FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS I HAVE MADE MY LIVING AS A CARPENTER, WORKING IN ALL PHASES OF THE CONSTUCTION FIELD. IN THE LAST 12 YEARS OR SO I HAVE ENJOYED PERFECTING THE FINISH END OF THE BUSINESS INCLUDING QUITE A LOT OF FURNITURE MAKING.(90% OF MY OWN FURNITURE HAS BEEN HANDCRAFTED IN MY SHOP). I’M GETTING TO A POINT WHERE I NEED TO SPEND MORE OF MY TIME IN MY SHOP BUT AM NOT SURE HOW TO GO ABOUT ACTUALLY MAKING A LIVING AT IT.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE ON MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM FULLTIME CARPENTER TO FULLTIME FURNITURE/ CABINET MAKER?FINDING THE MARKET (I. E. PAYING CUSTOMERS) IS MY BIGGEST CONCERN.WHAT RECOURES SHOULD I USE TO TAP INTO THAT MARKET?
Replies
I've had my best luck contacting furniture refinishers & antique restorers. Some will need repairs or replacement parts that are more than they can handle. Some want you to work for nothing (same as any kind of customer :-) ). Others appreciate the time & expertise necessary to do the kind of work they require & are easier to work with.
Once you establish a rapport (sp?) you may also start getting referrals from them due to the people who contact them asking 'Who can make or build ..........?'. In my case, I do no finishing due to lack of space & ventilation in my basement shop, so whoever made the referral gets the finishing part of the job.
One way I use to weed out the time wasters & 'tire kickers' is that I'm up front with potential customers & tell them 'If you can find what you want at a store, buy it because I can't compete with the price. However, if you want something no store sells, then lets talk.' I'm also up front with the fact that something I build is custom made & will probably cost a bit more....but it will also be of better quality.
Best of luck,
Paul
I hope your not in the same town I am. It was considered the furniture manufacture capitol of Michigan at one time , The reason is , I'm trying to set up business custom building and repairing furniture, have 25 + years experience working for furniture manufactures. Unless you have built up a good reputation over the years or have lots of word of mouth advertising and all the equipment bought and paid for , money in the bank to cover the bill for 6 months. Think it over real good, Right now the economy is not back on tract. I have been working with a Grant finder and that has not been the way to go ether. Then you get the customer that talks to you for some time to build them some thing , Taking up your valuable time and don't have the money , but still want it, I've learnt from the past dealings, 50% down before you even start, $50. to $100.00 for design fee, and get a finial ok of the drawings and how they want everything before starting any thing. Any more questions?
contact me at :[email protected] Grand Rapids, MI
Be more then glad to help. GOOD LUCK !
Jay, Have you been working for yourself these last 12 or so years? Even if not, these past customers are a great resource for your new work.
I also am making that transition from field carpentry to shop work although my focus may be a little different. I am doing what ever comes my way as far as shop or mill work. My entire client base are previous customers and referrals from those people.
In the last year and a half examples of work (in my new 1500 sq ft shop) have included stairways, 24 interior doors, arched doorways, vanities, beds, sewing tables, exterior shutters, pantry make-overs, repairs of various furniture peices, ..... I quess my point being that some of this work may not be considered furniture, but it does keep me in my shop where I want to be. (Of course there is always the installation aspect.)
My lady also created a website for me (mostly for fun), but it is nice for people to immediately see the quality and type of work you do. A "photo" portfolio is great for closing deals as well as sparking new ideas (sometimes more elaborate) and more fun for you.
There are quite a few books on attracting clients for woodworking and managing your business. Taunton ought to have these. I will look up the titles and authors and write back if you like.
Hope this helps and good luck!
Bill
BillSams,
You might consider posting your web site here so we can see your work.
AlanAlan
http://www.alanturnerfurnituremaker.com
Alan,
I apologize for not previously posting a web address... http://www.jwsjoinery.com
Bill
I still work full time elsewhere, but am nearing retirement and love woodworking. I sold 8 pieces of furniture last year - not enough to live on but surprising to me, since I have limited time to build things, and have made minimal sales effort. Sold through the web and through recommendations.
I recommend a web site - minimal cost to do - but be sure to include prices. Lots of people show pictures, but you don't want to waste your time on someone who is expecting a different type of work than you provide, and it shows your customer that you are serious.
A friend who has been in the business quite a few years also recommends a listing in the yellow pages - the interior designers find him that way.
Another full time woodworker I met spends a fortune on photography and catalogs... but his business is currently very slow. He also uses galleries, but they take a large percent, and the furniture is subject to damage at your expense. So my feeling is to avoid those approaches. ________________________Charlie Plesums Austin, Texashttp://www.plesums.com/wood
Jay - I did the same thing years ago, and I agree with the others here to build on existing clientele base, but here are a few additional points. Number One thing is that no advertising has worked well for me, except reps, but in your direction - in addition to whats been discussed and getting a website, is for you to do some shows. I've had marginal success at fine art shows in hi-end districts. Do not waste time doing "crafty" shows, but find your states art council and get a listing of shows, then submit a slide portfolio for a good, local, art / craft show. I've seen many furnituremakers at these kind of shows and they always get spinoff work. I showed hall mirrors and tables, and got entertainment center business at some shows.
Don't be a doofus in your print advertising either. I saw a guys business card that simply said "George's Cabinetmaking" and minimal contact info. I would never buy anything from him if I were a client. Do some cool catch phrases, a few colors on the card - even print up color card on your computor to start off with. Companies like Modern Postcard sell full color photo post cards of your work + company info for 99 bucks for 1000 cards.
Never sit back assuming your last ad campaign is going to ring the phone off the hook - keep at it militantly.
Remodeling is also a nice source for cabinetwork too, and remodel work is good in slow economies. Visit and network with all your local building contractors too - they might sub out a lot of cabinetwork to you - they did for me.
"The furniture designer is an architect." - Maurice DuFrenes (French Art Deco furniture designer, contemporary of Ruhlmann)
http://www.pbase.com/dr_dichro
Bill
Great workmanship, and a nice, easy to understand website! Don't you just love goldens?
I made the switch from construction carpenter to shop work a couple of years ago (albeit with some detours like finishing a college degree and a few years working in an Architectural firm). Its not easy and really does take some (a lot!) reserve cash. The best help I found was a local "start your own business" class. No matter how good your work, you need to know how to manage capital and hopefully have some idea of the value of your work. Do a business plan. Finding your market is closely tied to exactly what you're building, i.e. the style modern, Federal, Mission (and did you know that the term "Mission" is not in the style of the Spanish Mission system but relates to a socialistic mission to bring good quality, less ornate furniture to the masses) etc.
Like Paul, I send tire kickers to some web sites of mass produced furniture and the local unfinished furniture store, if they come back, its because they really want something unique. All my work is from word of mouth, I haven't gotten a single call from print ads so I suggest you don't waste your money except maybe a business listing in the phone book (NOT a yellow page ad). If you have a portfolio of furniture already built, you're well on the road. I have had a few "open house's" and invited by architect and interior designer friends and piled them with food and drink; it works!
Good luck,
Norse
I've been down this road and have a couple of suggestions to make- the first is, TURN OFF THE CAPS LOCK.
Second is don't bother with the 'hand-made' label. The majority of customers couldn't care less if something is hand made or not. Their Mercedes isn't hand made, nor is their Sony TV.
Your best chance lies in selling them your personal attention. Concentrate on built-in furniture, especially kitchens. Reason, if they want to buy table and chairs they can go to a large store (at whatever price level suits them) and choose from hundreds, see what they are getting, know when they are going to get it. Most customers, even rich ones, find it difficult to visualise furniture from drawings, and you will waste hours and hours talking through endless possibilities with them. With kitchen cabinets especially they can easily grasp the concept of 'cupboard' so all you need to do is workout the layout and the style of fascia and the type of wood.
I spent a long time trying to sell bespoke furniture. Then someone asked me for a kitchen. I though about it, it looked like a good idea. I did it, advertised, did another one, haven't looked back since. I now turn away requests for other furniture, because with the kitchens I can make real money, mostly because specialisation leads to speed leads to profit and partly because people pay a LOT more money for a good kitchen than they will for a good table and chairs
John
A lot of it depends on how good you are. After I left the furniture manufacturing business, I bought and sold antiques for a while, and many of the dealers I worked with complained about never being able to get quality antique repair and refinishing done. I started doing few pieces, and I never have lacked for work since then, with no advertising or marketing effort besides happy customers and colleagues.
I found out that most antique work doesn't pay well enough for my needs, so I just followed local demand until I found a market niche that paid well enough to live on. In my case it was specializing in fine finishes, and high end antique restoration, with period finishes and joinery. Yours will be wherever your skills and talent meshes with your local market.
Suggestions:
Be client driven. Your job is to give the customer what they want instead of telling them what they want.
Go for the top of the market, rather than the low end. No profit at the bottom. Problem is, your work has to be first rate. Only work with people who know what they want and are willing to pay for it. People who are cheap are really hard to please, and even harder to make money from. Custom furniture is a luxury item and needs to be marketed accordingly.
LEARN TO FINISH. If I learned anything in furniture manufacturing and marketing, it was that the finish is HALF the appeal to the average customer. You might do best if you had the ability to give a customer any look they wanted.
A friend of mine told me that in order to be a success in the custom furniture business, I should get an unlisted number and always say "no" the first couple of times. Theres a lot of truth there. Exclusivity can pay.
Always charge a lot more than you think the job is worth. It's what the customer thinks it's worth that matters, and the customers you want aren't very price sensitive. You'll need to make about $60 per shop hour to make a decent living. There's a LOT of unproductive time in this business.
Keep track of your time and expenses, so you'll know where you make your money. After not too long, you'll get a feel for what you can and can't do.
Most importantly, don't set your prices by what someone else charges. Who knows whether they know what they are doing any better than you do? If you have a good reputation and live up to it, price isn't that important.
If you don't have enough knowledge or experience to jump right in, start as a sideline until you have proven your market and pricing. I had to jump right in, and certainly made my share of mistakes. but my wife mad a good income, providing a safety net of sorts.
Last, you can make a decent income as a one person shop, but you can make a lot more money by multiplying your efferts through employees. Problem is, as soon as you start hiring, you become a manager first, and craftsman second. So, while one road to riches is through employees, you have to have good managements skills to make it pay off.
There's a lot of good advice above, but that's my nickel's worth - based on an above average capacity for making mistakes.
Michael R.
This certainly sounds like a lot of good, sound advice to me. Thanks for all your input!
Jay,
Do you run your own business? If so I would think that you have a large database of previous customers. Start by sending them a full colour brochure of your work. To save money call your local college and talk to a profesor in the web design or graphic design dept. Tell them you are looking for someone to do a layout for you for the web and print. This should cost you about $100 or a couple of cases of good beer. I am damn serious, that is what I did. Literally.
Remember that your clients will have to earn over 100,000 a year to even think about custom furniture (built-ins and cabinetry are easier to sell) Most likely as a custom furniture buyer will be a millionaire. So, you need to market accordingly. Check out Interior designers (they don't pay as well because they mark the products up, but the work is consistant), builders, home theater stores and church bulletuns(sp) in rich neighborhoods. Think about the people who will buy your stuff and where they are are.....then go there! If you spend one month doing some real marketing you will have 6 months of work. If this type of marketing does not come natural to you check out the SBDC or SBA or other small business assistanse organization. They will help you.
I hate to say this but the most importaint things in this type of work is customer service, scheduling, marketing, and then the work. THere are many excelent furniture makers who will never be able to pay their bills because there is someone down the road who is selling themselves better.
Do what you love,
Mike
I took the leap form civil engineering to furniture & cabinet construction last year. It's been a serious hobby for 25 years or so. Word of mouth is the best advertising for me. Be careful where you advertise if you choose to do so. The "shopping guides" tend to bring people shopping price or looking for deals. Don't sell yourself short. There are people out there who are willing to pay for quality workmanship and good customer service.
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