This Business About Woodworking

It wasn’t too long ago when it seemed like someone was coming into the shop looking for work about every day. These days, it’s a rare occurrence.

I have a lot of pieces of wood that are too good to throw away but too small to really be useful. We sometimes call pieces like this scrap, but I have always maintained that there is no such thing as scrap.

In my junior high shop class, the instructor insisted that we begin by planing the edge of a board. The edge had to be straight and square. I spent most of the semester trying to accomplish this.

I’ve been getting more and more frustrated in my attempts to find people who know how to work.

I have always tried to pay a living wage. The actual dollar amount is irrelevant because a living wage can vary dramatically depending on where your business is located.

It is often said that the customer is always right. Obviously, this is suggesting that the customer should always be accommodated in whatever he or she wants. And, to some extent this is a good policy. It can often lead to a very happy and satisfied customer. But not always.

It’s not unusual or unreasonable for people to want something unique. We are not all the same and that’s a good thing.

In a line in one of his early songs Bob Dylan wrote, “Don’t think twice, it’s alright”. Whatever he was referring to, it was not doing business in today’s climate.

My wife thinks I’m a genius. Well, not all the time, but particularly because I’m always figuring out how to fix things.

Technology has been creeping into how we do business for a long time now. Obviously, CNC machines have taken on an increasing role in cutting, milling, shaping, carving, etc. And hand-held tools like routers and sanders are a lot smarter than used to be.

When you use social media to promote you work, images are vital. No one’s going to be able to visualize your project by reading a long description. Consider using short video clips.

I have a machine that has a timer switch as part of the controls. After a number of years, the switch began to fail so I was faced with another repair.

Using social media for promoting a business has become a common practice. It only takes a few seconds to post to a social media page and your latest thought or project can be presented to thousands of “followers”.

It seems like the cost of everything associated with doing business is rising. But the one the thing that is actually going down and going down dramatically is advertising.

I’m a bit concerned about how tariffs imposed on imports might affect woodworking businesses.

Webster’s defines industry as “economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories.”

Social media has been at the forefront of the news lately, largely due to the negative press given to the abuse of a user’s private data.

I recently saw an internet posting of a very fine piece of woodwork. There were many compliments, including “that could be in the Louvre!”

I have tried to avoid discussing anything political here. This is supposed to be about running a shop. But completely separating business and politics is like separating the cart and the horse.

The biggest conversation going right now is related to how we treat others. The current focus is on how men in positions of power treat women.

I have always tried to maintain a positive outlook. Even when things get difficult, it’s not impossible to envision things improving. But these days, I’m finding that it is taking a lot more mental energy to combat the negative energy that seems to be pervading everything.

There’s an old expression: Out of sight, out of mind. People will not do business with you if they do not know you are there. Even people who have done business with you in the past tend to forget about you once the current transaction is completed. Staying in sight is important.

Current stats show a very low unemployment level across the country. This is a good thing. People have jobs.

We all know about spring cleaning, the once-a-year, take-everything-out cleaning binge that is usually accompanied by a dozen other tasks that have been put off for one reason or another.