Posted on Questions regarding opening a woodworking shop.
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#1 posted 434 days ago |
I think A1Jim has a good idea. Instead of trying to run an actual business take the time to create the infrastructure and refine the design and production methods of your intended product lines. Sell your things online and at shows to start with. Starting a relationship with local stores would be a good thing but it’ll take some time and you’ll probably be about ready to move out by then anyhow. If you intend to spray finishes, stick with water-based products to avoid violating EPA regulations. I’m currently organizing a business of my own at the moment and I expect the startup process to take around 3 months. Illinois isn’t too bad when it comes to regulations for a small woodshop with no employees and I expect South Dakota is even better (Chicago has a negative impact on the entire state over here). It would take me longer than 3 months if I didn’t already have most of the needed skills and equipment. I recommend taking the time to create a business plan and a marketing plan. The process of doing so will help you determine exactly what it is you want to do and give you a rough path to follow. If you want more information let me know and I’ll post links to the various sites I’ve been mining information from. Also, I highly recommend learning how to setup and run a website. It’s not nearly as difficult as it used to be and most young people are familiar enough with computers to pick up the needed skills quickly. Even though you intend to sell mostly through retail outlets, Etsy and shows, a good website is critical to have these days. You’ll want to attract potential customers to your website then link them to the stores and Etsy pages that sell your products. I can give you some direction on this as well if you need it. Get a decent camera and learn to take really good pictures. A mistake I made in the past was to neglect taking photographs of my work in progress. The finished products often didn’t get shot either and if they were, the photos looked amateur. Since you’re going to do small projects, there’s no excuse not to get good pictures in this day of digital photography. -- See my work at http://remmertstudios.com and http://altaredesign.com |
