How Blacktail Studio Makes $15K/Month Woodworking by Upflip
Would you guys like to know how to start a successful woodworking business that sells furniture for $30,000 and more per item? Well, today we have Cameron, owner of Blacktail Studio, who’s going to tell you everything there is to know about his thriving woodworking business. Let’s get into it!
Background
Cameron is an EMS pilot that works seven days on and seven days off, so he needs something to do during those off days. He and his family just moved into a house with a big garage where his business all started.
Monthly average revenue from furniture sales usually ranges from $30,000 – $40,000 per month, but because Cameron is more focused on social media and content creation his average is around $15,000 per month.
Scaling and Growing Revenue
Woodworkers should not be afraid to charge what they’re worth. I started charging $5,000 for a table, and I was like, “Wow, now I’ve made it.” Then when you start making orders and you can’t keep up, add more and more to the price tag. Make it $8,000, $10,000, even $15,000.
Now I am turning down orders several times a week for a $20,000 table. I never would’ve got there if I were too afraid to raise my prices regularly.
YouTube Channel
My Youtube Channel has more than a 1.3 million subscribers. It came about simply because YouTube is awesome. It changed everything. From being to a small woodworking company making furniture, trying to make a profit, now Youtube is the main focus.
I am only one guy, I can only make so many tables in a year, but there’s no limit to how many views I can get If I upload videos to YouTube. I get customers from it because I am giving everything away. I didn’t know if that would hurt me, giving away all my quotes, secrets and tricks that I’ve learned, but it hasn’t yet!
Youtube specifically is not for everybody. But I think people should do some sort of social media. Youtube will eat up time because you need production, video edits, and everything else. But for Tiktok or Instagram, all you need to do is to take pictures or a clip of video and there you go, you already have content.
Start-Up Cost
My story might be a little different than, traditional businesses because I was flying full time. I was just doing this in my spare time, so I just bought one tool at a time; You can still do a lot with a limited number of tools. My initial start up cost was just a couple hundred dollars.
I suggest that every start-up woodworker should have a circular saw and a really good sander, it will make a big difference. Then just piece everything together.
When I started out, nobody was showing people how to make epoxy tables. So everything I learned is through trial and error, and I made a lot of mistakes. I started a virtual workshop, though I used to host in personal workshops but because of the pandemic, we created a virtual one. So I’ve hired a film crew to help me with this project, and this is the only thing I didn’t film and edit myself.
Switching from part-time to full-time is different for everybody. If you want to commit to it, you have to go all in. You have to quit your job, get your commercial space and do all the necessary things you need to do to start a business. But in my case, I just put my toe in the water and I wanted to see, “Am I good at this? Or is there a demand for it?”
Profit margin may vary from 90% profit to 40%. Generally, the smaller projects are made almost for free out of cuts of the big ones. For the big ones, I generally try to maintain 60% – 70% profit margin.
Sourcing the Wood
I am just outside of Portland, Oregon one of the best places in the world, and big walnut slabs are only 20min away. I have the world’s largest supplier of walnut slabs. Before I was buying stuff off of Craigslist but it was kind of hit or miss. I’ve had good and bad experiences there.
First, you need to consider to see if the wood is good or useless is its dryness. The bad experience on Craiglist was that the seller would tell you that the wood is ready to go and you find out that it’s not dried entirely or correctly.
Most customers found me on social media. When I first started, I spent $20 on Instagram ads and nothing came from it. Social media is the best advertising, it’s the most authentic, and customers can see the entire process of you creating a piece of furniture from start to finish.
You need to create a website to add a little bit of credibility to your business. After Etsy, the second thing you need to build is your website.
If someone’s emailing me, that’s the easiest thing in the world. If you’re at a home show and there are a thousand booths, that’s hard, you have to try to grab someone’s attention. But there’s no reason for you not to close someone, if they’ve seen your prices, they reached out, they want you, they know how much it costs.
Sometimes the timeline gets in the way if it’s too long, but for the most part, even that doesn’t cause problems. So if I want to do an order and I send out a quote, you know like we’re gonna do this, 90% chance I will get it closed.
Give your client a one big truth
Always give your client the best options and suggestions you can give to them, even if they might be a little bit offended. Don’t get me wrong, but you need to tell it to them in a polite manner. You can also give them some other options to choose from that will be beneficial for both of you.
One of the best places to sell your first product is on Etsy, which I tell to everybody. I personally stay away from Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist but Etsy does a really good job of getting projects. Etsy shop is a totally legit place to start.
I think that if you can just show your mistakes, if you show a big failure on social media and say like, “Oh, this didn’t go right.” Sharing that story with really resonates with people and makes them think, “Wow, maybe I can trust them with my project or my order because look what he did when something went wrong.”
I think most are people too afraid. They feel like, especially starting out, that you lose credibility and you need to be an expert, but people respect that you’re human and make mistakes but will also know how to fix them.
IG: @blacktailstudio