Step-by-Step Guide to Launching Your Woodworking Venture

If you’ve clicked on this video then I assume the idea of a woodworking business has at least popped in you mind. Maybe you’re looking for a side hustle or you want to change your career, or maybe you’re a young guy looking for something you can begin to build. You’re going to walk away from this video with some actual strategies to start, the tools you really need to start, how to market and advertise, and much more. You will literally be able to start this process tomorrow and could be making money from woodworking within a couple weeks!

The first thing we need to talk about is tools. How much you have for a budget will have a great impact on how much you start with, so for the sake fairness I will give you a must haves if you’re on a tight budget and a wish list for those that have a little more cash to spend. 

My must haves include the following:

Circular saw (as cheap as $45)

Drill ( As cheap as $45)

Clamps (at least 4) (36” clamps $20 each)

Level ($25)

Sander ($36)

Pull Saw (18)

Now if this is all you buy, building things will take more time and it’ll take some creativity to get things set up to ensure everything is done correctly but it can be done. I wouldn’t recommend trying to run this thin for very long, but like I mentioned it could be done. 

For the wish list I would have all of the necessities of course, but I would add as many of these as possible. 

Table Saw

Miter Saw

Screw Gun

More Clamps

Jig Saw

Jointer

Planer

These tools will make life a lot easier and will increase the quality of your finished product if used correctly. I would label them in levels of importance from the table saw being more most important and jointer being least, but work within your budget and as you make some profit from jobs reinvest them in new tools to make you better. 

Now that we’ve got a set of tools it’s time to set up a small work space to get started. Ideally you’ve got a garage or a least a small space outside that you could work from to begin with. I started out of my garage, the dust collection was non-existent  and the air conditioning consisted of 2 box fans blowing towards my general direction. But I built some cheap 2×4 saw horses and a small plywood work bench. Even if you’re just working with a pair of saw horses and an extension cord you can make it work from just about any set up. You also don’t want to start out with high expenses by renting a space, so work with whatever you got. I’ve got a free plan on my website for 2×4 sawhorses, they’re super easy and are pretty much the go to way that everyone uses to build that type of sawhorse. 

Now you’ve got your tools, and your set up, it’s time to figure out what to build. Depending on what type of woodworking you’re interested in whether it’s smaller crafts of furniture I would pick something that you could use at your own house first. For example if you’re interested in furniture a coffee table is a good place to start. They’re typically smaller, roughly 2’x4’ and only need to be about 18” off the ground so leg design doesn’t have to be crazy. It’s also not going to break the bank in material cost. There is a lot of creative freedom in building a coffee table with thousands of pictures out there to choose from. Don’t go crazy with your design for your first build, but do something that will give you a real feel for your skill level. You should use this build to push yourself a little bit. If you’re doing a crafts style project, do the same thing, find a style you want to replicate and copy it. 

      Build this piece to the best of your ability, then have your spouse, parents, friends, and whoever else you know and trust check it out and give you some feedback. Once you’ve done this, take some good quality pictures of the piece staged in space where it would be in a customer’s home, don’t snap pictures of this piece in your shop, have it displayed in a home. Then once you’ve completed that, pick another project and work on that. It should be a different project to help add to your portfolio and show some range of the different types of things you can build. Once you’ve got a couple pieces under your belt you can then create your social media pages. You’ll want to have as many as you think you can handle ( i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, X, etc) but I would particularly focus on Facebook and Instagram. The reason is many people will scroll instagram for photos which is a great place to show off your portfolio, but facebook is where people go for advice on who to hire for jobs like this. 

There are many groups on facebook that are associated with the different towns and neighborhoods, they are typically called Rants, Raves, and Reviews, or City Name Word of Mouth, etc. You want to join as many of these groups as you can and be on the look out for people asking the question for custom furniture. When they do you want to be ready to answer with your business name. Tag your business page and make sure that page is loaded with all of the information and several pictures displaying your work. They’ll then ask an estimate, this is where you will need to know your numbers. If you are wondering how to price things out I’ve put together an entire video and article talking about pricing. (How To Price Your Woodworking Projects! ) Know your numbers and stick to them, don’t let a customer move you from your numbers because that is only going to hurt you in the long run. Once the customer accepts the quote, collect a deposit from them to help with material cost (typically %25). Then do the best job you possibly can to make the very best piece of furniture that you’re capable of. Once you’ve done this deliver the finished piece to your customer, collect the remainder of the money and reinvest the profits to help with better equipment. Make sure that you’ve taken quality photos of the piece and you share it on your social media pages. 

          After the first customer it’s basically rinse and repeat. You need to stay active on the facebook groups recommending your business to build things and be very responsive with the messaging. Continue to build your portfolio and create a website. Make sure you’re collecting the customer’s emails to be able to stay in contact with them even after the job is complete. Sending mass emails a couple times a year to just wish them a Merry Christmas or Happy Easter to keep your company front of mind with the customer. This isn’t necessarily to try to sell those customers again, but more so that they’re be thinking of you when they see questions on their facebook groups about custom furniture. This is how you build a woodworking business in 2025! You can do it and if you need any help feel free to reach out, I’d love to help you in any way that I can! Good luck on your woodworking journey!

     Thank you for reading this article, be sure to subscribe to the email list so you’re one of the first ones notified when the next article is posted. If you’ve made it this far I want to reward you with a chance to win something very cool. I am going to give out 2 prizes at the end of January, if you subscribe to the email list, share this article, subscribe to the youtube channel, and comment “Shop Class” on the Youtube video you will be entered to win a free custom 12×16 charcuterie board filled with epoxy or access to the course of Woodworking 101 (a $150 value). Contest ends 1/31/25 so be sure to be entered by then!