# I am desperate for commissions. Ideas?



## sudhana (May 24, 2007)

I started woodworking professionally while in college. the last few summers i have come home from school and done fairly well for myself doing furniture commissions for people around Orange County, CA. The business was run mostly off of word of mouth and craigslist adds. This summer I graduated from school and decided to spend some time working out of the garage doing what I had done the last few summers. I made myself a website ("http://adamweisfurniture.com") and had business cards printed but still have struggled to get any work. I think it is because the economy is such a disaster. Does anyone have any ideas?


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Adam, I checked out your site, and it's very nice and clean looking. I would make one suggestion… on your portfolio pages, each small photo should be a link to a larger photo. Your work is great, but it will be much more impressive to a prospective client if they see it full-screen.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Call contractors and local designers and offer to bid on what they
need - generally cabinetry and built-ins.


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## darryl (Jul 22, 2006)

I had the same thought as Charlie. links to larger pics to show more detail would be good. Also might not be a bad idea to include a description of each piece.

have you talked to your previous clients to find out what they are up to? perhaps if you stir the pot a little, it could get things going again.


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## North40 (Oct 17, 2007)

Darryl is on the right track - talk to previous clients! I offer a discount for repeat clients, and occassionally I make some calls or send out some postcards saying that I'm offerring to extend the discount to my clients' friends and family. I include a time frame: for the month of November, or between now and Christmas. This reminds my clients about me, reminds them that they are entitled to a discount, gives them a reason to tell other people about me, and gives potential clients a reason to contact me promptly.


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## bfd (Dec 23, 2007)

Hi Adam,

I am on a parallel path as the one you are on. Just recently went into business and launched my website. I too am trying to make a go at commissioned furniture by word of mouth and building my reputation one client at a time so I am very interested in this thread. One difference though is that I am doing this in addition to holding a full time job so my pressures are less. One thing that I do if I don't have a commision is to work on a piece on speculation once complete you can use it in you portfolio.


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## NY_Rocking_Chairs (Jul 20, 2008)

You could also try finding some of the local art galleries or custom furniture places to see if they have any jobs or needs you could bid on. You will have to build your reputation with them one project at a time as well.

You could also build up a small inventory and try attending a craft show. It can be pricey to do this though, there are only a few shows that I work each year, they are highly-competitive and juried and can be pretty pricey. Though the last 2 years have seen a decline in sales at these shows even, not just me, but across all crafts, so the economy is having an impact.

About 80% of my commisions come through one of the art or furntiure galleries I am associated with. About 15% of my business comes from attending craft shows as a vendor where I can display my work to thousands of people and the other 5% from my web site.


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## decoustudio (May 4, 2006)

Martin alerted me to this topic. I'll send you an email.

Keep your chin up.
M


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## Catspaw (Dec 15, 2007)

The way we work is through a company that has mainly a flooring concern in the merchandise mart in chicago. But they "sell" other stuff (that WE make) for a hefty commssion. In addition, interior designers are the main ticket. They're the ones who tell the client what moulding/cabinets ands such that they want. They invariably never use "standard" stuff. So it all has to be custom made.

To me a website rarely sells anything except the job…i.e. get a client (first) and the client looks at your website and decides to give you the job. So expanding the pics would be a good idea.

But I would go with the interior designers. They're "art-EEESTs" and want their "vision" executed regardless of what the client is thinking ('cause the client doesn't really understand the style they're talking about.)


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## darryl (Jul 22, 2006)

listen to Mr DeCou!

one of these days I hope to implement to advice he has provided me!


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## closetguy (Sep 29, 2007)

Yes, 90% of the problem is the economy. My business has grown 300% since starting it in 2001, but this year is off about 60%. The only thing that has kept my head above water is repeat business from my large customer base. You need to get exposure. A web site is a good start, but unless you pay a company to place you high in the search listings, you won't see any leads from it. One excellent way to get exposure is to participate in a home and garden show. You will get homeowners and people building homes looking for ideas and products for their home. I have received a lot of business from these type of shows. They can be a little pricy (in Atlanta $1200+), but worth the investment. Most of my largest dollar projects have also come through interior designers. They are sometimes difficult to get on board, but if you get one that likes your work, you will be aptly rewarded.


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## cmaeda (Sep 1, 2008)

Google has a lot of resources to help your site get ranked better:
http://www.google.com/webmasters/
A few things off the top of my head is to work on the title of your page and the meta description.
The title is very important.
Also, have a sitemap since the search engines need a way to get to all your pages.
Think of all the keywords people would use to buy custom furniture and incorporate that into the text on your page and title.
Have a blog on your page. Google likes content that changes.
Then submit your site to all the major search engines and don't forget to submit to:
http://www.dmoz.org/
sites that are listed there get ranked better in google.


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## KnickKnack (Aug 20, 2008)

I see you're using RealTracker to monitor traffic.
So my question 1 is…
Are you getting the hits and not getting the sales, or not getting the hits?

i finally found a google search that found you, but it found your page on freewebs rather than adamweisfurniture.com. Personally I'm wary of "freewebs" kind of pages - have it automatically redirect to your ".com" page?

I agree with the comments on the pics - clicking on them was automatic, but nothing happened. Bigger pictures and data - sizes, wood types etc. I'd also say some of your pictures are "too technical" - *I* am interested in the dovetails, but I'm fairly sure the average joe isn't.

Just my twopeneth.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Forget marketing dovetails and other things that appeal to wood geeks.

Focus on solving the problems of WOMEN:

- women who hate their kitchens
- women who hate their bathrooms
- women who hate their closets.

"Hate" may be a strong word,but the point is that if 
a woman "hates" her hair she fixes it. Same thing with
the house.

People don't buy custom work for their own pleasure nearly
as readily as they'll buy it to rid themselves of an eyesore
in their homes.

Just giving you the truth. The other solution is to court the
rare design pros who have the wealthy clients.

If you won't do cabinetry you'll probably struggle an awful lot.
People need custom-made furniture as much as they need
custom boots - it's a small niche market driven by vanity.


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## rhett (May 11, 2008)

I think across the board, everyone living off a non-necessity commodity is hurting. I think the days of the custom woodworker are numbered, regardless of how skilled a craftsman your are. We are dealing in wants, not needs. Right now it seems people are only buying things that have to have. I have been blessed with a slow and steady stream of work. I'm not getting rich by any means, but I'm not unemployeed. Just remember, even if your slow, don't give your work away. When things pick back up, you don't want to be know as the "discount woodworker". Underpromise and overdeliver keeps them coming back.


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## FFURNITURE (Jul 31, 2008)

Adam,

I use to make a living off of Furniture Commissions, but now primarily make my living on the Management side. You have a "Style" which I think is marketable, but you would also benefit from doing someone else's designs, AKA, Interior Designers. They're more than happy to take a commission on you, and a one of a kind piece.
One word: Newport.

Good Luck!


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## RichinsCarpentry (Nov 28, 2008)

We are haveing the same issues in Utah. Business is down. People are shopping around more and gas isnt helping. We do a bit different line with cabinets and remodeling as well as furniture.

I found that getting your site running strong and paying to be ranked on google is a great positive for us. We recieve 4-8 calls a week just off of the web site. Keep advertizing on craigs list as well as any other online classifieds in your area. Be sure to list your web site with every add and I agree that if you run a coupon for 10% off every once in a while it will help. Exposure is everything. Run the free adds just to get your name out where people can see it. We get calls off the logos on our trucks. Logo on your back window of your car with the web site will bring attention as well.

Its getting late but hurry and send christmas cards out to all of the major home builders and Interiour Designers that you can find listed in your area. You might only get a couple of calls due to this but if you can close the deal with even 1 designer you will be well on your way.


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## Hacksaw (Feb 26, 2009)

One thing to point out and it sounds like a sales pitch but it is true…in these economically challenging times purchasing a high end piece of custom furniture makes more sense than ever.People are looking for value and value is equal to price divided by quality.A $300 coffe table from Ikea or DWR or the local big box store just isn't as good a value as the $750 custom piece you can build them.Be creative offer layaway or find a retail finance company and offer financing (contrary to poular belief the banks are still making these types of loans 90 same as cash etc…)


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