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Circling in on starting my small business

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52 M38 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 30 Dec. 2021 at 3:19pm
I am circling in on starting my small business.  It is a small woodcraft business making things like chicken coops, wood sheds and little school bus stops.  The market share definitely exists in my location.  

The business model has significant vertical integration.  I have a sawmill, almost all of the tools, the truck and trailer for deliveries and most importantly the knowledge and drive to make this work.  There are a couple of local tree companies that very nicely give me the pine trees as they have no use for them.  

I have my advertising plan which is through Craigslist and FB Marketplace, as well as through local vendors that sell chicken supplies and firewood.  

I plan to start this lower production beta version of the business in the next 6 months and run it at the lower scale for 3ish years till I retire and the take the lessons learned during that time to go into full production once retired.  I’m currently making jigs and templates to increase efficiency and safety.

I need to know from those of you who have tried and done this before what are the unknown, unknowns that I need to consider. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark W. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Dec. 2021 at 3:41pm
Bookkeeping, Taxes,, and marketing. Oh and trying to make more the $10 an hour self employed
Chug A Lug
1948 2A Body Customized
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Late 50's 134L 9.25"clutch T90A D18 (1.25") D44/30 flanged E-Locker D25 5.38 Since 1962
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52 M38 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 52 M38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Dec. 2021 at 4:10pm
I do need to learn about cooking the books, I am confident that my books will be fairly simple, but keeping them up to date is definitely something I will keep in mind.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cpt logger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Dec. 2021 at 8:25pm

Do yourself a favor, at least find out the building codes for the areas that you hope to serve. It will vary from city to city & county to county. Not the least of these codes are ones that specify whether the wood you use needs to be "certified" & what that certification means.

I have talked to several folks who mill wood & sell it. They can not sell their "non certified" wood for use to build "permanent" structures. There is an out for some states, you can get your wood certified by paying an inspector to come look at your wood. The main issue for their states is the moisture content of the wood. They air dry it for six months & have the inspector out to look at thousands of board feet of wood at one time. After the inspector stamps the inspected seal into each piece it can be sold. IIRC, the inspector's fee is $400 for one eight hour day of work. I am probably wrong on that, but the point is that the fee is affordable & thus, not a deal breaker. It is just one more hoop to jump through.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bight Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Dec. 2021 at 8:45pm
you may want to avoid "cooking the books". i had an experience with an accountant that did that and it typically leads to bad outcomes. 

most area community colleges or adult learning courses provide bookkeeping basics courses which may be all you need. seems many small businesses rely on quickbooks online to handle their needs. 

when i started my small business i planned and expected to pretty much not make any money for 10 years. re-investing everything back into the business. sounds like you have most of what you would need any investment money for. dont buy a new top of the line truck every year. dont blow any windfalls on expensive cruises. save and invest in yourself and the biz. 

this way you need NO LOANS. with no loans and no employees you can walk away if any disaster strikes and is a good feeling to have. any loans, even small ones cost you way more than most people think. 

and check out if you have a local small business assistance office nearby. often there is free assistance. another is SCORE which often has retired accountants and business owners that volunteer to help small businesses. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 52 M38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Dec. 2021 at 6:14am
CPT Logger, Good catch; I happen live in a state where my mill can be “certified” and I get my own stamp.  The cost is about $100 per year.  I checked with the department who sends out the certifier and it takes a month or so, then I have to get my stamp made.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 52 M38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Dec. 2021 at 6:27am
Bight, Cooking the books is just a figure of speech.  I do appreciate the tip about small business assistant. I looked them up and there is a center run by the state not far away at one of the state schools, so that is a “must” on my list now.  I’m not one to buy new equipment every year.  I generally keep stuff until it is spent, and then bring it back for a second round after a rebuild.  I have no loans on any equipment.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rocnroll Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Dec. 2021 at 1:07pm
Originally posted by 52 M38 52 M38 wrote:

.......to go into full production once retired.


I know what you meant but this just read funny to me.LOL

Good luck with the business! Thumbs Up



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark W. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Dec. 2021 at 5:41pm
Does your state have personal property tax? Oregon has this stupid tax that taxes you on every tool you use in your business to include the pliers your grandpa bought you for your birthday when you were 8! Right up to the vehicle you use to attend crafts shows.

When I was a Custom knifemaker them A holes came at me as soon as I hung up a sign. I had to list all my tools all my unused materials and Things like my van which was used to get to Gun shows Knifeshows and Crafts shows etc. Much less fun then you would think.

Also you will need to deal with how to handle Credit cards and Sales tax Plus banking the Cash you hope people pay you with LOL.



Edited by Mark W. - 31 Dec. 2021 at 5:42pm
Chug A Lug
1948 2A Body Customized
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1957 CJ5 Frame Modified
Late 50's 134L 9.25"clutch T90A D18 (1.25") D44/30 flanged E-Locker D25 5.38 Since 1962
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Flatfender Ben Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan. 2022 at 12:23am
It’s great to hear your starting your own business!
Sounds like your business will hit the ground running. 

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1948 cj2a blue jeep
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1956 willys pickup boomer
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jhg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan. 2022 at 8:27pm
I own my own business and two things helped it grow. 1) if a client had a problem I just fixed it, right away, no pushback. (This does not include the rare client making unreasonable claims, which is different. I never subscribed to the "clients always right" myth. Some people you cannot ever make happy)
2) deliver a great product, always.

Word of mouth is huge today via social media. Don't  make excuses.  Be truthful about what you can deliver. If there are delays take responsibility. People respect that.


Edited by jhg - 23 Jan. 2022 at 8:30pm
1948 cj2a. Rebuilt L-head, steering, T90, WO 636, steering, brake lines. So far.
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52 M38 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 52 M38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jan. 2022 at 4:22am
Thank you.  I will take that to heart.  My current occupation is not one for making excuses either.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Oldpappy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jan. 2022 at 11:23am
I have had 3 hobbies that turned into small businesses and learned a few things.

25 years ago when my youngest daughter was 5 she asked me to make a doll bed for her favorite doll.
I made one for her birthday, and every mother of her friends who came to the birthday party asked me what I would charge to make doll beds for their daughter. I told them $25.

My daughter's name was Kaiti, and I called her "Kaiti-Bug". 

I priced them too cheap, and before long after those women showed the beds to their friends I had people I didn't know calling me wanting to buy a doll bed. Soon the demand exceeded my capacity, and I figured out why. One of the women brought a catalog to me to show what kind and size bed she wanted. It was for a doll popular at the time called "American Girl", and the doll beds in that catalog were four times what I was asking for mine, and mine were better made.

I increased my price, and employed an elderly aunt who wanted something to do to make bed clothes for the beds. She made beautiful pillows, mattresses, and bed spreads to go with the beds for $25 a set.

Toward the end I was getting $100 per bed plus $25 if they wanted the trimmings my aunt made.

Toward Christmas of the next year I was overloaded with orders for the beds, and two weeks before Christmas my Shopsmith machine broke, and I had to wait a week for the part, and I ended up working on the last set of four beds all night on Christmas eve, but I got them finished.

The father of the four girls those beds were for showed up at my house at 7:00 am Christmas morning, and cussed me out because the finish on the beds was still a little tacky and they needed to dry another hour. He held out five one hundred dollar bills and I took it from him and threw it into the yard and told him to pick up his money and get the H out of my yard. That was the end of the "Kaiti-Bug Bed Factory".  

Next hobby that turned into business was when my daughter was 15 and was into horses. I made her a fancy bridle and breast color to match the saddle we had bought for her horse. A similar story began when the parents of other kids at the riding stable wanted me to make outfits for their kid's horses. I enjoyed leather work, and did it well. That hobby grew into something where 3 local tack shops would buy anything I made. Mostly I made old west style wide cheek bridles which were tooled, and had nice silver mountings. One tack shop owner who had bought a few of my bridles called me asking for a breast collar to match a fancy black bridle he had sold to a guy who wanted one. I spent three days making that breast collar, and when I took it to his shop he tried to get it cheap. I knew the price he had put on that bridle was $125, so I told him the price for the breast collar, which was completely tooled with fancy hand stitching and expensive silver mountings and decoration, was $300. He didn't want to, but he paid that price which was more than any breast collar he had in his shop.

 The recession hit soon after that, all of those tack shops went under, people weren't spending money on horses and riding lessons so the riding stable closed down too. That was the end of my making horse gear.  When I calculated the time I had put into this stuff I realized I was making less than half of minimum wage, so it wasn't a good "business" anyway, and trying to make it into that took all the fun out of it.

About a dozen years ago I started learning to play old time banjo. I kept wanting a better banjo, and soon found out that most commercially made banjos are designed for finger pickers, and not so well suited for the old time down picking called "Clawhammer" which is what I played. So, I made my own banjo. I went to a "banjo camp" in central WV and that banjo impressed the teacher so much he asked me to make one for him. So, I did. He is a world known banjo player, and soon others were contacting me wanting one of my banjos. 

From my previous ventures I learned two important things. 

1) Do not undervalue your work, set a price that is fair to the customer, and to yourself.
2) Do not make promises you can't keep, never take on more than you can get done. 

My approach to handle these two things with my banjos is. I do not take custom orders, I do not take money up front. No deposits, no waiting list. I build what I want to build, when I want to build it. If someone wants certain features and I agree they are worthwhile I will probably include those features in a banjo I build, and let them have first dibs on it when it is done, but until they see it, play it, and decide they want it I have no binding commitment with them. I only build a few banjos a year. When I have some ready there is always someone who wants them. It is still fun this way.  

If you can't get there in a Jeep you don't need to be there!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 52 M38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jan. 2022 at 5:06pm
Great info and points.  I have done some, not enough yet, market research to determine the “going rate” and quality level of products available and that will help drive my own numbers. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote drm101 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jan. 2022 at 6:00pm
I had a similar experience with customers as Oldpappy. In '09 I started a small engine business and really enjoyed the work, but dealing with people was difficult and stressful, especially when I started advertising my services. I regularly talked people out of bringing me their mowers because they didn't want to spend more than $100, or $50, or whatever price they had in their head. Some folks will want a custom whatever, not want to pay up front, you'll build it, and never hear from them again. I had tractors and mowers and stuff stacked up that people didn't come back for and a small shop. I had no choice but to sell things after 6 months, which I felt guilty about, then had to deal with some people who came back months later to find their tractor no longer around. It's not for the faint of heart, you have to have a backbone, and know what you're worth. I damn near cried when I got a call to go back to automotive engineering and certainly never looked back. 

Edited by drm101 - 24 Jan. 2022 at 6:02pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Oldpappy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan. 2022 at 12:12pm
That guy was so mad because I wouldn't let him have the doll beds. Standing in my front yard he yelled "What the F!#! am I going to tell my kids?"

Now, had he been nice, and apologized for cussing me, I would have just given him the doll beds at no charge for those kids, but he was far from being nice, and nobody is going to come to my house on Christmas morning and cuss me out in hearing of my family.

So, I told him "Tell them you pissed off Santa Claus". I said this as I was coming down the steps with a hammer in my hand. I didn't realize I had the hammer, and would not have hit him with it, but he sure did leave in a hurry.

I am not sure what he told his kids, but I felt bad about them. It wasn't their fault they had such a man for a father.

Recently a real nice guy came to my place and bought a WW2 engine. He saw I had a couple others I was tearing down and asked "Do you rebuild engines for other people?". I told him I didn't want to get into that, but I would be glad to help him if he decided to build his own.




Edited by Oldpappy - 25 Jan. 2022 at 12:16pm
If you can't get there in a Jeep you don't need to be there!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 52 M38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Sep. 2022 at 2:49pm
What a learning curve!  I have started selling chicken coops.  Only a couple at this point, both were basically prototypes.  I have been focusing on defining the production model and have learned a ton.  I have learned to use less hardware in the coops while making them look nicer.  My setup is not profitable right now.  It will be once the production model is good and I build a standard cut plan.  Beyond building the actual product, there is the logistics of loading and marketing.  It has been really interesting, glad I don’t rely on this to pay the bills. 

Edited by 52 M38 - 04 Sep. 2022 at 2:51pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 3A Steve Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Sep. 2022 at 8:33pm
Have a neighbor who is a very good woodworker. Capable of high end furniture, antique style cutlery chests, and the like. Was building chicken coops as a business line. Went to chicken shows. Always tried to tell me more than I ever wanted to know about chickens. He made very nice coops and sold on eBay and elsewhere. He eventually sold his jigs and got out of that business. You may do better but if you have the skill you may want to look for other products. If you want, I'll see if he will talk to you about his fowl experience.
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