Shit man. If you want to build and sell furniture you gotta be in it 100%. You have a business idea and I’m assuming by how you worded your post have a love of building furniture. But you don’t know if it’ll work. Funny thing about trades is if you’re good at what you do and have passion for the trade, you will succeed. Good luck to you!
Both in furniture making and carpentry, besides gaining the skill set, the biggest barrier for running your own business is the cost of tools. You aren’t going to be buying a massive joiner and planer right out of the gate, etc. Things really add up quickly. I would work for someone else for a while to see what you want to focus on, but good luck!
Your best bet is to find a job with a furniture maker. Tough to do but not impossible. Easier to get work building or installing cabinets or finish carpentry. Try to get into high end homes and you’ll learn a lot of skills that way.
>is it hard to start a business in carpentry?
Nope, not in most states in the US anyway
Couple 100 bucks for an LLC, tax ID and insurance and boom, you have a carpentry business
NOW- that said, "is it hard to start a carpentry/GC business and make a living?"
Yes
It takes a long time to develop a clientele and grow to the point that you have steady work and income, and an even longer time to develop the skills necessary to produce high quality work to get and maintain a good reputation
In terms of "Furniture" it's just as easy to "start", easier because you don't need a license or anything, but in terms of actually making a living in woodworking it's much harder because the market for expansive hand made furniture is very small and it takes MUCH longer to develop that reputation and clientele to have a steady income
Most people don't start until they've worked in it for at least 5 years. Most successful people don't until about 7 years. Furniture making economically requires maybe $250,000 to start. Some people get very lucky with location and clients that they can make only high end spindle chairs or whatever from a small space with very specific tools, but they are still going to be quadruple China prices.
You're young enough, nothing is unrealistic. Start building furniture. Learn as much as you can about different joints, woods, fasteners. Build a chair. Then build that same exact chair as many times as it takes to be perfect.
I'd start with an appreciation of what carpentry is and what it isn't.
The answer to your question is over at /r/woodworking
We build houses, not tables.
-Learn carpentry and woodworking first, build up tools as you do this. Furniture making is not easy and if you aren’t fast and efficient you won’t make much money.
-Learn project management and estimating second, do this on the job while studying on the side.
-Learn accounting and invoicing third. Read books. Don’t waste time with the nitty gritty, you don’t need double entry, etc. Learn the rules for your specific niche and accounting software. If you have employees subcontract payroll to accounting firm. Payroll is a one strike game, if you don’t pay employees once don’t expect to have employees.
-Build up an inventory. Build some actual furniture then list it for sale. Expect to sit on it for a while. Plan on having a bunch of furniture wrapped in plastic sitting around. Eventually it will theoretically sell, however, you’ll be operating at a loss for a while.
So basically no, not easy and its something you slowly work up to as a side job while working a regular job.
Try r/woodworking. That’s where furniture makers hang out. Carpentry is generally a reference to construction of homes, structures, etc.
Shit man. If you want to build and sell furniture you gotta be in it 100%. You have a business idea and I’m assuming by how you worded your post have a love of building furniture. But you don’t know if it’ll work. Funny thing about trades is if you’re good at what you do and have passion for the trade, you will succeed. Good luck to you!
Both in furniture making and carpentry, besides gaining the skill set, the biggest barrier for running your own business is the cost of tools. You aren’t going to be buying a massive joiner and planer right out of the gate, etc. Things really add up quickly. I would work for someone else for a while to see what you want to focus on, but good luck!
Your best bet is to find a job with a furniture maker. Tough to do but not impossible. Easier to get work building or installing cabinets or finish carpentry. Try to get into high end homes and you’ll learn a lot of skills that way.
I think we will need more information about you, your skills and resources.
I haven't finished high school yet, just an idea.
If you’re looking for an easy barrier of entry, building furniture isn’t it.
>is it hard to start a business in carpentry? Nope, not in most states in the US anyway Couple 100 bucks for an LLC, tax ID and insurance and boom, you have a carpentry business NOW- that said, "is it hard to start a carpentry/GC business and make a living?" Yes It takes a long time to develop a clientele and grow to the point that you have steady work and income, and an even longer time to develop the skills necessary to produce high quality work to get and maintain a good reputation In terms of "Furniture" it's just as easy to "start", easier because you don't need a license or anything, but in terms of actually making a living in woodworking it's much harder because the market for expansive hand made furniture is very small and it takes MUCH longer to develop that reputation and clientele to have a steady income
Most people don't start until they've worked in it for at least 5 years. Most successful people don't until about 7 years. Furniture making economically requires maybe $250,000 to start. Some people get very lucky with location and clients that they can make only high end spindle chairs or whatever from a small space with very specific tools, but they are still going to be quadruple China prices.
You're young enough, nothing is unrealistic. Start building furniture. Learn as much as you can about different joints, woods, fasteners. Build a chair. Then build that same exact chair as many times as it takes to be perfect.
I'd start with an appreciation of what carpentry is and what it isn't. The answer to your question is over at /r/woodworking We build houses, not tables.
-Learn carpentry and woodworking first, build up tools as you do this. Furniture making is not easy and if you aren’t fast and efficient you won’t make much money. -Learn project management and estimating second, do this on the job while studying on the side. -Learn accounting and invoicing third. Read books. Don’t waste time with the nitty gritty, you don’t need double entry, etc. Learn the rules for your specific niche and accounting software. If you have employees subcontract payroll to accounting firm. Payroll is a one strike game, if you don’t pay employees once don’t expect to have employees. -Build up an inventory. Build some actual furniture then list it for sale. Expect to sit on it for a while. Plan on having a bunch of furniture wrapped in plastic sitting around. Eventually it will theoretically sell, however, you’ll be operating at a loss for a while. So basically no, not easy and its something you slowly work up to as a side job while working a regular job.
Furniture and carpentry are not the same. People spend $50k on a bathroom or kitchen remodel pretty regularly. $50k is a houseful of nice furniture.
where you located?