You know you love carpentry if you derive immense satisfaction out of building something with your own hands. Whether it is a recent passion or doing carpentry for many years, you still need to have a proper plan for starting a carpentry business. In this article, we will guide you through the process of creating a carpentry business of your own.
Starting a carpentry business
You would need to make some critical decisions before you start the planning process of the carpentry business. The first thing you have to consider is the type of carpentry business you want to open. It could be anything from finish work like trimming and cabinetry to structural work like framework and roofing or other construction work.
But before you embark on new projects there is 1 important thing to do first. According to llcguys.com – one of the first steps when starting any kind of new business is to establish a legal entity.
In a carpentry business case – you will most likely benefit from incorporating an LLC (limited liability company). This will ensure your personal assets will be separated from your business assets.
Another essential aspect to consider is the location you will be working at. Usually, structural work requires you to work on construction sites, while detailed carpentry jobs like cabinetry can be done in an indoor location. For indoor work, you would need to rent a workshop, or you can work from home. In either case, you would need to determine if the local zoning laws allow you to operate in the location of your choosing.
When you start out in the carpentry industry, you might have to do some amount of commission-based work. This means that you might have to seek carpentry jobs actively, as they might not come to you initially. Once you have the business, well-established, reputable customers will seek you out.
Although starting a carpentry business is no cakewalk, you can use tips to kick it off the ground successfully, like consider getting equipment insurance. Following are some of the things you must keep in mind as you start building your carpentry business.
1. Effective business plan
Whenever you want to open any business, you should try to invest enough time in creating a business plan—possibly as much time as you would spend searching for the work. You might need to make many decisions regarding the progress of the business and the things you want to achieve with it. Before developing a business plan, you would need to ascertain the specialisation or target a niche market where you would operate. You will increase your chances of getting hired if you can offer a specific service and relevant skills.
You can find some good tips for starting a business plan on the Small Business Association of Australia (SBAA) page. There are specific steps for making a traditional business plan, which includes –
- Executive summary: This consists of your mission statement, information about the team leadership, location, employees, and products or services. If you need financing, it would be a good idea to include your financial information and high-level growth plans.
- Company description: This should include details about the company, including its competitive advantage in the market and any problem areas.
- Market analysis: This should consist of market trends and research into the industry. You should also include the prospective competitors in this section.
- Management and organisation: This should consist of the information regarding your organisation’s structure and running.
- Products or services: This should include the services and products that you are offering.
- Sales and marketing: This should include the sales strategy and how you plan to attract customers.
- Funding: You should include the amount of funding you will need for the first five years of the business. It should also consist of the details about how the finances will be used and how it would be repaid.
- Projections: This should consist of cash flow statements, income statements, and the balance sheets from the last 3 to 5 years.
- Appendix: You can also include supporting documents like product pictures, licenses, permits, reference letters, credit histories, and other such documents.
2. Brand creation
When you start a carpentry business, you need to create a reputation so that people can seek you out for their carpentry needs. For creating a reputable carpentry business, people need to know your brand. So it is essential to use some marketing and branding techniques for your business. The first thing you need to do is pick a business name. The business name is something that will be associated with the service you offer. So it needs to be something that sticks with the customers.
After deciding on the business name, you need to register it with the relevant authorities and trademark your brand. You can also hire a professional designer to create a logo for your business. The logo is another thing that will be featured everywhere in your business, from the business card to the marketing campaigns. The logo should be something that your customers recognise easily.
3. Good collection of tools
When you start your carpentry business, you must have the best tools. To be a good carpenter, having your toolset is not enough; many other tools besides the basic ones can help you improve your service. The staples in every carpenter’s toolkit include a measuring tape, chisel, hammer, drill, and a few other things. Some good additional equipment consists of a lathe and a standard table saw. You can also upgrade to a variety of handsaws, a jigsaw, and a mitre saw. In addition to this, you would also need a truck or a van for transporting the tools. The van can also be a great way to market or advertise your brand.
4. Insurance
It is essential to consider getting insurance before starting the carpentry business. It is a good idea for woodworking and construction businesses to insure as much as possible, considering the risks involved in the work environment. It would be best if you got liability insurance to make sure that your income stays protected. This is also important because there are risks of being injured in the workplace. In addition to this, you need to consider getting insurance for tools and equipment. It is essential to protect these since you invest a lot of your finances in building a good collection of tools.
5. Online presence
In the digital era, it is imperative to have an online presence for your business. You need to tap into alternative routes of advertising, like digital marketing. For this purpose, it would be a good idea to have a presentable business website. It would be best if you tried to update the website regularly with new information. You can also use social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn to market your products or services.
Conclusion
The most important thing to do while starting a carpentry business is to keep your standard of service high. You should intelligently implement the business model and continue with expanding your skills and marketing your hard work. It would be best if you tried to make good decisions for protecting your business, like consider getting tradie tool insurance. For more information on insurance for tools and equipment, click here.
If you continue to put in the hard work, your business will pick up in no time. If you have confidence in your abilities, your carpentry business will prove to be a fulfilling career move for you.
