| Building custom furniture can be a lucrative and | | | | projects will overlap and you will get our out of |
| enjoyable business. With the proper marketing and | | | | business. There are some famous furniture designers |
| customer base, you can create a small furniture | | | | that waiting lists of years, but you are not there yet. |
| empire while working in your own home. | | | | You need to keep every customer you can get. |
| Everyone needs furniture. If you have the training and | | | | Scheduling and bidding on projects correctly are the |
| tools required for basic woodworking, you can build | | | | two most important non-craft skills of a furniture |
| furniture. You have the options of selling products | | | | maker. You have to make money, a lot of money, on |
| on-line (fairly small pieces), you can work on | | | | each sale and you need to deliver on time. People |
| commission by selling pieces at local galleries, or you | | | | throw dinner parties to celebrate their new custom |
| can create one-off custom works for people that pay | | | | furniture. If you promise a new dining room table and |
| you. | | | | you don't deliver on-time, you could have a customer |
| I would suggest coming up with a personal style of | | | | with a house full of people that have to sit on the floor. |
| furniture and stick with it, adjusting your line by adding | | | | Bye bye customer. |
| more pieces, but staying with the same theme. | | | | Depending on the types of projects you create, your |
| Everyone has different taste, so you can't please all | | | | start-up costs can be under $1,000 for some basic |
| customers. You want to create a core niche of | | | | tools. However, you will spending a few thousand |
| customers that will keep coming back to you for more | | | | dollars on good equipment if you plan on making this |
| pieces over the years. | | | | your full time profession. You will also need a |
| You must be very good at sticking with time-lines, and | | | | convenient place to work. Converted garages, |
| if you get behind, be prepared to work long hours to | | | | basements, and sheds work nicely. Eventually you |
| catch up. Understand you limitations. If it will take you a | | | | may want to build or rent a separate shop, so you |
| month to make a table, don't promise a week. The | | | | have room to spread out and work more efficiently. |