Well this topic should be one we add to the CoC for as much as politics and religion get peoples blood boiling this topic gets mine boiling.
So Allen you did some R& D and discovered that you could not manufacture a wooden box and even begin to think about selling it and making a profit.
Now what?
The chorus is once again saying that its not possible to make a living out of woodworking?
We beat our hobby up all the time. But we also beat up in the process anyone who has the idea as a youngster and I am thinking here as a "Family" that would like to do this kind of work for a living.
My apologies in advance for my attitude on this subject.
First in my not so humble opinion it has nothing to do with poor old wood or woodworking.
There is no such thing as luck in my view specifically as it relates to business. Rather what appears to be luck is a function of actions or non actions taken by an individual that brings them to the point they are at.
Second when one intends to "manufacture" a product and sell it, I would expect that the person has done some market research. tested and checked on their idea, like any business would do, and then examined the most appropriate way to make it relevant to meeting what their market research said would need to be the price in order to have sales. if that is not possible then the idea is stillborn.
Even after that being the case we still have the situation where the product is an unknown to every other person on the planet. Kinda the best kept secret.
So I ask how many people wanting to start out and do anything for a living have taken the time to learn a thing or two about two of my favorite hobby horses in business, Marketing and Sales.
We have grown up with certain stereo types in our heads and tend to think these are real.
1) Sales true sales is a job for a professional. It takes more than the ability to play golf or schmooze people to be able to sell something today. Sitting in a booth waiting for someone to pass by and pay what you asking for your product just because you hand made it and are proud of your achievements is wishful thinking and when it fails you unfortunately have brought it upon yourself.
2) Marketing is another profession. America I would say probably invented the subject and does it better than anyone else in the world. It takes a fair bit of skill to market a product today.
When you start to do something to make a living and do it with the intent of making it into a business you become part of the small business community.
Lets break up for a moment this community into sectors
a) We have manufacturing
b) We have retail industry
c) We have service industry
If we pause for a moment and consider a woodworking business, then I would think it becomes apparent that if we are to begin to sell to the public we enter the realms of the manufacturing sector and when it comes to the sales side are selling direct to the end user which means we enter the retail industry.
Consider that in the manufacturing sector we have several skills required to make a go of it starting with what to manufacture. Today that is not even the realm of the manufacturer. Due to skills required that part has become something a brand does or has done for it by people who are in the design sector.
And I could carry on this soapbox lecture on and on but I hope it gets the point across.
I consult on a daily basis to small business. It does not have to be about woodworking, these facets apply to any business. Why do we tend to think just because a guy buys a bunch of hobby machines and tools, learns about wood and joints and can build something with his hands that he can suddenly be in business and be a success.
One can replace the wood part with electronic components if one likes and the machinery with power supplies computers and oscilloscopes there is no difference.
It took me until I was 37 years old before I got to be captain of my own ship and run my own business.
Before that I began in R&D then moved to Manufacturing, then cut my teeth on marketing and sales the hardest way possible, then dabbled in a number of industries experiencing all my mistakes and managing several new product development initiatives before I got that opportunity.
Then who says when you run the business and happen to work in it you get a 20 hour week and do things at your leisure or pleasure. Common guys lets get real.
When I was Managing Director (President ) of a company I worked my but off and I had a staff of 50 to start.
Why should running your own business be any different.
Just because a guy gets laid off or retires, has built a hobby shop and kitted it out with machinery and wood does and taught himself to make a joint or two and to finish the wood does not mean he is in business or has a viable product or business strategy.
Go to any SBA office and they will tell you to start with a business plan. What do people do they find someone to write it for them just to be able to get the loan and boom go out and do as they please and then wonder why the business is not working. Does not have to be woodworking.
Guys in my view are the worst at this business thing.
The best small business types in my view are woman. They will at least read a book and apply what they learnt.
But a technical guy, specifically a skilled craftsman, heck he thinks he knows it all. You cannot tell these guys anything. They here from a friend that they see supposedly successful that they should do x or get y and boom they do it. But come along and get them to sit down and put pen to paper and put their idea and strategy on paper and boom the lights go off and the shutters come down.
Ask a small business person how many times they look at their p&l during the course of the year. The typical answer is once when the CPA does the tax return.
Then ask about a budget. What do you mean budget? Yeah funny eh? This same small business guy can speak to his broker about a stock he wants to buy and expects the wall street boys to be able to assess the health of the stock and to do that they really need the financials but in his own business this is unnecessary ...yeah right.
My apologies for my rant because that's what it is.
Then next step when the small business guy finally realizes he cannot do it all alone and starts to hire labor he thinks labor = slave and wonders why the person is not on the same page as them. What the staff are mind readers, you need to communicate and motivate.....but that sounds like management. Oh yeah I forgot you actually need to manage a business big or small and that means customer relations, administration and staff relations and motivation.
Oh I could go on and on and on but I think you get the point by now......
Its not woodworking that's the problem, its our knowledge and attitude towards what is involved in any business big or small. From one man shop to large plant. The only thing changes is the scale of the activity but the phases and processes do not suddenly evaporate.
Take a knife to a gunfight and you have a good chance of loosing the fight.
Start a small woodshop thinking just because you have the tools and can build something for yourself you know all about business then good chance you going to fail just like any other business will.
And we have not even mentioned things like understanding your competition and defining who your target audience is and on and on...
My apologies if I have offended some of you but this subject comes up now and then and is examined all in the interests of the person doing the work.
As Carol has so eloquently put it, the guy she was dealing with was all about telling her about himself and nothing about listening to her needs and accommodating her needs. So this guy has lost out and we should not wonder why. But I bet he will tell you he can sell.
I rest my case. Have a great day.