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From Hobby to Hustle: Starting Your Woodworking Business Ain’t That Scary

Pete Sutherland

Start small. Don’t rush. 


This is going to be a bit of a longer one. Starting a woodworking business takes dedication, creativity, and strategic planning. You might find yourself scratching your head thinking “How the hell am I going to make money doing this” but if you truly love woodworking and work on improving your skills, you will. 


Work out what you enjoy in woodworking - Although our business has changed direction since the days in the rented garage, I still look back on the early days fondly. For those of you who have followed me for many years will know that I love a recycled skate deck chopping board. I must have made a thousand of the things. Sold them at markets, online, to friends and strangers. I can’t remember when I first discovered recycling skateboards but it grabbed me. Lots of colour in something that shouldn't bet be so colourful. My favourite chopping board that I use at home is a recycled skate deck one that is about 6 years old. Still going strong. 


If you love plant stands, if you love chopping boards, if you love picture frames. Do that. Make it fun. You won’t make a million dollars but it doesn’t matter as long as you’re enjoying it. 


Find a workspace - If you are lucky and have access to a garage or a workshop then you are already miles ahead of most people. I began by renting a single car garage off a lady about 30 mins drive away. It was the right price (very cheap) and I could make a bit of noise. We have had three other workshops since the garage days. One had the roof collapse from too much rain so we had to leave. One got knocked down for apartments so we had to leave. Where we have been now for the better part of 4 years has been great. I started by renting half of the space out to another woodworker then took over the whole space when he moved overseas. Not sure how much longer we will be in this space as we have certainly begun to outgrow it. 


Workshop 1 - The mozzie filled garage



Who's Your Crowd? - Are you targeting homeowners, businesses, or interior designers? Originally I thought my chopping board market would be young men online. I was so wrong. The majority of the people who bought the recycled skate board chopping boards were middle aged women and men at markets. Make sure you take note of who you sell to as you’ll be able to use this knowledge to advertise more accurately down the track. 


Workshop 2 - Where the roof collapsed


Business basics - I am the first to admit I am terrible at busniess admin. If it weren't for my heroic wife Beth there is no way we would be in the position we are today. My only advice is, find a Beth. You can’t have mine. Work out a decent pricing structure so you can make a little bit of money to get by on. Don’t be greedy. There is always someone willing to undercut you. 


Tools - I am going to go into more depth about what tools to buy and when in a future episode of this dribble. Basically.. Start with the bare essentials that you NEED for a build. You may WANT for a brand new sander but you may not need it straight away. Try to only use funds from items that you sell to buy new tools. There was a time when I was starting out when I had to decide wether I wanted nitrile gloves or screws as there was no money in the budget for both. The screws won. I had epoxy on my hands for weeks.


Workshop 3 - Now apartments


Exposure - Get a logo,  Get a website built. Don’t think that you will build stuff and people will magically see it and buy it. You’ll need to book into markets, get a social media precedes going, harass your family and friends to buy things, deal with jerks on Facebook Marketplace, stick stickers on pub toilets and work out any way to get people to see your business. Yell it from the rooftops.


Give it time - It won’t happen overnight. If you are able to be poor for a while or supplement your income with another hustle/job you will see things grow. I’ve been guilty of not seeing the growth over the years. It is important to take a step back and see where you started. 


Current workshop


You don’t have to have everything perfect to get started. The most important thing is to take that first step—whether it’s making your first sale or just setting up your workshop. Grab your tools, pick your first project, and start building your woodworking business today.

What’s the first thing you want to make and sell? Let me know—I’d love to hear your ideas!



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