Many of you began as amateur woodworkers before growing into a professional career in woodworking. If you have successfully made the transition yourself and built a business, or if you are seriously considering making the transition from amateur to pro, then tell us your story! We’ll be featuring any amateur-turned-pro woodworkers with a story to tell or questions about taking the professional leap, so feel free to reach out…
Jeffrey Roltgen of Roltgen’s Woodworks, Rapid City, South Dakota first dabbled in woodworking as a teenager. Years later, his serious interest has grown into his primary profession. Here’s Jeff’s story and some of the lessons he has learned…
I’ve always had a passion for furniture, especially the design aspect of it. This is my fourth year making furniture full-time, but I’ve been at it for ten years in a serious fashion.
It all began in grade school, I was a musician, I started making speaker cabinets, believe it or not. That led to making bases for a local sculptor. And then a friend who worked for a gold company suggested I submit designs for a jewelry display case competition, and I won. That’s when I realized that I needed to start doing this full time.
In the early years, I gained experience in not only furniture making and repair but also sales by working for a retail company. Retail exposed me to trends and styles in the furniture business, taught me how to repair damages, and I learned all about customer service… I gained exposure to different types of customers: it was stunning to see that some people would settle for whatever they could get just so they could get out of there, and others really wanted higher quality furniture, made in this country and built to last. I think we’re on the cusp of a new wave of people looking to buy things internally. I thought, gee, well I could make it for you…
As I began to build my business, I tried out many different marketing strategies: five or six years ago, I listed a few pieces on madeinsouthdakota.com, the state-run site for showcasing locally made goods, but didn’t get any leads from it. Could have been for a variety of reasons – timing, stuff didn’t quite fit the aesthetic of some of the other local south Dakota work, that site didn’t bring in the types of people interested in custom furniture. I also listed in the phonebook, but it didn’t yield much. The types of people that are looking for the stuff I make weren’t looking there.
I built my own website. We, as Americans, like to sit back and browse these things on our own terms – you can do anything from wherever you are, that’s the beauty of the internet. It was a start, but the only way people used to find me on the web was when I pointed out my URL on my business card. I also thought, well how in the world do I get to the top of the google search?! A few months down the road, I decided to join CustomMade to gain both more exposure for my personal site, greater visibility on the web in general, and much better search ranking. But at the end of the day, it’s not just about getting the leads; you still have to be good at working on a sale.
As a Professional woodworker, I need to sell the pieces I make. I do like to sit down with a client in their home, find out what they need, and then help them envision the best solution for their needs, and it’s really fun to get a customer’s fingerprint on the design process, but these people have to be very happy that they called me…You have to help the client understand exactly what they’ll be getting…
To get started on CustomMade with a FREE Profile, click here.
Comments
I've been into furniture making since elementary school. I started out self taught, but now have a formal education in industrial woodworking and fine furniture making. I have experience in both production environments and custom shops. I have a fully equipped workshop on my property and am ready to go. Where my strengths are lacking, I have a assistance from friends and family - i.e. the business end. I plan to work along side them and learn along the way as I believe it is important to learn this side of the business as well. Other then a mortgage I have zero personal debt, and zero business debt.
I feel like I am in a good position, but I'm stuck right now. I have precious little time to dedicate to projects. The last piece I built was done sporadically over a 6 months period. Obviously I'm not going to get anywhere that this rate. I barely have time to build, let alone market or advertise. It seems part time furniture making is a full time job. I put every productive minute I have into it, but is nowhere near enough. The only realistic way I can see this working is to cut back hours at work, however I cannot afford to do that.
I'm curious to know how others managed to get off the ground without burning out. I am wide open to suggestions and advice.
Hi everyone!
The farthest memory i can recall was me playing under my father's workbench. Furniture and cabinet making has been a family tradition as my late father use to tell me stories about his grand dad teaching him how to push the smoother plane. I got my share when I was in fourth grade, i was ten that time, and since then I would help my father every summer in the wood shop.
I was 12 when I assembled my first side chair, bed and bedside table. When I got 15 I was already doing piece rates against the old timers. That was also the time I got interested with purchasing machines and machine components. That same summer I assembled my first fabricated table saw and it was awesome, my mother would always tell me that other teens are assembling bicycles and that I should too and not waste so much time and money for finger cutting monsters.
I must admit that I love this trade very much that I believe I was born for this! I started my first workshop in our backyard and was marketing my trade to my classmates' parents and neighbors doing small projects like closet cabinets, garden benches, and the bestseller of all time: beds! Woodworking made my every summer complete.
I was very young that time and my folks thought that I should consider taking engineering, so I did. But here in the Philippines, carpenters aren't looked up to. My father couldn't put me through till the last year of my education because "he was just a carpenter" as what people say.
So I stepped out of college and thought about what to do with my life. I applied for a job in Kuwait as a carpenter and landed as a cnc operator because of my autocad knowledge. I was having a ball, receiving good salary and earning respect from my bosses. However, I find being an employee is not my thing. I wasn't born to be forced to work and be forced to go home when I don't feel like to so as abstract as it may seem I filed for resignation. Everybody was shocked with the idea no one believed me till I was heading for the airport.
I returned to my shop and exploited all my skills. Turned to the internet, post my designs and projects and marketed my trade to almost every possible way. I am basically doing everything here from marketing, designing, purchasing, carpentry and finishing (both varnish and automotive duco painting) I am planning on building my own cnc router and lathe but I guess it will take some time. Now I am back in my shop working like a horse in a civil war but it doesn't bother me. Now I am enjoying my 27th year as a woodworker. My body may be always tired but I am happy like a sunflower in the summertime.
Just a thought; It would be good if people submitting their stories could also give their ages when they decided to turn pro. This is because I suspect many people will be asking if they have left it too late in their lives for the career/life change and so some comparators in this area would be useful.
In response to comments by fromey, I am 44 years old. I did things a bit backward you might say - at my age typically you find someone looking for a desk job/ less physically demanding careers. However, I've been fortunate enough to be healthy and in reasonably good physical condition, so I suffer no physical discomforts at this age. In fact, I enjoy the physical workout this career provides.
For anyone contemplating a career, you should realize the following points are crucial as to why I am still in business:
1> For 6- 8 years prior to going full time, I worked 45-55 hours/week at a day job, then woodworking 1-2 hours a night, plus 12-20 per weekend. I realized that running a business was the same, and I would simply be shifting weekday work to woodworking as well.
Between delivering/meetings/design work/ shop visitors/ material procuring, you will see weekends as your time to really produce. I believe Christian Becksvoort put it best - if you get 5-6 hours a day in actual woodworking, you're doing well. The rest of your time will be consumed by what he called "diddly-squat".
Be honest with yourself: how passionate am I about this woodworking business? It requires full physical and mental involvement to a point of consumption. These are reasons I enjoy it, but for many, this will end their enjoyment of the work.
2> Diversity. I see others struggling in specialty branches of furniture/cabinetry. Be proficient at all aspects of production that you can: Sales, Design, Fabricating, Finishing and even repair - stripping and re-finishing is a great fill-in asset. Do not expect to build strictly furniture. I've spoken to others at shows with fantastic studio furniture on display, confessing they too must take on less than optimal jobs in order to keep the flow.
I have a meeting to attend, so I'll cut off at this point.
Jeff
Just a side note...These are great posts, comments and stories. Please keep them coming!
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in