Is turning down business a bad thing ?

I don't think so. It tells people that you care about the projects you do and them. Stringing people along only upsets them. Telling them up front your time frame gives them the chance to decide to wait or move on. If they have seen your work and like it they will wait if they can.
 
I believe the saying is............

"I never lost money on a job I did not take"

........ or something to that effect.

Be honest and up front, the people who want you to work on their restorations will wait, the people shopping for a cheap deal will find it elsewhere, and get what they pay for :D
 
This the surest invitation to raise your prices. Not to drive business away but to distill out the jobs that are not worth your time. Generally this means your prices are too far below the going rate in your area. The quality of your work is now worth more than you are charging. Kick it up 10 or 15% and see what happens.
 
Id have to disagree with most here. I say you just work too slow.:D
Stop sitting while you eat, Im sure Woodcraft sells some kind of shop sandwich holder, and put a bucket in the shop so you dont have to shut anything off to get a bathroom break.
Catch a few cat naps now and then, but put in 24 hour days and say goodbye to the wife and kiddies and friends until you get caught up.
However, always practice safe woodworking.
 
Even though my relationship with my father was not something anyone would want to grow up with, he did teach me a few things.
He was a master woodworker and made custom furniture, mostly for artists and interior designers.
I recall, one day he got a call for a second small table like one he had recently delivered. We went into the shop and since he still had most of the jigs set up, he was able to cut and assemble that table in just a couple hours. Finishing took a little more time. When it was completed and dried, he covered with an old blanket and set in a corner.
A few days later he got a call asking where the table was. He told them that if they wanted handmade custom work they couldn't expect instant results. The calls continued for several weeks. All the time he told them the same thing. Finally he took me when he delivered it and collected a large check.
He told me that if it had been delivered quickly they wouldn't appreciate it and would be reluctant to pay so much money.
Great lesson. Quality is worth waiting and paying for.
p.s. I wish I could remember how much he got for that table in the 1950s.
 
Great story Frank. Makes me wonder though, if people now have the same amount of patience to be able to wait for something. Expectations get shorter with the faster pace of living. I think a lot of people settle for less quality mainly due to price, but I also think another motivator is time. Got to have it now. Just human nature. Been there and done that myself.
 
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