If you are good at (or simply enjoy) creating things with wood then why not start a woodworking business?
Here are 5 very distinct ways to start a woodworking business – and even if you are not really into “creating stuff” there may even be something here for you
With at least one of these ideas, you don’t need to create anything with wood at all!
Why Start a Woodworking Business?
Creating and selling things that you have created is a really great example of a potential or hobby which you turn into a business idea or side hustle
First of all, it is worth asking yourself if you enjoy woodworking, or creating things with wood?
For my part, and if I cast my mind back to my childhood – I remember as a kid I really enjoyed (for a spell of about 6 months or so) doing a bit of woodwork.
I was even bought a kids toolset for Christmas and a “101 things to do with wood” book which, for a while I treasured
I remember making a workbench (you have to start somewhere after all!) and a number of model airplanes with varying success
But at about the 6-month point, I got more into sports and the interest in woodwork faded (not helped that I wasn’t really very good at it either!)
But the other day I was chatting to my son (he now lives in the USA) and he was talking about how recently he had made a couple of items of furniture for his house
And we talked about the pleasure he had derived from constructing something both practical and useable
And my mind went back to the pleasure I had derived from a couple of pieces of wood and a few nails, and I realized that:
- A lot of people are (or have the capability to) be very good at woodworking
- There are so many things you could do with wood (more of that later)
- You don’t actually need much in the way of outlay to start a woodworking business
- It’s the sort of business idea that you can keep small or grow to something significant
- There is also the possibility of growing your business along the “do it yourself and teach others how to do it” business model
So here are 5 different ways to start a woodworking business (with at least one of these involving no woodworking skill at all!)
Woodworking and Carpentry Videos
5 Ways to Start a Woodworking Business
If you’re unsure about woodworking as a business idea then think about all the different areas of our life which require woodworking skills (here’s a few just off the top of my head)
- Wooden toys (on the comeback!)
- Garden fencing
- Garden sheds and outbuildings
- Indoor furniture
- Outdoor furniture (definitely on the rise in the era of coronavirus)
- Wooden floors
- Wooden crafts
- Kitchens, bedrooms
- Decking
Of course, you will most likely need some specialist equipment.
From small tools like a hammer, saw, and drill to (potentially) larger pieces of equipment if you want to do more specialist stuff such as woodturning
And the prevalence of woodworking tools leads to one of the woodworking business ideas – but more of that later
Here are 5 ways to start a woodworking business
Idea 1 – Create Stuff and Sell It Online!
This idea to start a woodworking business is to create small items in wood and sell them online through online marketplaces such as Etsy or “Not on the High Street”
It may be small items of furniture, toys, or trinket holders which are easy to reproduce and turn out to be profitable for the amount of time you can put in
The other way of looking at this is to create a “bespoke” service whereby you create specific items to order.
My daughter does this through Etsy (albeit as an artist rather than as a woodworker)
She offers a service where she creates a watercolor of people’s houses from a photograph, and then frames them and sends them through the post
It’s a “nice little earner” as a side hustle but unlikely to turn into a full-time business because there is only so much time you can give creating each piece
In my view, a better idea (and this is Idea #3) is to create the piece once and then sell the plans and method as to how you created that piece so other people can do it for themselves
If I was going to start a woodworking business, this is exactly where I would start
Idea 2 – Provide a Local Carpentry Service
This idea is really based along the lines of what you would consider to be a “traditional” carpentry service
This is the way that most people would think to start a woodworking business
This would be the local joiner or carpenter who you can call in to build a set of bookcases or shelves
Or they may get involved in fitting a kitchen
Or a house renovation
Anything where your clients exist in your local area and you go out to meet them on a day to day basis
It’s probably not the sort of business that you could run as a “side hustle” as it would take up a considerable amount of your time
And potentially it would need you to be available and working “in the day”
It’s really a full-time trade which you can learn and develop over the years
But it is potentially a very good idea if you love creating things, interacting with people, and want to build up a business within your local community
You will of course need to have a basic toolset to get started
It might also be worth seeking out some basic carpentry training to hone your skills
Advertise your services in local newsletters, newspapers, directories, and other such publications
Plus of course your local Facebook page
Once you have your first few clients seek out recommendations and see how far your client base can go
You could even start your very own website advertising your services
And think about attaching a blog or “how-to videos” of your own (but that is a different idea entirely and covered later in this article)
With this idea, we are now starting to think “outside the box” (no woodworking pun intended)
With this idea you are actually designing a piece, building it once (or multiple times if you really want to), and then effectively selling “the plans”
Or demonstrating your method to building the piece
There are a number of ways you can do this
Make a video demonstrating your method and start an Instagram or Youtube channel
The idea is to sell the plan itself
You could use a free tool like Sketch Up (which is very good by the way) to create the plan and then simply sell it via your Instagram or YouTube
Alternatively, you could create a few plans and sell them via your own website
Or indeed an online marketplace such as Etsy
Ted’s Woodworking Plans is a really good example of somebody who has done that (albeit with a lot of plans under his belt) and created a really successful business out of it
Idea 4 – Start a “Woodworking Tool Review” Website
Now this idea to start a woodworking business is the one that doesn’t really involve creating anything at all
The idea is that you create a website that reviews (and recommends) woodworking tools
If you are in doubt about this business model just think about your own behavior
If I am making a purchase of any kind – be it a washing machine, vacuum cleaner, or even a new duvet, I will go and seek out some online reviews
What if you started a website based on reviews of woodworking equipment such as chisels, or workbenches
Or circular saws?
You could even review Ted’s woodworking plans.
Ted offers a very healthy commission – 50% on sales when I last looked
This is called affiliate marketing – the process by which you earn a commission by recommending products on line
Here is an article on affiliate marketing
One great place to start as an affiliate marketer is Amazon who offer an affiliate program for all sales
Amazon is not quite as attractive as it used to be in terms of commission, but it is one of the easiest to set up and offers a range of physical products like no other
A great place to start would be to set up an Amazon store yourself on a platform such as WordPress.org and see what happens
Idea 5 – Start a Blog About Woodworking
This idea is really a combination of all the other ideas above
You could start a woodworking business from your own blog
Or your blog could become your woodworking business
- You could advertise your services from your blog
- You could make videos about woodworking and how you do it and post them on your blog via your youtube channel
- You could link to your Facebook page and create a community
- You could review woodworking tools on your blog
- Or post “how-to” articles on your blog
- Or post a review of Ted’s woodworking plans and earn money as an affiliate marketer
- You could then monetize via placed adverts such as Google Adsense
- And you could run a newsletter from your blog and create a subscriber base who you then recommend products to
- You could create a membership site with your plans included and charge members a monthly fee
- And if you make your blog successful you could always sell it
- You could advise others on how to start a woodworking business
There are so many things you can do with a Blog of your very own that I highly recommend at least considering it
Even if your primary objective is to create stuff and sell it!
If you are interested, here is an article on blogging and a method to get you started
Start a Woodworking Business – a Comprehensive Guide
Whilst I don’t know a lot about how to start a woodworking business, I do know how to get an internet business off the ground
And there is no reason why that internet business cannot be about woodworking
But if you really want to get started with a practical, “create stuff” woodworking business it is best to go to the experts
And that expert (Jim Morgan) has produced one of the most comprehensive guides you will ever see to starting any sort of business and in his case, it is “how to start a woodworking business”
So if I have raised even a slight interest then check out the website here (and to quote)
“The cool thing is, you don’t have to be an expert woodworker to start this business as it’s packed with solid STEP-BY-STEP instructions and information on what to do to turn your “passion into profit”
“He (Jim) started his woodworking business with NO capital, a few shop tools, and a lot of nerve, in a small 10×20 foot space and grew it into a 1,400 space in the first few months while still remaining as a one-person business”
The great thing about the guide is that it is genuinely “step by step” and takes you right through from starting up the business through to growing it and even contracting out some parts of it.
Like most business ideas there is always the potential for a woodworking business to grow such that you take on additional employees as you get more successful, and Jim covers that part too
My favorite part though is one of the bonuses which is an eBook containing 500 plans for simple projects ranging from crafts to furniture
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Check out Jim Morgan’s Wood Profits Here <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Let’s be honest, a woodworking business is not for everyone
It’s certainly not for me.
But it may just be the perfect business idea for somebody reading this right now, so if this applies to you then give Jim’s guide some consideration
Check Out More Home Business Ideas
“5 Ways to Start a Woodworking Business” was first published in April 2015 and rewritten and republished in April 2021
