imo. Especially if you are working on smaller objects, and want close ups. Most of my sales are high end pens, so perhaps that is just unique to my niche. In my experience, taking a high res pic and compressing gives better results than taking a mid res, or low res pic and just uploading. It may just be my opinion though. Also, auction sites like Etsy, Custommade, Ebay, etc allow, even encourage, high res pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgregory Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Dont fool yourself. Businesses are more likely to do business with you if you stay above board. Its alot easier on their books to deal with you. You dont need a 1099 for under $600 a year. Do yourself a big favor and dont use other peoples pictures on your web site without permission. Thanks for the heads up; as for the 2 pictures I took off Google images I had no idea as to how to contact those people but they were the closest to the 2 tables that I have actually done and have since lost pictures of. (over the years and computer stuff, I have lost a ton of pics of projects I have done:( ) Thanks for fixing the links though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgregory Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Looks like a good start Sgregory! A few things that will help you land some bigger clients. First, consider investing in an D-SLR camera. A decent one will set you back about $500-$700. It's tough to swallow, but customers won't give you the time of day if your work is photographed with low resolution and poor lighting. Even the best work will look questionable. Second, get familiar with Google SketchUp. I didn't do this at first, but I have found it to be incredibly helpful for custom jobs. People who are not craftsmen can have a hard time visualizing, so SketchUp helps with that, and it's free for both of you. It has the added benefit of helping you assess materials, and time needed to complete a project. I had a bad habit of discounting how much time it takes to build with proper joinery. Don't forget to take and post pictures of personal projects too. You never know when someone will see something they like, and want to have. I actually have a page on my webpage devoted to sketchup I use it all the time even for myself to help visualize a project! I even sprung for the pro version a couple years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Thanks for the heads up; as for the 2 pictures I took off Google images I had no idea as to how to contact those people but they were the closest to the 2 tables that I have actually done and have since lost pictures of. (over the years and computer stuff, I have lost a ton of pics of projects I have done:( ) Thanks for fixing the links though! You still should remove them. Google images is not public domain. Id remove them before an image bot grabs one and you get to pay legal fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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