How I'd Start a Woodworking Side Hustle Today (Without Wasting Money)
If I had to start a woodworking side hustle from scratch today, knowing what I know now, I'd do things a lot differently.
I wouldn't rush out and buy a bunch of expensive tools. I wouldn't immediately start accepting custom orders. And I definitely wouldn't spend weeks building products without knowing whether anyone actually wanted to buy them.
Instead, I'd focus on starting small, keeping expenses low, and finding something I could build efficiently and sell for a reasonable profit.
Because one of the biggest lessons I've learned about woodworking is that just because you can make something doesn't mean you can make money selling it.
There's a big difference between woodworking as a hobby and woodworking as a business.
So, if I were starting a woodworking side hustle today, here's exactly how I'd approach it.
Listen to The Scrap Pile: How I'd Start a Woodworking Side Hustle Today
1. I'd Start With the Tools I Already Have
One of the easiest ways to lose money before your woodworking business even gets started is buying equipment you don't actually need.
It's tempting to think you need a fully equipped workshop before you can start selling woodworking projects.
A nice table saw, planer, jointer, router table, dust collection system, and maybe even a CNC machine.
But the reality is that you can make plenty of woodworking projects with a relatively modest collection of tools.
If I were starting today, I'd take inventory of what I already own and figure out what I could realistically build with it.
Then I'd choose products around those capabilities.
Not the other way around.
I wouldn't spend $2,000 on equipment to start a business that hasn't made its first sale.
Now, if a particular tool would make production significantly faster or allow me to produce something I couldn't otherwise build, that might be worth considering later.
But I'd want the business to justify the purchase.
The goal is to make money with your tools, not spend all your money buying them.
2. I'd Choose One or Two Products to Start
This is probably one of the biggest things I'd do differently.
Instead of trying to build everything people might want, I'd focus on one or two products.
And I'd choose those products based on a few specific criteria.
They would need to be relatively easy to build, inexpensive to produce, repeatable, and something people are actually willing to buy.
For example, I might consider:
Small wooden keepsake boxes
Cutting boards
Wooden signs
Simple home decor
Small shelves or organizers
Specialty woodworking blanks or supplies
I'm not saying all of these products are guaranteed to sell.
But they're examples of projects that could potentially work without requiring weeks of labor.
I would avoid starting with large custom furniture projects.
Not because you can't make money building furniture, but because those projects generally involve more materials, more time, more space, and greater financial risk.
I'd rather sell several small products, learn what customers want, and gradually grow from there.
3. I'd Figure Out My Costs Before Setting Prices
Here's where a lot of woodworking side hustles get into trouble.
Someone builds a cutting board for $20 in materials and sells it for $50.
They assume they made $30.
But they haven't accounted for their time, finishing supplies, equipment wear, selling fees, or packaging.
If I were starting today, I'd calculate the actual cost of every product before deciding what to charge.
Let's say I was making a small wooden box.
Here's a hypothetical breakdown:
ExpenseCostLumber$12Hardware and finishing supplies$5Packaging and selling fees$8Labor: 1.5 hours at $25/hour$37.50Allocated shop overhead$5Total cost including labor$67.50
If I could only sell that box for $45, I would have a problem.
I'd either need to find a way to produce it more efficiently, reduce expenses, or choose a different product.
I wouldn't simply ignore the labor cost and convince myself I was making money.
And I certainly wouldn't build twenty of them before figuring that out.
Knowing your numbers is one of the most important parts of running a profitable woodworking business.
4. I'd Test the Market Before Building Inventory
One mistake I'd avoid is spending a bunch of time making products and hoping people buy them.
Instead, I'd build a few examples and test whether there's actually demand.
I'd take good photographs, figure out a realistic selling price, and start putting the products in front of potential customers.
That might mean posting them in appropriate local Facebook groups, listing them on Facebook Marketplace, attending a small craft fair, or testing an Etsy listing.
The important thing is getting feedback from actual buyers.
And there's a difference between someone liking your product and someone purchasing it.
Friends and family might tell you something looks great.
But that doesn't necessarily mean they'd pay $75 for it.
I'd pay attention to which products generate genuine interest, what questions people ask, and whether they're willing to pay a price that makes the work worthwhile.
I'd use that information before investing in more materials or equipment.
5. I'd Avoid Custom Orders in the Beginning
This might be an unpopular opinion, but if I were starting a woodworking side hustle today, I'd be very cautious about accepting custom orders.
I've talked about this before on The Scrap Pile.
Custom woodworking can become frustrating quickly.
Every project is different. Every customer has different expectations. And it's difficult to estimate how long something will take when you've never built it before.
That doesn't mean custom woodworking is a bad business.
Some woodworkers do very well with it.
But personally, I'd rather start with products I could build repeatedly.
I'd establish a few standard sizes, materials, and finishes.
That way, I could improve my process, reduce waste, and get a much better understanding of my actual production costs.
If someone wanted something completely different, I'd have to decide whether the project was worth taking.
And I wouldn't be afraid to say no.
Not every opportunity to make money is a good opportunity.
6. I'd Focus on Selling Locally First
If I were starting from scratch, I wouldn't immediately invest a bunch of money into building an elaborate e-commerce website.
I'd start by finding customers close to home.
Local Facebook groups, Facebook Marketplace, community events, and word of mouth can all be useful places to test demand.
Selling locally also has some advantages.
You may be able to avoid shipping costs, packaging expenses, and the hassle of dealing with damaged products in transit.
And you can often get direct feedback from customers.
Once I knew which products were selling consistently, then I'd consider expanding to platforms like Etsy or my own website.
I'm not saying you shouldn't sell online.
I'm saying I wouldn't spend a bunch of time building an online store before proving that people actually wanted what I was selling.
7. I'd Build Products in Batches
Once I found a product that people were buying, I'd focus on making the production process as efficient as possible.
Let's say I was making wooden keepsake boxes.
Instead of building one box from start to finish, I'd consider building several at the same time.
I'd cut all the parts, complete similar machining operations together, and organize the finishing process so I wasn't constantly changing setups.
Batch production can save a significant amount of time.
And when you're running a woodworking side hustle, time is one of your most valuable resources.
If you can reduce a two-hour project to one hour through a more efficient process, that can make a major difference in profitability.
But I'd only start building larger batches after proving that customers actually wanted the product.
There's no sense in efficiently producing fifty items that nobody wants to buy.
8. I'd Reinvest Profits Instead of Constantly Spending Money
One of the biggest temptations in woodworking is buying more tools.
There's always something new that looks useful.
And when you're trying to run a business, it's easy to justify those purchases by telling yourself they'll help you make more money.
Sometimes they will.
But sometimes they're just expensive additions to your shop.
If I were starting today, I'd try to reinvest profits strategically.
Maybe I'd buy materials in larger quantities to reduce costs.
Maybe I'd purchase a jig that allows me to produce a product faster.
Or maybe I'd invest in better photography, packaging, or marketing.
I'd want every major business purchase to solve a specific problem.
And I'd avoid taking on unnecessary debt just to make my shop look more professional.
9. I'd Track My Time and Profit on Every Product
This is something I think more woodworkers should do.
I'd keep a simple spreadsheet showing how much each product costs, how long it takes to make, and how much it sells for.
That would allow me to compare products based on profitability rather than just sales.
For example:
ProductSelling PriceMaterials & Other CostsLabor TimeReturn Before Labor & TaxesCutting board$65$251.5 hrs$40Keepsake box$95$352 hrs$60Wooden sign$45$150.75 hrs$30
These are illustrative numbers, not actual market prices or guaranteed production times.
In this example, the wooden sign generates $40 per hour before accounting for labor, taxes, and any costs not included in the table.
The keepsake box generates $30 per hour, and the cutting board generates about $26.67 per hour.
That doesn't automatically make the wooden sign the best product.
You still have to consider demand, consistency, and how easily you can sell each item.
But it's useful information when deciding where to spend your time.
10. I'd Keep the Business Simple Until It Proved Itself
If there's one thing I'd emphasize to someone starting a woodworking side hustle, it's this:
Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be.
You don't need twenty different products.
You don't need every woodworking tool on the market.
And you don't necessarily need a fancy website, expensive branding, or a massive social media following.
You need something people want to buy, a way to produce it profitably, and a reliable way to reach customers.
Of course, you still need to handle the appropriate legal, tax, and business requirements for your location.
But from an operational standpoint, I'd keep things as simple as possible.
I'd rather have a small woodworking business selling two profitable products than a complicated operation selling twenty products that barely make any money.
My Goal Would Be Profit, Not Just Sales
If I were starting a woodworking side hustle today, I wouldn't measure success solely by how much revenue I generated.
I'd focus on how much money I actually kept and how much time I spent earning it.
Because it's possible to have a woodworking business that brings in thousands of dollars in sales while barely producing a worthwhile return.
And there's no point in turning something you love into another job if you're working every evening and weekend for next to nothing.
I'd start small, find a product with demand, get good at producing it, and grow from there.
And perhaps most importantly, I'd try to make sure woodworking remained something I enjoyed.
The goal isn't just to build a woodworking business. It's to build one that's actually worth running.
Listen to The Scrap Pile
This article accompanies an episode of The Scrap Pile, a woodworking podcast from Rocky River Woodworks.
In this episode, I discuss how I'd approach starting a woodworking side hustle today, what I'd do differently based on my experiences, and the mistakes I'd try to avoid.
Listen to "How I'd Start a Woodworking Side Hustle Today"
Have you started a woodworking side hustle, or are you thinking about starting one? What would you do differently if you could start over?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.