How I Started My Own Business || Woodworking as a Job by Bourbon Moth Woodworking
I never set out to become a woodworker, it is not something that I wanted when I was young. I believe I planned to become an accountant or bank manager, but not a woodworker. But I got into the woodworking business the same way that a lot of you probably did.
Origin Story
We bought a house and needed some furniture but it was way too expensive. I figured I could build this kind of stuff myself so I set up a workshop and got to work, and then I fell in love with it. I wanted to do it every time and I wanted to know more and become advanced and to turn it into a full-time job.
But how can something that you love, your hobby, the things you just learned to do become your career? How are you going to get anyone to take you seriously? And how did I transition from part-time to full-time?
Getting Started
I started the business with a generic checklist. Having the name Bourbon Moth seemed fitting, I like bourbon and moths are cool. I got my social media, Facebook, and Instagram set up so I can post all the pieces and projects that I made. And last but not least is the website.
I actually don’t know anything about building websites, so I did some research and I found Squarespace. It is a life saver when you can just use their templates and change the photos and your website l0oks as though it has been professionally made!
The Struggle
When I finished doing projects for my house, I finally decided to start the business, but one of the hardest parts was finding customers. Customers start by looking for pictures of your past work, and I didn’t have that.
But I came up with a pretty interesting solution, I created a contest called Custom-Built for Cost. I advertised it all over my social media and let them fill out the form and let me know the furniture they wanted to have at a very reduced price. They will only pay for the wood that has been used, not the labor.
Doing so allowed me to choose the five projects I liked most. It benefited me a lot, doing a project for them at a very low cost and having somebody else pay for me to make those pieces, and it allows me to get potential customers, build my portfolio, and get their contact information that I could use to reach them in the future.
I created those five pieces, and before delivering them I hired a professional photographer to take incredible pictures of them for my portfolio.
Starting any business is hard, I am not going to lie about that. Owning a business requires an insane amount of work dedication and sacrifice, and if it’s right for you, it’s worth it.
IG: bourbonmoth