How To Start A Woodworking Business and Make Money!
How To Start A Woodworking Business and Make Money!
After starting over 20 companies in lifetime (too many) I have a very good handle on some key tips and outlooks that will help you in structuring your new woodworking business. Especially on how to understand all of your expenses and one possible way you can price out your estimates.
We are a new channel and would eternally appreciate if you like our content to like and subscribe so we can continue to make great content for you! You can subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/c/BitnerBuiltWoodworking
Links to items from the Video:
1. Numbers version of the worksheet – https://www.dropbox.com/s/kskkb8fargzxuxy/Example%20Woodworking%20Estimate%20Sheet.numbers?dl=0
2. Excel Version of the Worksheet – https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xhimcodar4kozx2u15bn0/Example-woodworking-estimate-sheet.xlsx?dl=0&rlkey=mheb71w8bqu2apxww71i809id
Contact us for business inquiries at: Justin@bitnerbuilt.com
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Key Words
Woodworking
Power tools
Hand tools
Shop tools
Wood shop
Organization
Business
Start Up Business
Etsy Business
How To Succeed in Business
How To Price My Work
This is the video I wish I had seen in January ‘22 when I was in the process of launching my contracting business. At least I found it now as I am trying to learn from my past mistakes and apply those lessons to my future business ventures. As you might imagine one of them is taking my hobby of woodworking to the next level as a business. Keep up the great work!
Wow thank you so much!
This is amazing information. Thank you!
I am glad I found your videos. Good job with the quality and clarity of what you are doing. And I really liked this one as I have been wanting to do my own thing for a while now but just didnt know how to get started or everything that I needed to consider. Thanks Again
Justin – Great well spoken video about starting a business and very inspirational for those that are on the edge of starting one.
Your method is very good but it can be extremely expensive for many customers, materials x 2 + 15 percent of miscellaneous + 10 percent profit much relevant what about that?
Justin I can’t tell you how much I appreciated this video. My wife and I started our side hustle woodworking business almost 2 years ago and are really looking to take it to the next level. Your advice and information on how to account for expenses using a simple spreadsheet method is going to help us enormously. I can’t thank you enough for spending your time to spread your knowledge. Cheers!!
Great informative video.
Great advice!!
Really appreciate your info and so I subscribed. Thanks so much I am starting a wood working business
Thanks for this, I’m an Investment guy by day, a woodworker in my spare time with a small LLC. It’s about time someone with business experience running a business started up a channel…thanks.
I am in IT and do woodworking as a hobby however, I have been friends with a very successful CFO. You were verbatim on expenses as her. I have her words ingrained in my head; if you have a business, then control you expenses to make and keep it successful. Thank you for a wonderful video.
As a former plumber that used to handle jobs and estimates, you are spot on with this video and I hope everyone takes it to heart.. especially some of the “small” things like insurance for anyone inside your shop. One injury can wreck multiple lives
Can’t agree more with tracking expenses. I used to build semi trailers, dump trailers for material hauling. In the 1970s anti lock brake systems came out. They were expensive but one of our fleets put some systems on a few new trailers, hopefully for improved safety. But they unexpectedly found out that tire expenses dropped 10% on those anti lock equipped trailers. Now it was a no brainer to buy anti lock but they didn’t have that expectation to start. If they didn’t have good numbers they wouldn’t have found out those savings.
Really solid video. REALLY solid. You’re like the college version of Stumpy Nubs.
This video probably sealed your spot at the top of my favorite woodtubers. Your experience really shines through in this one. Look forward to growing with you.
This is the video every YT woodworker should be making when someone asks these questions. You can really tell who is a woodworker, and who just plays one on TV.
what is the formula for figuring out how much it cost to make a project?
Really great video, thanks for sharing. I’ve been working on setting up my business and it’s great advice and to hear another person’s perspective, especially with your experience. Thank you 👍
Great video, I have a photography business and everything you said applies to that industry as well.
And never, ever, give an itemized estimate or invoice. Just tell them this is what my estimate is to build your _____ including shipping, show the taxes fine, and you can even give them different shipping options. But do not break down your time, your material costs, etc. It is the dumbest thing you can ever do. I spent years working with my father in the HVAC field and it’s what he did. If they asked for an itemized invoice he said it would cost $1000 more, as it will take him 8 hours or more to figure it all out (he knew) or pay it now and don’t call in the future. If they demand one, tell them they likely need to go somewhere else. They will be major pains in your butt customers and NOT worth the hassle.
Great video! In terms of adding up the costs of disposable materials, I think it’s fair to add say 10% to the price for the piece of furniture, and account for this as "shop costs." what do you think?
I was just brainstorming on how to make some money on the side, so I went to the shop today and made a wood puzzle with the intent of selling them and other items on Etsy. This video is great—exactly the kind of information I needed and haven’t gotten elsewhere.
Brand new subscriber here. Wow! Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge with the rest of us. God bless you brother.
Great video and timely because I am starting my own woodworking business. I had a question about time. Should I have a separate charge for time or is that something I factor in when I look at the profit after expenses? Thanks!
This is one of the best videos I’ve ever watched on YouTube. Thank you.
Justin you have a great video presence. Like the videos so far!
Amazing video! Gained a sub 🙏
You did great job explains it. I watched every second of it. Thank you so much.
he said it but I’ll add to it.. when your business is new avoid expenses that you dont neeeeeed.. dont get letterhead or even business cards , avoid all that stuff until you can afford that nicety.. you can just write your phone number on a piece of paper if someone asks and that doesnt cost anything.. and avoid paperwork in the beginning, a fancy invoice doesnt make you any money, you could just tell the person how much it is.. save that money, use that time building instead of putting together a pretty piece of paper they are just going to throw away. Some projects just arent viable, move on.. and build in batches if you can, have a minimum number that you will make, if you cant sell them all ..again it might just not be viable
New to your channel. Some very spot on content. I would like to add a bit. You did a great job of detailing your expenses. The end result is your worth. That is your value. NEVER give away your value for nothing because then you are telling your client that isn’t your value. It comes across, at best, as cutting a “deal” and at worst, a scam. Avoid that pitfall. Know your expenses and, from there, your value. If you want to adjust the monetary gain, get something in return that compensates that gain while maintaining that value.
Also, as a marketing executive with 22 years of experience, start on social media. The costs are a fraction of search. AdWords, now Google Ads, is great but it takes a lot of time to dial in. That time translates to lost profit margins. I wouldn’t even consider setting up a Google Ads campaign in less than a 6 month window. Use your demographic data from social media before you make the jump to search to minimize your waste.
Great video. Lots to think about. I’ve already started my own business. But I know that I run it more like a hobby. So I need to get focused and be more intentional. part of it is tracking my costs better.
First thing you need before your woodworking millions, is a dany weekly paycheck. Ill make ya something
Great advice! Curious, though: where do you keep all of your sawdust? The CNC machine with the foam sound absorption panels initially caught my eye, but then I noticed that there isn’t ANY, anywhere in your shop. Personally, with dust collection, I remove about 80 pounds of sawdust per week in my shop, and no matter how much I try to stay on top of it, there’s still got to be another 50 pounds of dust scattered all around my shop at any given moment!
great video! You’ve got a pretty unique background among the woodworking YouTubers out there. as someone who’s starting their own woodworking business, I would love to hear more business insight that you’ve picked up over the years. this one was great. I’m definitely going to give your spreadsheet a shot.
Nicely put together, great advice thank looking forward for more
I’ve built a few businesses in a few different spaces from IT to healthcare oriented software. This is really an outstanding primer for a bootstrapper in particular. Many folks trying to bootstrap their own small business, especially passion focused business, don’t really know where to start. This is what they really need. I’m gonna drop it on my socials and a couple DMs. Saves me from having to have this conversation repeatedly. Great video and cheers hombre.
Thank you for breaking it all down. You make it easier to understand the steps and processes needed.
Fantastic video sir! There was a ton of great advice in this video so I definitely subscribed to your channel. Thank you for making this video!
This was incredibly helpful. I am thinking about starting a business that isn’t related to woodworking at all, I don’t want my hobby to turn into a job, and the getting precise, accurate numbers for all the expenses makes so much sense, but isn’t something that I have seen anyone talking about.
Hey it’s a really good points never thought about it only was based on standard time and materials it’s time to move in more profitable business!
Great video; information layout and quality of information. Many thanks.
Hey Justin, I love the look of your shop! It looks like your channel is growing pretty fast. Congrats! I’m curious, how many subscribers did you have before you started making woodworking videos? Also, a bit of advice – it’s not a good idea to put a list of keywords in your description. That’s called "keyword stuffing" and YT doesn’t like it. Use keywords for sure, but incorporate them in more of a natural descriptive way. You can also use them as tags. I don’t believe in luck, so I’ll say God’s speed!
you know he has done well, the guy has 7 jigsaws. lol.
Alot of good advice in this video.
Great video! It was very helpful. I’m thinking about venturing out for a side hustle and purchasing a CNC machine. Thanks for the business tips. And I’m envious of your shop organization. Keep the videos coming!
👍👍
We started our own woodworking business, but the first thing we did was get insurance. We build everything but because we build playsets and childrens playhouses, that’s a big liability. so insurance is important for me because I’m building things at the customers house, that kids are going to be climbing on/in. But, I’m definitely going to try your spreadsheet and see how it works. We are mostly focusing on custom, one off jobs. But we were also build wishing wells, planters, wooden buckets/pails, shelves, tables, chairs, swings, benches, baby cradles, bathroom vanities, kitchen cabinets etc. We have a custom job right now building Custom wooden window valances for a client thats staging his house to sell. But, we do a lot with reclaimed wood such as Barn board, and pallets. We buy loads of wood from farms and also buy some new. But this keeps costs lower than using new lumber as covid has risen the prices by double. We just started a few months ago and so far we are doing great, right now its me and my wife only no employees and we have plenty keep us busy. Many of my clients have said that they’ve been looking for someone that does this and they say there isnt anyone around my area that does custom woodworking and i have customers driving from other states to come buy my wishing wells and planters. Just posting on fb marketplace Ive been invited to craft fairs and many other types of fairs this for fall! I wasnt expecting to get the invites to the fairs because its hard to get into them usually. Your videos are amazing any tips on making a youtube channel for my business? Should i hire a videographer or do it myself? Thanks in advanced!
Very insightful, great video!
Your YouTube video was Well thoughtout; well executed; and touched on the very important details.
I now believe that I can use this information to determine if I can start a small woodworking business.
Well done!
A well spoken and extremely informative video for a channel that’s only 3 weeks old. Keep up the great content!