How to Start Your Own Custom Millworking Business

Starting your own custom millworking business signifies the marriage of your passion for craftsmanship and your sensibilities regarding your livelihood.

Too often, we are forced to choose between doing what we love for little or no remuneration, and doing something to pay the bills. Operating your own custom millworking business will give you the opportunity to get paid to do what you love: create masterpieces from carved wood.

Instructions

1. Contact the business licensing office in your city or county. These offices are staffed with employees who can answer all of your questions related to keeping your operation in compliance with local codes and state regulations. Your contact will provide you with a checklist of every form required to complete the licensing process for the area in which you will do business. This information is unique to each community.

2. Decide on the tax structure you want your custom millworking business to operate within. Will you operate as a sole proprietor? LLC? Corporation? In order to make this determination, you need to be clear about what your goals for the business are. You will obviously want to generate revenue, but from a tax standpoint, how do you want that revenue treated? For that matter, how do you want your business losses to be treated? It is prudent to expect that your business will actually lose money in its first few years of operation because of the funding you will have to provide to your business to get it off the ground. You should consider consulting with a tax professional prior to finalizing this decision.

3. 

   Identify exactly what types of custom millwork your business will produce. If you have already established yourself in millworking as a hobby, you should already have pieces to display to market your business. Do you primarily work in furniture, cabinetry, or, in architectural pieces such as staircases? If you create various types of woodwork, make that clear to your prospective clients and customers. If you are highly specialized, emphasize to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

4. Purchase the tools and equipment you need to run a successful business. Since you are starting a very specific type of business, you should already have the essential tools and a great deal of experience in using them.

   Tools and equipment, in this instance, also applies to items that you will need to furnish your office space, such as computer, printer, fax machine, copier, and phones. The efficient operation of your business will be heavily dependent upon you having the right tools to handle the administrative and creative aspects of your business.

5. 

   Network. Network. Network. Hopefully, you have at least made a name for yourself in your local community as a talented hobbyist. If this is the case, you will use that notoriety to market your business by word-of-mouth--just let people know that your hobby has become your full-time business. Show them pictures of your work or invite them to your workshop. Another great way to network is by referral. Ask those you have done work for, and those who have seen your work, to recommend you to their family, friends, and co-workers who have custom millworking projects of their own.

   If you are starting your business on a shoestring budget, networking is especially important to jumpstarting your business. Good networking and word-of-mouth marketing beats advertising any day (all things being equal).

6. Advertise your work and your services. Let people know you want their business. Make it so that when they think of a project that involved customer millworking, you are at the top of their minds. Here are eight ways to advertise your business:

   1. Website
   2. Trade shows
   3. Workshop or Gallery
   4. Fairs
   5. Flea Markets
   6. Do free work, such as small repairs, every now and then to get people talking about you. Giving something away free, in this case your custom millworking skills, is a great way to grab the attention of would-be clients.
   7. Trade magazines
   8. Flyers, brochures, and pamphlets

Tips & Warnings

• A custom millworking business can provide you with endless opportunities for inspiration and income. As part artist and part administrator, once you commit yourself to being a great CEO and a great craftsman, your business will flourish.

Resources

• Moulding & Millwork Producers Association (MMPA)
• The Barley Harvest Woodworking Plans
• Master Basic To Advanced Skills with The Complete Guide To Woodworking
• Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship
• Small Business Start-Up Kit