Jeff Horton
Member
- Messages
- 4,272
- Location
- The Heart of Dixie
I have always been an advocate of doing something you love to do. There is nothing to me worse than doing a job you hate just because of the money. I would rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable. It's a good thing too!
I enjoy my work but it is off and on and I have lots of free time. I have been looking for something to fill in this time and make some money. To many cabinet makers around and that is a full time job. I don't see much demand for furniture in my market. So I have decided to try to pursue something that I have been thinking about for a couple of years. I believe there is a small market for quality built wood boats. Kayaks and canoes mainly. Something along the lines of these.
http://www.shearwater-boats.com/lapCanoe1.jpg
http://www.shearwater-boats.com/lapstrakecanoe2005.jpg
http://www.stewartriver.com/images/northernlight.jpg
http://www.re.org/eric/kayak/kayak.jpg
http://seawingboats.co.uk/Firstpaddleseatdetail.jpg
Because of the amount of labor, I figure just anywhere from 3-6 boats a year would fill in the time I have available and make a decent income doing something I enjoy.
I am about to start on a pair of Kayaks for me and my niece. We want to do some camping out of them. I figure these will be good market research. I will give me the chance to keep track of the labor and cost of materials. This will help me with pricing. Next step is some marketing.
I am thinking about joining the local Canoe clubs, which I want to do anyway, not just to sell boats! But that gives me a chance to get the word out and by paddling my own boat(s) others can see what I can do. I am thinking of building a spec. boat like a simple canoe to go with the kayaks,
I have thought about talking to businesses and offering to put a boat in their shop. Then paying them a commission on any boat that is ordered through them. Of course that means I have to invest in a couple of boats to display. But the cost of the boats is in labor, materials are pretty cheap actually.
Good thing is I can approach this slowly and not have to invest a lot of money in start up either. If it doesn't work out I will enjoy the using the boats!
I enjoy my work but it is off and on and I have lots of free time. I have been looking for something to fill in this time and make some money. To many cabinet makers around and that is a full time job. I don't see much demand for furniture in my market. So I have decided to try to pursue something that I have been thinking about for a couple of years. I believe there is a small market for quality built wood boats. Kayaks and canoes mainly. Something along the lines of these.
http://www.shearwater-boats.com/lapCanoe1.jpg
http://www.shearwater-boats.com/lapstrakecanoe2005.jpg
http://www.stewartriver.com/images/northernlight.jpg
http://www.re.org/eric/kayak/kayak.jpg
http://seawingboats.co.uk/Firstpaddleseatdetail.jpg
Because of the amount of labor, I figure just anywhere from 3-6 boats a year would fill in the time I have available and make a decent income doing something I enjoy.
I am about to start on a pair of Kayaks for me and my niece. We want to do some camping out of them. I figure these will be good market research. I will give me the chance to keep track of the labor and cost of materials. This will help me with pricing. Next step is some marketing.
I am thinking about joining the local Canoe clubs, which I want to do anyway, not just to sell boats! But that gives me a chance to get the word out and by paddling my own boat(s) others can see what I can do. I am thinking of building a spec. boat like a simple canoe to go with the kayaks,
I have thought about talking to businesses and offering to put a boat in their shop. Then paying them a commission on any boat that is ordered through them. Of course that means I have to invest in a couple of boats to display. But the cost of the boats is in labor, materials are pretty cheap actually.
Good thing is I can approach this slowly and not have to invest a lot of money in start up either. If it doesn't work out I will enjoy the using the boats!
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