There are many different ways to make money nowadays. If you have some word working skills and are business savvy, you can learn how to make money building furniture.
In fact, there are many wood projects to make money that you could take on.
The ideas for exactly what you could focus on are endless, but here are 13 of the best-paying ways that you could make money by building furniture from your own at-home workshop.
1. Personalized Pieces
There are so many different pieces of wood furniture for sale nowadays that a lot of it looks the same.
One way to differentiate yourself from some of the other sellers online and make money with art skills is to design and make custom pieces.
Exactly what you make could vary greatly, but you could add a personal touch by engraving someone’s name, initials or a quote/message they love.
You could create an example of this and post it on online marketplaces, then allow customers to choose their own personalization.
Depending on what type of furniture you are making, you could charge $2,000 or so. (WoodWeb)
2. Custom Pieces
Another similar way you could be making money woodworking is by building custom pieces.
This could be a table, desk, end table, stool or any other piece of furniture you can think of.
The only difference is that instead of following a set design and/or blueprint you found online, you’ll be creating your own design from scratch.
People love custom pieces of wood furniture because they are unique pieces that can’t be found anywhere else.
You will need a little bit of cash to get the supplies, but this is almost a business idea you can start now with no money.
The average cost for a custom piece of furniture is $2,600 (Unruh Furniture), so it’s among the best wood projects to make money.
Types of custom pieces you could make include:
- Tables – End tables and dining room tables are some of the top picks
- Desks – Everyone loves to show off a custom desk in an office
- TV Stands – This could be the focal point of someone’s living room
- Entry Tables – People could wow guests as soon as they walk in the door
3. Make How-To Videos
For an outside-the-box idea, you could serve as the expert helping others learn how to make wood furniture.
This is a great way to actually learn how to make money building furniture in a way that would actually compound your earnings.
Not only would you be making money on the furniture you’re making, you’d also be making money off the videos you make.
Your videos could be walkthroughs and how-to videos, teaching people all the different steps of making wood furniture.
Making online videos is one of the most flexible ways to make money while in medical school or college.
People who are really good at it can make up to $3,000 per 1 million views. (YouTube)
Trend on the Rise
Woodworkers actually do really well on YouTube. The top channel has more than 820,000 subscribers. There are many people looking to learn from people who know what they’re doing making wood furniture.
4. Start a Blog
Along the same lines, you can start a blog that discusses in depth how to create wood furniture.
Some people learn by watching videos, while other people learn by reading. If you start a blog, you’ll be reaching the people who prefer to learn by reading.
One of the great parts about starting a blog is that you can always complement your writing with some video tutorials, which you could do on YouTube.
You could make about $30,000 writing a blog about making wood furniture. (Ryrob.com)
Tactic for Success
If you want to succeed as a blogger, it’s very important that you attract an audience. The best way to do that is to have social media accounts, where you can publish links to your content and get followers. So, if you want to start a blog, make sure you have a plan for social media as well.
5. Teach a Class
Another creative way to make money building furniture is to teach a class. Plenty of people prefer to learn at an in-person class, and people of all age ranges love to learn about woodworking.
Local trade schools and night schools are always looking for teachers to help, and if you have the chops and experience, you could be a great fit.
The average salary for this job would be around $33,000 per year , if you did it full time. (BestAccreditedColleges.org)
Tactic for Success
One of the great parts about teaching a furniture making class is that you most likely wouldn’t need a teaching degree. Instead, your experience making furniture should be enough to qualify you at most schools. So, get a little portfolio of your work together as you apply for open jobs.
6. Flip Furniture
There are plenty of places where you can get old wood furniture.
From friends and family, to recycling businesses, to even driving around town and seeing what people are throwing away, there’s almost a never-ending supply of wood furniture people don’t want.
If you are good at what you do, you could take this furniture, fix it up and sell it for a great profit. Check out these tips for how to sell artwork on eBay to increase your profits.
You could make roughly $500 per month with this, depending on how many jobs you can do in a month. (Don’tWorkAnotherDay.com)
If you’re looking for places to get furniture to flip, look at:
- Trash Picking – One person’s trash is another person’s treasure
- Friends and Family – If someone doesn’t want an old piece of furniture, take it of their hands
- Your Own House – Old furniture you don’t want anymore can be flipped
- Yard Sales – You can often get furniture for cheap at yard sales
7. Partner with Local Stores
A potential good outlet for selling the pieces you make is local stores. These places are always looking for inventory, and they love to partner with local artisans.
If you can get in with the right store, this could be a great way to consistently sell your furniture.
You could make $200 or more for each piece you sell this way. (Side Hustle Nation)
Trend on the Rise
The demand for furniture is on the rise, with steady growth projected in future years. This is great news if you’re looking to get into making furniture for a profit.
8. Sell at Festivals
People go to festivals to see all different kinds of goods. Home goods are always popular, and that’s why selling at a festival could be a great way to market your furniture.
Even if you don’t make a sale that day, simply being there and showing off your work could result in future sales.
If you’re able to sell a few items that day — or off future sales — the festival could pay off in the form of a few thousand dollars of revenue. (Made Urban)
9. Sell at Trade Shows
One of the downsides to festivals is that not everyone who attends will be going for furniture. So, another option would be to get a booth at a furniture-specific trade show.
Here, you could show off your wares to people who are attending a show with either furniture and/or their homes in mind.
This would be a more active audience, which could result in more sales.
The booth itself might be costly, but you could profit up to $2,000 this way. (Inc.com)
10. Open Your Own Store
If you have enough pieces and can churn out new furniture often, you could consider opening your own store.
You would take on all the risk here, but it could pay off in a big way.
Some small business owners in this industry make more than $150,000 per year. (Truic)
11. Start a Website
It’s always a good idea to turn to the internet to sell products today, and furniture is no different.
Whether you have a retail shop or not, it would be a good idea to sell your wood furniture on a website you create.
Through this, you could sell your wood furniture directly to customers who purchase from you.
It wouldn’t take much money to start, and you could make a few thousand dollars per month. (House Beautiful)
12. List on Online Marketplaces
Another great idea is to sell on well-known online marketplaces such as Etsy.
These sites have a huge built-in audience already, so you could carve out a small slice of that pie. Plenty of artisans like yourself are already doing just that.
Some wood furniture makers earn more than $10,000 per year selling on Etsy. (Smart Money Mamas)
13. Advertise Locally
You could even sell furniture out of your own home. This way would be similar to selling on a website, but you’d be advertising to local people through local media outlets or social media channels.
This way may be preferable to some people, because your customers could pick up the furniture from your house or warehouse instead of you having to ship it to them.
Some people are even able to earn $10,000 per month this way. (Merry For Money)
Wrapping Up
There are many ways that you can build furniture and sell it for a profit today. The 13 ways above are just a few of the top ways you can make money at your craft today.
Tim is a classically-trained journalist who loves to share knowledge and information with others. In the past, he has worked in TV, online and print media, and currently works with companies to help design, create and strategize their messaging.
