pghmyn Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 I am in college for a Civil Engineering degree, and I plan to pursue that to it's fullest. Even thought this is the field I am entirely interested in, I do have a considerable love for woodworking. In a perfect world, I would have my full time career as a Civil Engineer and a small part time job as a custom furniture/finish woodworker. Is this something that is even feasible? If I was to do this, I was thinking something small out of a shop about half the size of Marc's new manly shop. Just a table saw, planer, jointer, and few other basics. Little more than I work with now. Also, I am not wanting to do this to become rich, but just to occupy my time with two professions that I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Why not? I've had part-time side careers all my life. Sometimes you may need to make decisions as to which one might be the "real" career, but there's no reason not to try. There are some fantastic furniture makers out there who also work a "day gig". In fact, there's school of thought that says you might be able to do better work, as you can make your own decisions on time spent without it affecting the mortgage payment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghmyn Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Why not? I've had part-time side careers all my life. Sometimes you may need to make decisions as to which one might be the "real" career, but there's no reason not to try. There are some fantastic furniture makers out there who also work a "day gig". In fact, there's school of thought that says you might be able to do better work, as you can make your own decisions on time spent without it affecting the mortgage payment. That is a very good point about not affecting the mortgage and being able to make better decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 i say treat it like a hobby that makes you money and treat the other like a job to pay the bills. when im pushing to do a job for money i seem to do my worst work but when im just having fun and making a random one off project i do my best work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBaker Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I LOVE woodworking. That being said, making my living at woodworking ruins a lot of the fun. At the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is a woodworking project for myself. I have seriously thought about getting a lathe so I can tinker in my garage in the evenings for just the fun of it. When I finish a day in my shop, I just want to go home and get away from the "job". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid-woodworker Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I have both, although the woodworking doesn't pay the bills it does allow me to do more than I would be able to if it didn't bring in any money. BRuce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 I LOVE woodworking. That being said, making my living at woodworking ruins a lot of the fun. At the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is a woodworking project for myself. Yup.... Hate to say it but there's something to be said for this statement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 Perhaps I am able to answer thiis question. I have an electrical engineering degree. (Can't spell geek without a double E) I have an MBA. In real life I am a sales engineering regional manager. But I have a tiny home business as well. I take on 3-4 projects a year only for word-of-mouth clients. I do no advertising. I don't have a website. Even with that, I turn down more projects than I accept. For me, this is a perfect scenario. My hobby/business is a great diversion from the real world. (BTW - I should mention that I really like my real job. I am very blessed.) I only take projects that interest me in some way. Either a chance to learn a new technique or a challenge of some sort that I find interesting. I have done some pieces that I am really proud of. I've done projects as small as a penbox, or a tongue drum and as large as a home office suite, or a murphy-bed built in. But the key thing is if the project doesn't excite me, I don't do it. Because my real job pays the bills, and because I have the greatest wife on Earth. I am able to evaluate every potential job with this thought "Would I take this job or build this piece even if the client wasn't going to pay me?" If the answer is yes, then I give the client a bid. There was a period of time a few years back when I thought about leaving my real job and making a full time go of my hobby/business. But then I realized I wouldn't be able to use the above question to qualify if I'm going to bid on a job or not. I never want to go to my shop with the "I have to make the donuts..." attitude. For me, being small time keeps the love alive. So yes, an engineering degree and a small home woodworking business can co-exist. By the way, my entire shop is just under 600 square feet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghmyn Posted November 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 Perhaps I am able to answer thiis question. I have an electrical engineering degree. (Can't spell geek without a double E) I have an MBA. In real life I am a sales engineering regional manager. But I have a tiny home business as well. I take on 3-4 projects a year only for word-of-mouth clients. I do no advertising. I don't have a website. Even with that, I turn down more projects than I accept. For me, this is a perfect scenario. My hobby/business is a great diversion from the real world. (BTW - I should mention that I really like my real job. I am very blessed.) I only take projects that interest me in some way. Either a chance to learn a new technique or a challenge of some sort that I find interesting. I have done some pieces that I am really proud of. I've done projects as small as a penbox, or a tongue drum and as large as a home office suite, or a murphy-bed built in. But the key thing is if the project doesn't excite me, I don't do it. Because my real job pays the bills, and because I have the greatest wife on Earth. I am able to evaluate every potential job with this thought "Would I take this job or build this piece even if the client wasn't going to pay me?" If the answer is yes, then I give the client a bid. There was a period of time a few years back when I thought about leaving my real job and making a full time go of my hobby/business. But then I realized I wouldn't be able to use the above question to qualify if I'm going to bid on a job or not. I never want to go to my shop with the "I have to make the donuts..." attitude. For me, being small time keeps the love alive. So yes, an engineering degree and a small home woodworking business can co-exist. By the way, my entire shop is just under 600 square feet. Pretty much described my perfect scenario. The projects I complete are exactly as you describe. I take them on with the intent on learning or using a new technique or touching up on something I need to get better on. I "warn" my clients of this before hand, and they are all for it. Usually it is friends or family that I complete projects for. I also give a pretty good price on the pieces. I did a set of bedside tables for $150 (which is just a tad over the cost of materials). This was a "baby-shower" present that I made, seeing as when I visited their house they did not have any and really wanted some. The entertainment stand I am on now is going to run about $200 in materials, and we agreed that $400 is a fair cost. So, that $200 helped me pay for my new favorite tool, the Festool TS55EQ. I like to take the money I make from projects and invest it into tools for just that. This way, I can self-sustain the hobby that I really love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarton22 Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 I actually use my woodworking as an enhancer for my regular job. I am the design director for the architecture firm I work for. That means that I need to be on my design game all the time. So coming home and experimenting in the shop helps clear my mind (woodworking is therapeutic for me) and it lets me explore forms that I have piling up in my head so that when I design at work, I have a clarity of vision. I like that in my shop I do MY designs. In my job, I have to design for other people. The fact that I make money on the side with it is just a bonus. When I get custom orders, it definitely takes some of the fun out of it. But I do them because there is a lot to learn by doing it. My current business model would not support me if I quit my day job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise Gaul Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 For those of you doing pastime commission work, how did you develop your skills and how did you find your markets? I know Chet mentioned word of mouth only. You all are describing exactly what I see as my future goal. Now I have to develop into that goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 For those of you doing pastime commission work, how did you develop your skills and how did you find your markets? I know Chet mentioned word of mouth only. You all are describing exactly what I see as my future goal. Now I have to develop into that goal. I think I am somewhere between your starting point and where chet and pghmyn are. So I can't fully answer, but for me it has almost all been freinds and family. I started with a toy box for my daughter's room, then pretty soon my parents wanted one, and then my in-laws wanted some laundry pedestals, my sister wanted a built in bookshelf/entertainment center, pretty soon a buddy from college wanted me to make him a humidor, and things just progress from their. I should mention that I did probably 2-3 projects of my own in between each. It doesn't happen fast, and its completely unpredictable, for me at least. I do reccomend once you start doing things that aren't immediate family, order yourself a box of business cards. I think they run $10-$20 for 250. Then just stick them in anything you sell or give away. For example, I just started learning to turn. I did some pens, and have sold 4 thus far, and one of them I sold on Ebay, led to the person asking me to make them a set of 6 for their office staff. They are simple fountain pens, so it isn't a big bid or anything, but its a good start. One thing I reccomend is getting a decent digital camera if the budget allows, and just take pictures of everything you do. Whether it is for you or a client. Upload to a free web hosting site until you are ready to build your own website. I use shutterfly. This isn't meant to be a business website, but just a place that customers can go and see some of my past work if they would like. Good Luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise Gaul Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Hi Chris, All amazing advice and greatly appreciated. I'll be doing every single thing you mentioned. My photography skills need a brush up FOR SURE. Again, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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