How to Make Money With Woodworking: 10 Strategies to Wealth Through Woodworking

Would you like to make money with woodworking? Then keep reading.

Despite what your mother says, money does grow on trees. Woodworking has been around for centuries because of its usefulness. Today, it is used in almost everything from boats and bikes to coffee tables and cabinets. 

This article will show you how to make money with woodworking. These are generalized tips that will work regardless of your skillset or what you’re making.

For some people, woodworking is just a hobby. It’s something they do in their spare time for fun. For others, it’s their means of making a living. Whatever your situation, if you currently make money with woodworking or you plan to make money with woodworking in the near future, this article is for you.

1. Build custom furniture for clients

With woodworking, you can make money by building custom furniture for clients. These items need not be large or overly complex. You could carve out a nice little niche for yourself specializing in small, simple items such as picture frames or jewelry boxes. 

Other custom furniture options include:

• Jewelry boxes
• Coffee table
• Wall cabinets
• Shelves and bookshelves
• Storage cabinets
• Toys for children
• Tables and accent pieces
• Wine racks
• Nightstands and dressers

To make money with woodworking, you will need to establish yourself as an expert in your craft. By building unique custom furniture for clients, you’ll be building your reputation and putting your work out there. 

Besides having expert knowledge in your specialized area, you will also be able to charge more for your work, because you will have unique skill-sets. 

2. Make money flipping furniture

Turn trash into treasure with flipping furniture. Flipping furniture allows you to start turning a profit with very little money out of your pocket. Flipping is all about searching for bargains on furniture, refurbishing the pieces, and then selling them for a profit. 

The best part is that flipping doesn’t require complex skills. With just a few easy-to-follow steps, you can turn that “ugly duckling” into a beautiful swan or that basic 4-drawer dresser into a work of art.

Woodworkers can make money flipping worn-out pieces by refinishing the wood and updating the furniture with new hardware. To get started, identify antique stores in your area and search for tear-down pieces that could be repurposed into a beautiful table or entertainment center.

The options for flipping furniture are endless. You can consider the following.

• Work on a one-of-a-kind project
• Design and sell your plans
• Upgrade an existing piece of furniture
• Use reclaimed wood
• Fix and resell furniture
• Make something completely new
• Make a luxury update

Take pride in the furniture that you have built. Sell one to a friend, and they will tell another friend; word of mouth is free advertising. Get your business cards ready: Use them to hand out to people admiring your creations at a trade show, craft show, or party.

Learn more: How to make money flipping houses.

3. Build and refurbish patio for homes and businesses

One of the biggest trends in landscaping is the creation of outdoor rooms or patios. Outdoor rooms give a break from the heat with large, comfortable furniture. These rooms allow people to entertain themselves outdoors. 

Patios are also increasingly being built on rooftops. Restaurants and public facilities are realizing the potential of these spaces to generate revenue. Do you want to make money with woodworking? Consider building and refurbishing patios for homes and businesses.

Many people and business owners are looking for someone to build or refurbish their patio or backyard area near their home or business. The demand for patios and backyard remodeling is higher than ever before. 

Using your woodworking skills, build furniture, flooring, trim work, gates, fences, and whatever else you can form into a profitable business. Overall, both parties benefit from the deal. A woodworker gets paid for his work, and a patio is a long-term investment for the owner.

The average cost of a wooden patio in the US is about $15,000 to $45,000 for more than a 500 square foot project. You can make good money with this. 

4. Use social media to find clients 

Social media marketing is a relatively inexpensive option, it’s a great way to promote your business. Create an account on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest so you can connect with people who need you.

Another advantage of social media is that it is a great way to find woodworking clients. You could share your works on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and talk about how you made it. 

Here are some ways you can use social media to find clients.

• Identify the right platforms
• Announce events on social media
• Set up an engaging profile
• Share pictures of your work
• Chat with customers online
• Start a Facebook Fan Page
• Create content that is valuable to potential clients
• Use Google Alerts to learn about new clients
• If you already have a website, connect it with social media accounts. If you don’t have a website yet, check #7 below
• Tell the world what you’re doing, and why you do it
• Be yourself – Social media is about fun!

You can even ask friends and family to share your page with their friends if you feel uncomfortable asking everyone you know.

Learn more: Best social media tools, apps, and software.

5. Start a woodworking blog, and monetize it

There are several ways to make money with a woodworking blog. The two obvious ones are selling stuff you make on the blog or getting commissions on products that you recommend to your readers. 

You can also utilize affiliate marketing by linking products and programs with a discount code. If your woodworking is good and you are skilled at writing, there is no reason why you can’t make money with your knowledge.

Here are some tips to get the best out of your woodworking blog.

• Add relevant posts and content
• Size your audience before jumping in
• Study popular woodworking blogs
• Make sure every piece is unique
• Give step by step instructions and how-to guides
• Write about woodworking tools
• Ask questions from customers. Make them interact with you
• Network with like-minded people
• Don’t get discouraged when it seems hard at first
• Learn about SEO
• Try to make your blog unique

Having a woodworking blog can generate significant earnings for you. The benefits are not only from the ads displayed on it but also help you rank better with search engines and bring in potential customers.

With the right monetization technique, you can earn about $2,000 to $5,000 per month as a woodworking niche blogger.

Learn more: ways to monetize a blog.

6. Sell to designers or celebs

A lot of designers are on the lookout for unique, handmade products. Imagine how it would be if you got a call from a designer or celebrity asking you to make their furniture.

One way you can do this is by selling your finished woodworking projects directly to celebrities to decorate their homes.

Here are some thoughts on what you can build and sell to designers and celebs.

• Home decor products
• Wall art and accessories
• Vases and photo frames
• Memorabilia and awards
• Jewelry from wood pieces
• Custom guitar necks
• Carved surfboards
• Musical instrument cases
• Cell phone cases

Celebrities use custom home products to make their houses stylish and trendy. Hence, they are willing to spend a lot of money. 

Also, you could sell your handmade products to designers. At times, these designers further customize the items and sell them in their stores for a higher price.

7. Have a woodworking website to market your skills and products

If you are serious about woodworking as a potential career then building a website would be a good next step to market your woodworking skills and products. The best way to build a website these days is to use a website builder. 

A website builder helps you create and edit pages for your website. You can be an expert woodworker or just learning woodworking, a website builder will help you build a portfolio to highlight your woodworking projects and skills.

There are a lot of website builders out there and I’ll recommend some for you: Wix, WordPress, or Squarespace. They are easy to use, support both creating the site and selling on it (if you want to), and offer affordable plans.

8. Create woodworking courses or lessons

Whether you’re a professional woodworker or just a hobbyist, creating woodworking courses can be a great source of income. You can charge people for access to lessons or sell ebooks with instructions on how to build various items.

Woodworking courses and lessons are great in that you can make the lessons as long or short as you desire. If you have a lot of knowledge and experience in woodworking, why not create courses and become an online tutor? This is pretty much what the internet was made for.

Here are some tips on how to get started with creating online courses.

• Choose your ideal online course platform
• Figure out what people want
• Create a course that covers their questions
• Upload pictures, videos, and notes to your platform
• Keep improving your skills
• Offer group classes with popular woodworkers
• Create themed woodworking packages
• Offer high-quality materials and courses
• Become a better teacher

You don’t have to create complete woodworking courses from scratch. You can offer variations that no one else has. For example, you can create a video course on “How to Make a Coffee Table with Three Legs” with all of the techniques needed to do so. 

But skip the lesson on how to put in drawers (instead provide an instructional manual for a table with drawers). Give people reasons to pay for your courses. It is possible to launch your course and begin earning money right away.

9. Don’t sell yourself short – charge what you are worth 

A successful craftsman takes pride in their work, and this is often reflected in the price they charge. Just starting, it might seem impossible to charge a price close to what you think you can do. However, over time you will start to feel more confident that your work is worth a certain amount.

Also, you should focus on developing your skills. The more you practice woodworking skills, the more precise you will be when using the features and benefits. The more skilled you are in communicating your thoughts, the easier it is for people to envision the product.

Thinking about how trends evolve can help you predict what people might want (or a new feature they might be asking for). Read books, take classes and visit other woodworkers. Visiting local shops and perusing catalogs is a great way to see what’s new and sample the latest tools and materials.

You might ask – “How can I charge my worth, or how do I know what I’m worth?” No worries, here’s how.

• Set your rates for every task
• Find out what other woodworkers in your area and outside are charging
• Be prepared to turn down a job
• Find the most profitable jobs
• Be honest with your clients
• Offer a guarantee
• Be realistic with your pricing – don’t be greedy

Despite thoughts that your skill level is not sufficient to charge full price, undervaluing yourself and your time is much more damaging in the long run. Don’t sell yourself short – charge what you are worth.

10. Start a YouTube channel

YouTube is a major source of traffic and income to many businesses and it’s booming. You may ask that there are plenty of channels devoted to woodworking already. My answer is simple. There is room for more.

By starting your own channel you can build an audience and make a name for yourself. Starting a YouTube channel is not as hard as you think. Start with the following.

• Make quality videos
• Keep your audience engaged
• Be consistent with uploading content
• Create videos that attract viewers
• Find ways to monetize your videos
• Learn about SEO and keywords optimization. Use them on your videos

It doesn’t take a whole lot of money or fancy equipment to start a woodworking YouTube channel. The best way to go about it is to start by making tons of videos about your work as you go along. 

Your videos can be relatively short until you figure out what works best for your audience. 

Learn more: How to make money on YouTube 

Learn to build strong relationships with clients

A strong relationship with your clients is crucial to your growth and success as a craftsman, regardless of your level of experience. If you are serious about making money from woodworking, leap and give it all that you have to offer. 

Your success is more likely to happen when you build solid relationships with your clientele and do everything to make sure they are pleased with your services.

The sign of a good woodworker is the number of referrals they get. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, word of mouth is what gets the most business for woodworkers.

How much can you make with woodworking?

The true potential of woodworking for making money is limitless. By building the right customer base, designing and selling high-end furniture can make you as much as $100,000 a year. 

Nonetheless, to make good business out of woodworking, you need to invest in tools. Sometimes there is a need to invest in machinery too. Mostly you are going to invest your time and effort in planning, designing, fabricating, and marketing.

FAQs

What tools do you need to get started with woodworking?

You’re going to need the basics… a good, solid workbench, good lighting, some clamps, and a few simple tools such as a tape measure and an assortment of chisels. With these, you can build everything from a birdhouse to a deck if you like.

Is woodworking profitable?

Yes, woodworking is profitable. Woodworking is one of the few hobbies that can make you money. If your woodworking efforts are selling quickly, you could be turning a profit even without having to sell at retail price.

The key is to make something people want and to set a price on it that is fair for both you and your customers.

If you have done the research and followed my tips to make money with woodworking, the chances are high that you will make money. Just because someone else didn’t make any money, doesn’t mean you won’t be different.

Do you need a workshop to start making money with woodworking?

No, you do not need a workshop on day 1. The great thing about woodworking is that you can do a lot in your garage at the beginning. You can start working with hand tools, a small hand saw, and a hammer, a drill, and a few clamps. 

After you get better at it you may want to invest in some machinery and power tools but it is not necessary at the start. You can also set up a temporary shed or outbuilding to work in if you don’t have enough room for a shop.

Which wood products have the highest demand?

Wood is a renewable resource and thus makes it environmentally friendly. It is ideal for interior furniture such as cabinets, tables, chairs, and other items of furnishing. 

Nevertheless, its demand is also high in shelves/racks, cabinet doors, staircases, churches, furniture, and lamination. Also, woodworking products made from MDF, poplar, yellow pine, and other woods are facing high demand.

Final thoughts

Making money with woodworking sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? Why would someone pay me to make something out of wood when they can go down to the home depot and buy some for cheap? The reason is that they aren’t made the way you’re going to make them. 

The great part about woodworking is that everyone can do it and make money from it. This post highlights the best ways to make money with woodworking.

Isn’t it amazing that there are a thousand ways to make money, even online? Discover ways to earn money from things you probably never thought of on a normal day. If you have good handwriting, you can make money with it. How about a good voice? Don’t be shy, make money with your voice. 

The list could go on and on about different ways to make money, but I wouldn’t want to keep you here for hours on end. It might be worthwhile to spend some time exploring the part of this blog that highlights various ways to make money. Have fun exploring the possibilities.

Thank you for reading.