This Business About Woodworking

A response to a recent post contained a link to an article on dealing with “toxic” employees.

The title of this post seems to be the attitude of most people when it comes to anything involving the spending of money. There is an uncertain quality to how people feel about buying anything, especially if it involves a substantial investment.

In business, it is imperative that we maintain a positive energy. This is essential for good customer relations as well as a strong, positive work environment.

With all of the concern about our changing climate, we are finding ourselves needing to consider our own impact on our environment. Let’s forget, for the moment, the argument about the cause of climate change. The fact is that the climate is changing and it’s doing so at a much greater rate than was previously believed.

There have been numerous times throughout my woodworking career when people have asked me how I do this or that. Sometimes it’s just curiosity. Sometimes it’s some who wants to do it themselves and is in need of guidance. And, sometimes it’s a competitor who has underbid a job he doesn’t really know how to do.

We are always on the lookout for talented, experienced employees. Yes, they are getting harder to find. And if we are looking for a strong work ethic, it gets even more difficult.

In our business we are often asked to do things a bit differently than we’re used to. People want to individualize their projects. They don’t want to pay premium prices for something that looks just like what they could have bought at the local furniture store.

I have always maintained that exceptions are a myth, much like scrap inventory. We all have policies regarding how we deal with things like customers wanting changes made or employees wanting some form of special consideration.

Everyone in business has an image in their mind of what their dream employee would be. There is a tendency, when interviewing potential employees to look indications that fit that image. This can lead to a distorted, idealized view of the person being considered, leading us to see things that might not really be there.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to hire a guy who had literally grown up in the furniture industry. He was from South Carolina and started working in a furniture plant when he was 14. He had moved to our area to take care of an ailing parent.

In our business, we are often called upon to work outside of our comfort zone. Sometimes it’s in the form of needing to create a unique design that does not fit within the parameters of our typical production format. These projects may require us to master a new technique or a tool we have never used before.

I recently came across the following definitions that attempt to differentiate art and craft.

Wherever you stand on the question of climate change or global warming, there is no denying that our sources of fine hardwoods is rapidly diminishing.

The big push in today’s market place is toward automation. Most large industries are already at least partially automated with CNC machines and robotics performing work formerly done by people.

A recent column in the July 2019 issue of Woodshop News, “What’s the deal with finding skilled labor?”, discussed the shortage of cabinetmakers, joiners and woodworkers in general.

Remember Strickland, the stern, disciplinarian school principal in the “Back to the Future” movie? “Discipline!” was his litany. And to be sure, discipline is important.

There was a long period when I had employees, but I started out as a one-man shop and ended up as a one-man shop.

There are many times when we have the pressure of a deadline. The need to hit a payment schedule, contract requirements, customer demands and a myriad of other factors can put us in a time bind.

Most of us have chosen woodworking as a profession for the same reason: we like working with wood.

The recent disastrous fire that consumed most of the roof structure of the Notre Dame cathedral got me thinking once again about the fragile nature of our wood supply.

I’m laughing out loud at the current proposal to send immigrants to sanctuary cities. I happen to live in one and the biggest problem local businesses have is finding good help.

I have been asked about my work many times. Not any nuts and bolts stuff that I’m pretty comfortable talking about but things like how I feel about what I do or how I must love my work.

These days, a prospective employee is more likely to be asked about his knowledge of computers than about how well he can produce a smooth surface with a hand plane.