This isn't a cutting board video, it's a business excellence video. The concepts provided here translate to any business. As a veteran financial advisor and hobby woodworker, there are bits from this video that I will apply to my full time practice as well as my woodshop. Thanks for your sage wisdom. Learning is a lifetime endeavor and nobody has a monopoly on good ideas.
Took the words right out of my mouth lol! I personally think the cutting board market is completely saturated but the overall advice in this vid hit me at a needed moment and can be applied to any maker.
Just echoing another commenter.... This was truly a master class in starting a cutting board business. I'm 1 year in and everything you said is spot on. 8 learned so much. Thank you for taking the time to create this content.
I quitted my job to start my fulltime woodworking and what you said in the video is so comprehensive. These are exactly what I've learned but can't think of any better explanation. Thank you for sharing these. Great inspiration. Thank you, From Australia
6:16 double the size may end in 2.8 times material costs (as thickness is increasing, too) and material cost is increasing to $84. Profit will then only $51 or 37% profit margin.
Dang brother you covered so much in so little time. This was a great video. Been in business for 35 years (different business) but your advice is really good. It’s a lot of information to take in for a person that has never run a business before. With that said, I would consider a follow up video or even a series to this video. You obviously know what you are doing and I’m sure your knowledge will be in high demand. Thanks for the video.
Thank you so much for this great video. I have seen a lot of videos regarding woodworking and also the business behind it, or so called how to videos. But yours has been by far the best one. Content, footage and of course your craftsmanship. Awesome. Best regards from Germany
it's a great common video about any business! Awesome motivation to apply all of these advices! Enjoyed by watch this and will be happy to share with others as a guide.
Great tips! I used to do well on Etsy, but like you said, the competition has gotten to be too much. I'm focused on content now instead of selling products.
This is unbelievable!!! I am so happy I found your channel!!! This was better than my stupid MBA..... seriously wow thank you. Amazing channel, subbed!
Good afternoon from a sunny South-Africa. About a year ago, I strated selling cutting boards at our church for a market day. I had wooden cutting boards, but I also had a lot of Solid surface boards. From there it just took off. I have now, a year later, never looked back. I have a lot of Solid surface boards. Far far more than the wood. I have actually stopped making wooden ones. That also gave me an added edge at the markets, because there is no one else that is selling it. But, like you said. Markets is a difficult place to sell your product. I have teen told to go the on line route. Thank you for confirming it.
Wow , I never thought about this, I need to go back and rethink my objective for this business start up. Would love to to you more on this subject. Till next time thank you and God's speed
Can you make money selling cutting boards? Sure but the main reason is it's extremely oversaturated by makers and large corporations. Home Depot is selling walnut end grain boards for $40. In my opinion, the shark is beyond jumped. Make them for gifts and to use scraps but don't form a business strategy around it.
Yes you can absolutely make money selling cutting boards in spite of mass marketed product. My video talked about how to do that very thing. There are many people charging $300+ for their product right now. But their customers are not bargain hunter shoppers!
@@MWAWoodworks I wouldn't argue that you can make money doing it as I replied above. I watched the video and think there is a lot of valuable info that isn't discussed on youtube. I guess my point is I'd paint a more realistic expectation for new business owners thinking about basing their main source of income on cutting boards alone. Setting yourself apart and marketing is MUCH more important than the product most times (as you stated). I just tend to think if Kohls and Home Depot selling legit hardwood boards for pennies and 155K results for cutting boards on Etsy it's well past it's prime as a main selling sku. Just my thoughts though and I'd never say anyone can't do anything, just know what you are up against.
I don't think you have to limit it to just cutting boards. Any hand made items can follow the exact same script. Cutting boards is just the easiest/most accessible product to the woodworker looking to get started.
I would argue that “Home Depot” and “$40.00” are actually big turnoffs for people looking for a quality wood cutting board. The only people buying those are cheapskates giving them away as gifts. Over-saturation is solved by smart marketing & social media.
This is all very good information! The only thing I can think of that might also be helpful are business cards. You can get hundreds made up for less than $25 and have something you can hand out to friends, family, and customers. My only critique is that you gave 12 super helpful ideas, and your title says 15 ;) Thanks for making this type of content!
This was a well orchestrated video. You were talking "fast", but it was logically organized and flowed well, so I didn't get lost. In other words, you were talking fast, but not too fast for the script and storyboard. Thanks for the video, it was helpful.
An important thing to remember is that pricing too low can make people assume your work is crap. I have a book kicking around somewhere written by a professional wooden boat builder, whose name I can't recall offhand. When he didn't have new boat orders and wasn't engaged in repairing or renovating older ones, he carved half models of boats and ships. Half models date back to the days when instead of drawing plans on paper, a designer would carve out one half of a hull, often in 'lifts' - thin slices that could be taken apart and measured to scale. Aside from giving the builders something to work from, they let the client visualize the finished product. Nowadays they're made and sold mostly as art objects - usually on a plaque, and often with stuff like carved wooden sails added. In the last chapter of the book the author covers making and selling half models, which is probably the oddest sidetrack in any of the boatbuilding books I own. The last wry bit of marketing advice he gives is something like, "I'm not sure what it says about people and the world. But if all else fails, try raising your prices."
How have I never seen this video? LOL. On to watch the rest of your cutting board videos. Home sick…. Binge watching your channel (again). I guess it showed up because I’ve recently been making small cheese and cracker trays. Not sure how I got on this kick. But that’s where I am. Using up a lot of hard wood scraps that have been sitting around for FAR too long. But the process… has been so fun. I have been focusing on setting up a process. I’m made a jig first. Made a test one out of plywood to see if my jig was right. Three different versions after that…. Made a test one out of pine. Then walnut. Now that I have my process. I have 8 blanks ready to go. Will most likely add some cutting boards to the mix. So off to watch your video on cutting board oil.
Great advice for any start-up! Some of the comments prove there was a misunderstanding. I didn't focus on cutting boards when starting my side gig making custom builds because the market I'm in has way too many large companies mass-producing them. But that doesn't cheapen the info you provided here.
Solid video packed with great info. I would also suggest joining a BNI or get into networking events. Get associated with real estate agents many like to give gifts to home buyers.
I just came across this video and your channel, THANKS for posting this.......As soon as I finish this comment, I'll subscribe and see what else you come up with.... I've been woodworking for quite a few years, but since I'm getting close to retirement, I'm going to get a bit more serious. I've done quite a bit of research and don't see anyone doing quality cutting boards, charcuterie boards or cheese slicers. That's where I'm going to start, and we'll see where it goes from there.
Great advice, just found your site and I’m really enjoying it and your style of presentation. I am just getting started at woodworking and am learning a great deal from your site. Keep up the great content!
Really great video and a lot of information that actually extends well beyond cutting boards. However, one major omission and perhaps beyond the scope of this video and maybe covered in another one I haven't seen, is the idea of overhead and separating the business from the person. There is more than just labor and materials, your blades will wear out and your machines have a finite life. Also, the person needs to make money and the business needs to make money, These two are separate. If you work a regular office job somewhere, You are not expected to provide your own computer, the company does that. In a way you begin to touch on this by showing labor and profit but laying out what that profit is actually for would be the next level of understanding.
I don't know if Vegas is very different than other cities but more cons of selling at a market is all of them require a 2 business licenses (in state and county you at selling) and vendor insurance. A lot require a tent too so be prepared to spend at least $200 on that.
@@MWAWoodworks 100% - I think most people are getting a basic business license (if they are smart) but I wasn't aware of multiple licenses to sell in different counties and submitting tax forms on site in some cases. That with vendor insurance it makes it a decent chunk of change to start. Just putting it out there. It was VERY different even 10 years ago.
Creating your own site is the best thing for business,; however, Etsy may not deliver well but your brand would be seen over and over. I see Etsy as a gimmick but use it as means to put myself out there along with social media. Another TIP is to gift your boards to friends, coworkers and family, and nonchalantly on the sly mention how it would be cool if they mention how they love it on their media platforms. Coworkers was a valuable source of advertisement for me. Love your video on this topic.
Thank you for sharing. Planning and knowing what to work on is valuable information. If I may always ask another unbiased person to examine your work. I.E. Quality control
One thing I would caution people about if they do make your wood conditioner like that is to not make any claims about food safe. Even if it's 2 food safe ingredients and the end result is in reality food safe, it's another thing to create a new product and make that claim. You can get in some serious trouble. Instead just like he said on here label it "wood conditioner" and list the ingredients with brands so customers can make that connection themselves. If you want to claim something is food safe after altering the original product it needs to be tested by the FDA.
Size options is one thing but there is a business principle on customer options. It goes that generally, the customer does not know what he wants and it's your job to tell them. The more options you try to come up with and add ons to give them, the more you waste in time and energy. Even when it's by custom order or not.
Yes I agree with that! However many people will try to build every feature they can think of into every product as "standard" whether the customer wants it or not. So I think that you build basic products and offer the additional features at an additional charge. Most of the time people won't add them but if they do at least you got paid additional for adding them.
@@MWAWoodworks Agreed. Mostly I was saying it in response in to making sure customers have lots of options. I tend to do various sizes, but not features as each feature has to scale different to the various sizes and it becomes much more effort than it's worth, even when paid for it. You really can't charge the price the actual trouble and hassles really costs you.
Ok,1st and foremost,LOVE all the tips and the video! Now to my question, since you brought up you love walnut! Do you do any kind of disclaimer for walnut or any of the other nut trees for that matter. Basically how do you approach the issue selling boards to customers? Thx in advance!
Thanks for the video. Lots of great info! This may be a dumb question, but how do you provide images for all the options that you might offer on a cutting board (different sizes, features, wood species) without building a bunch of cutting boards in advance that you might not sell? Is there just no way around it?
Just followed up on your cutting board finishing video. Thanks for the video and all the links. One more thing could you share a link for the lid labels?
Can you comment on using something like Purple Heart in your boards? I’ve heard it can express toxins even after finishing that can get into your food.
@@MWAWoodworks I'd respectfully have to disagree. The stuff they have look very nice. As well as them doing whole kitchen pieces and custom orders. And it's a great business to work for for the short time I worked on their sales floor.
I can't seem to find any walnut or maple unless it's from locals that cut it green. Where to people get these dried materials to avoid building or paying for a kiln
That depends on how you run your business. If you pay the shipping then it needs to be factored in. If you make the customer pay shipping then it doesn't matter
One aspect you didn't cover is order processing, from taking the order, to invoicing and shipping. Also handling returns or other customer issues. A lot of people who are great at woodworking are terrible with the paperwork. And don't forget taxes. Just add taxes to the cost of doing business and price accordingly. Sales taxes are added on to the invoice but your income taxes aren't.
Oh Yes there's a lot more things I didn't cover when it comes to the cost of doing business. My main goal was to get people to understand the basic idea that your time and labor costs money.
Good points covered here. I sell all my boards through social media. TikTok has drawn a lot of attention and customers to my work. My boards are very time consuming but I'm not looking to be compensated for time as this is a weekend hobby for me. I'm selling due to WOW factor and have a waiting list rather than inventory.
The difference between the US and the U.K. is staggering. I guarantee you wouldn’t sell a single board over the value of $40 in the U.K. nobody is spending $250 on cutting boards. Seems like a great market over there.
@@MWAWoodworks No doubt you’ll get a buyer or two but here “everyday prices for everyday people” will out-sell a $250 board 10 times over. If that makes sense.
@@MWAWoodworks Yeah I get the work rate to reward ratio but that’s a lot of labour work for the board to sit on a shelf for the next 12 months waiting for a buyer. Maybe not that long in the states but over here, that would be the case. Not many makers/creators out there can afford that. I get though that long term that’s a great goal to aspire to.
Oh, I never built up stock. I always made my boards after the order was placed. Keeping stock is really only needed if you sell your work in a shop or work a booth at a craft show which I never did. I was online orders only.
This really is only for American's, as a Canadian Ive seen these at craft stores/fairs farmers markets for decades and NOT AT ALL THESE PRICES LOL. Yes most local wood is much cheaper here then in the USA. But over all alot of people don't want to spend alot on something
Love the tips! What dust boot do you have on the Shapeoko? I've got a PwnCNC one and it's not quite what I'm looking for lol, and I really like how yours is designed.
Number one tip. Make cutting boards that don’t look exactly like every other uninspired weekender woodworker. Design is everything, if you can’t make something that looks unique, your basically competing with big box store. Make something that requires real skill, and people will pay higher dollar because its art.
So, nothing against this author - thank you for publishing this generous video - but... If a family member/boss wanted to gift me something nice, I'd much prefer they give me the $200 cash rather than a cutting board; cutting boards are ~$15 on Amazon and I could get a whole lot more utility out of the left-over $185 cash than I could out of the more expensive cutting board. Why are there so many frivolous customers?
Good talking points. What have you found to be the best way to drive traffic to your website? Are you relying on your social media posts or do you look more into different search engines like google or bing?
Look at this legend, annoyed at Etsy for advertising the competition, while teaching the competition how to be more competitive. That's how you know its about the craft
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This isn't a cutting board video, it's a business excellence video. The concepts provided here translate to any business. As a veteran financial advisor and hobby woodworker, there are bits from this video that I will apply to my full time practice as well as my woodshop. Thanks for your sage wisdom. Learning is a lifetime endeavor and nobody has a monopoly on good ideas.
Thank you for seeing the value of the content. Much appreciated and thanks for your support 🙏
Took the words right out of my mouth lol! I personally think the cutting board market is completely saturated but the overall advice in this vid hit me at a needed moment and can be applied to any maker.
Very true. I use these methods also in my pest control business.
Basically a free Master Class on making a cutting board business. Thank you!
😂 thanks for the high praise!
Just echoing another commenter.... This was truly a master class in starting a cutting board business. I'm 1 year in and everything you said is spot on. 8 learned so much. Thank you for taking the time to create this content.
I quitted my job to start my fulltime woodworking and what you said in the video is so comprehensive. These are exactly what I've learned but can't think of any better explanation. Thank you for sharing these. Great inspiration.
Thank you,
From Australia
Thanks for your kind words!
Sounds you QUIT your education too.
@@TheTeddyChoiceHey teddy, nice roast. Hope you jam your pinky.
6:16 double the size may end in 2.8 times material costs (as thickness is increasing, too) and material cost is increasing to $84. Profit will then only $51 or 37% profit margin.
Good point about raising your prices. A friend who owns his own business once told me, if you're too busy, you're too cheap
Dang brother you covered so much in so little time. This was a great video. Been in business for 35 years (different business) but your advice is really good. It’s a lot of information to take in for a person that has never run a business before. With that said, I would consider a follow up video or even a series to this video. You obviously know what you are doing and I’m sure your knowledge will be in high demand. Thanks for the video.
Thanks so much for the kind words!
I totally was winging my first vendor fair locally. Sold over 600$ - on only 5 items.. blew my mind.
I’ve seen a lot of those IG posts. Definitely made you synonymous with the term expert cutting board maker.
Thank you Ted! Just passing along what I learned!
Thank you so much for this great video. I have seen a lot of videos regarding woodworking and also the business behind it, or so called how to videos. But yours has been by far the best one. Content, footage and of course your craftsmanship. Awesome. Best regards from Germany
fantastic tips matt!
Thanks my friend ☺️
it's a great common video about any business! Awesome motivation to apply all of these advices! Enjoyed by watch this and will be happy to share with others as a guide.
Great tips! I used to do well on Etsy, but like you said, the competition has gotten to be too much. I'm focused on content now instead of selling products.
Etsy is such craziness. It's like Google, if you're not on the first page of results then nobody will find you!
This is unbelievable!!! I am so happy I found your channel!!! This was better than my stupid MBA..... seriously wow thank you. Amazing channel, subbed!
Good afternoon from a sunny South-Africa. About a year ago, I strated selling cutting boards at our church for a market day. I had wooden cutting boards, but I also had a lot of Solid surface boards. From there it just took off. I have now, a year later, never looked back. I have a lot of Solid surface boards. Far far more than the wood. I have actually stopped making wooden ones. That also gave me an added edge at the markets, because there is no one else that is selling it. But, like you said. Markets is a difficult place to sell your product. I have teen told to go the on line route. Thank you for confirming it.
What is "solid surface?"
Wow , I never thought about this, I need to go back and rethink my objective for this business start up. Would love to to you more on this subject. Till next time thank you and God's speed
Glad I could help!
Can you make money selling cutting boards? Sure but the main reason is it's extremely oversaturated by makers and large corporations. Home Depot is selling walnut end grain boards for $40. In my opinion, the shark is beyond jumped. Make them for gifts and to use scraps but don't form a business strategy around it.
Yes you can absolutely make money selling cutting boards in spite of mass marketed product. My video talked about how to do that very thing. There are many people charging $300+ for their product right now. But their customers are not bargain hunter shoppers!
@@MWAWoodworks I wouldn't argue that you can make money doing it as I replied above. I watched the video and think there is a lot of valuable info that isn't discussed on youtube. I guess my point is I'd paint a more realistic expectation for new business owners thinking about basing their main source of income on cutting boards alone. Setting yourself apart and marketing is MUCH more important than the product most times (as you stated). I just tend to think if Kohls and Home Depot selling legit hardwood boards for pennies and 155K results for cutting boards on Etsy it's well past it's prime as a main selling sku. Just my thoughts though and I'd never say anyone can't do anything, just know what you are up against.
I don't think you have to limit it to just cutting boards. Any hand made items can follow the exact same script. Cutting boards is just the easiest/most accessible product to the woodworker looking to get started.
Thank you! Finally someone said it
I would argue that “Home Depot” and “$40.00” are actually big turnoffs for people looking for a quality wood cutting board. The only people buying those are cheapskates giving them away as gifts. Over-saturation is solved by smart marketing & social media.
This is all very good information! The only thing I can think of that might also be helpful are business cards. You can get hundreds made up for less than $25 and have something you can hand out to friends, family, and customers. My only critique is that you gave 12 super helpful ideas, and your title says 15 ;) Thanks for making this type of content!
12 tips plus 3 "pro tips" 😂😂😂
This was a well orchestrated video. You were talking "fast", but it was logically organized and flowed well, so I didn't get lost. In other words, you were talking fast, but not too fast for the script and storyboard.
Thanks for the video, it was helpful.
Great tips! The cutting boards in Upstate NY are either junk or extremely expensive. It’s hard to tell quality hardwoods like Oak, Maple, and Ash.
Just have to learn the different wood species. It takes time, that's all!
An important thing to remember is that pricing too low can make people assume your work is crap. I have a book kicking around somewhere written by a professional wooden boat builder, whose name I can't recall offhand. When he didn't have new boat orders and wasn't engaged in repairing or renovating older ones, he carved half models of boats and ships.
Half models date back to the days when instead of drawing plans on paper, a designer would carve out one half of a hull, often in 'lifts' - thin slices that could be taken apart and measured to scale. Aside from giving the builders something to work from, they let the client visualize the finished product. Nowadays they're made and sold mostly as art objects - usually on a plaque, and often with stuff like carved wooden sails added.
In the last chapter of the book the author covers making and selling half models, which is probably the oddest sidetrack in any of the boatbuilding books I own. The last wry bit of marketing advice he gives is something like, "I'm not sure what it says about people and the world. But if all else fails, try raising your prices."
Videos are looking fantastic! The one other tip I’d be interested in would be shipping efficiently.
Thanks! Yeah shipping is key!
Agree. Customer service, prompt shipping.
Some very useful tips, thank you Matt!
Thanks Duke!
Fantastic tips, Matt! Thanks a bunch! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thank you! 🙌
How have I never seen this video? LOL. On to watch the rest of your cutting board videos.
Home sick…. Binge watching your channel (again). I guess it showed up because I’ve recently been making small cheese and cracker trays. Not sure how I got on this kick. But that’s where I am. Using up a lot of hard wood scraps that have been sitting around for FAR too long. But the process… has been so fun. I have been focusing on setting up a process. I’m made a jig first. Made a test one out of plywood to see if my jig was right. Three different versions after that…. Made a test one out of pine. Then walnut. Now that I have my process. I have 8 blanks ready to go. Will most likely add some cutting boards to the mix. So off to watch your video on cutting board oil.
Great advice for any start-up! Some of the comments prove there was a misunderstanding. I didn't focus on cutting boards when starting my side gig making custom builds because the market I'm in has way too many large companies mass-producing them. But that doesn't cheapen the info you provided here.
Solid video packed with great info. I would also suggest joining a BNI or get into networking events. Get associated with real estate agents many like to give gifts to home buyers.
Yep. I had three agencies that I served. Great idea to keep business steady when it's not the holidays 👍
I just came across this video and your channel, THANKS for posting this.......As soon as I finish this comment, I'll subscribe and see what else you come up with....
I've been woodworking for quite a few years, but since I'm getting close to retirement, I'm going to get a bit more serious. I've done quite a bit of research and don't see anyone doing quality cutting boards, charcuterie boards or cheese slicers. That's where I'm going to start, and we'll see where it goes from there.
Good and realistic presentation..... great 👍👍👍
🙌
subbed halfway through. great info and no BS. awesome info and video. thank you
Thank you!!!!🙌
Such a GREAT video! Thank you for the knowledge, tips, and advice!
You're welcome 😁
Great advice, just found your site and I’m really enjoying it and your style of presentation. I am just getting started at woodworking and am learning a great deal from your site. Keep up the great content!
Thanks Todd 🙌
Wow! Eye opening and very informative content. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience.
Thank you for the very helpful video.
Really great video and a lot of information that actually extends well beyond cutting boards. However, one major omission and perhaps beyond the scope of this video and maybe covered in another one I haven't seen, is the idea of overhead and separating the business from the person. There is more than just labor and materials, your blades will wear out and your machines have a finite life. Also, the person needs to make money and the business needs to make money, These two are separate.
If you work a regular office job somewhere, You are not expected to provide your own computer, the company does that. In a way you begin to touch on this by showing labor and profit but laying out what that profit is actually for would be the next level of understanding.
The better term would have been "Gross Profit" (Sales minus the Time and Material costs)
Great video Matt!
🙌
I don't know if Vegas is very different than other cities but more cons of selling at a market is all of them require a 2 business licenses (in state and county you at selling) and vendor insurance. A lot require a tent too so be prepared to spend at least $200 on that.
YES! You have to be a registered business and all the associated costs to sell locally pretty much everywhere!
@@MWAWoodworks 100% - I think most people are getting a basic business license (if they are smart) but I wasn't aware of multiple licenses to sell in different counties and submitting tax forms on site in some cases. That with vendor insurance it makes it a decent chunk of change to start. Just putting it out there. It was VERY different even 10 years ago.
Great presentation of your idea’s products and production ❤🎉
Great one! Just brilliant!
Creating your own site is the best thing for business,; however, Etsy may not deliver well but your brand would be seen over and over. I see Etsy as a gimmick but use it as means to put myself out there along with social media. Another TIP is to gift your boards to friends, coworkers and family, and nonchalantly on the sly mention how it would be cool if they mention how they love it on their media platforms. Coworkers was a valuable source of advertisement for me. Love your video on this topic.
Thanks for the great business tips.
Great video! I love all the great ideas you have. I hope to have a shop as nice as yours one day keep up the awesome content.
Thank you for the kind words Andrew!
Awesome, awesome, awesome advice.
Thank you for sharing. Planning and knowing what to work on is valuable information. If I may always ask another unbiased person to examine your work. I.E. Quality control
For sure!
Watched your video, subscribed to your channel, and now am hooked.... Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for the tips. Good info!
👍
Great tips, thank you.
Definitly agree with the last part. Become a brand and build it up.
Thanks!
Love your video ..precise and concise which immediately made me hit sub. Keepem coming!
For myself shipping is just insane
Really appreciated this vid! New sub!
Excellent presentation!
Glad you liked it!
Very good info thank you.
Super helpful! Thanks for all the great tips! Just subbed.
You're welcome 😁
One thing I would caution people about if they do make your wood conditioner like that is to not make any claims about food safe. Even if it's 2 food safe ingredients and the end result is in reality food safe, it's another thing to create a new product and make that claim. You can get in some serious trouble.
Instead just like he said on here label it "wood conditioner" and list the ingredients with brands so customers can make that connection themselves.
If you want to claim something is food safe after altering the original product it needs to be tested by the FDA.
Size options is one thing but there is a business principle on customer options. It goes that generally, the customer does not know what he wants and it's your job to tell them. The more options you try to come up with and add ons to give them, the more you waste in time and energy. Even when it's by custom order or not.
Yes I agree with that! However many people will try to build every feature they can think of into every product as "standard" whether the customer wants it or not. So I think that you build basic products and offer the additional features at an additional charge. Most of the time people won't add them but if they do at least you got paid additional for adding them.
@@MWAWoodworks Agreed. Mostly I was saying it in response in to making sure customers have lots of options. I tend to do various sizes, but not features as each feature has to scale different to the various sizes and it becomes much more effort than it's worth, even when paid for it. You really can't charge the price the actual trouble and hassles really costs you.
Great information thank you.
Ok,1st and foremost,LOVE all the tips and the video! Now to my question, since you brought up you love walnut! Do you do any kind of disclaimer for walnut or any of the other nut trees for that matter. Basically how do you approach the issue selling boards to customers? Thx in advance!
Walnut wood has no effect on people with nut allergies. Only the nuts themselves contain the protein that people are allergic to.
Thanks for the video. Lots of great info! This may be a dumb question, but how do you provide images for all the options that you might offer on a cutting board (different sizes, features, wood species) without building a bunch of cutting boards in advance that you might not sell? Is there just no way around it?
I don't. I just show what the style board looks like and then offer it in multiple sizes!
It’s easy to downsize or supersize images on your laptop.
Excellent.
Excellent 😂
A carpenter and a simpsons fan. Subbed.
Very helpfull advise
Glad to help!
Good advice
Thanks ☺️
I bought my 3 hp Sawstop from making and selling cutting boards. Now I make $5000 tables.
Nice
Damn great video!
Thank you Thomas!
Great video!
Thanks!
Great content. Earned a like and subscribe
Thanks James!
Be sure to check out my post in the community feed. I'd love to know what other list style subjects I can cover related to woodworking!
@@MWAWoodworks will do!
Nice work friend
Thank you! Cheers!
Just followed up on your cutting board finishing video. Thanks for the video and all the links. One more thing could you share a link for the lid labels?
I ordered mine from Vistaprint. 3" rount labels
I am curious on how many cutting boards you sell in a year?
Well, I might as well comment as well. Fantastic tips, should have watched this 6 months ago haha. Any tips on an affordable cnc?
Cool cutting boards, Show of hands who here has spent $200 on a cutting board?
Can you comment on using something like Purple Heart in your boards? I’ve heard it can express toxins even after finishing that can get into your food.
Unfortunately I'm in the same town as Boos Block, so their high quality ones are commonly owned around here
Booz blocks are so boring though!
@@MWAWoodworks I'd respectfully have to disagree. The stuff they have look very nice. As well as them doing whole kitchen pieces and custom orders. And it's a great business to work for for the short time I worked on their sales floor.
I can't seem to find any walnut or maple unless it's from locals that cut it green. Where to people get these dried materials to avoid building or paying for a kiln
Google "hardwood lumber dealer near me"
What about shipping cost?
That depends on how you run your business. If you pay the shipping then it needs to be factored in. If you make the customer pay shipping then it doesn't matter
9:50 never trust a planed board you haven't done by yourself!
This is everything about creating wood working projects minus everything enjoyable about creating wood working projects.
😂😂😂
Hey i bought that board for $4 in walmart
One aspect you didn't cover is order processing, from taking the order, to invoicing and shipping. Also handling returns or other customer issues. A lot of people who are great at woodworking are terrible with the paperwork. And don't forget taxes. Just add taxes to the cost of doing business and price accordingly. Sales taxes are added on to the invoice but your income taxes aren't.
Oh Yes there's a lot more things I didn't cover when it comes to the cost of doing business. My main goal was to get people to understand the basic idea that your time and labor costs money.
I'd like to know where you're selling 12x18 for $175. Barely get $75 in my patch
The internet ☺️
Good points covered here. I sell all my boards through social media. TikTok has drawn a lot of attention and customers to my work. My boards are very time consuming but I'm not looking to be compensated for time as this is a weekend hobby for me. I'm selling due to WOW factor and have a waiting list rather than inventory.
The difference between the US and the U.K. is staggering. I guarantee you wouldn’t sell a single board over the value of $40 in the U.K. nobody is spending $250 on cutting boards. Seems like a great market over there.
I shipped boards to the UK. People there were willing to pay for the board, the shipping and the VAT!
@@MWAWoodworks No doubt you’ll get a buyer or two but here “everyday prices for everyday people” will out-sell a $250 board 10 times over. If that makes sense.
It does but I'd rather make 1 board for $200 than 10 boards for $20 any day!
@@MWAWoodworks Yeah I get the work rate to reward ratio but that’s a lot of labour work for the board to sit on a shelf for the next 12 months waiting for a buyer. Maybe not that long in the states but over here, that would be the case. Not many makers/creators out there can afford that. I get though that long term that’s a great goal to aspire to.
Oh, I never built up stock. I always made my boards after the order was placed. Keeping stock is really only needed if you sell your work in a shop or work a booth at a craft show which I never did. I was online orders only.
This really is only for American's, as a Canadian Ive seen these at craft stores/fairs farmers markets for decades and NOT AT ALL THESE PRICES LOL. Yes most local wood is much cheaper here then in the USA. But over all alot of people don't want to spend alot on something
Prices at fairs and craft markets are very low even here in America. Tough way to go about it!
Very well done! How easy is it to use that CNC machine?
Pretty easy once you learn the basics
I'm no math major but you deduct your cost from the selling price....so that is a $30 profit, not a $70 one!
It's negative 70, not 70 😂
Great video! Thank you. Ps - can i sell you a Bluebird Nest box? 😃
Love the tips! What dust boot do you have on the Shapeoko? I've got a PwnCNC one and it's not quite what I'm looking for lol, and I really like how yours is designed.
That dust boot was custom made by someone over at shapeoko years ago. I dont know if it ever went to market or not.
@@MWAWoodworks Ahh dang, it looks fantastic lol. Thanks for the response!
next .. next what?
If it would only cost me about $30 in materials I might sale it at craft shows for maybe for 50 or 60 dollars each
Where or how did you do the stickers on your tins ? I'm going to assume they are instructions on care of your board.
Thx in advance
Viastaprint
@@MWAWoodworks thank you
Number one tip. Make cutting boards that don’t look exactly like every other uninspired weekender woodworker. Design is everything, if you can’t make something that looks unique, your basically competing with big box store. Make something that requires real skill, and people will pay higher dollar because its art.
Truth🙌
I loved pretty much everything he said except for his recommendation to use TikTok...
Where did you get the stickers for your tins? Thank you.
I bought a big lot of them from Vistaprint years ago. I have a lifetime supply I think lol
@@MWAWoodworks Thank you.
how do you like the kapex?
It's a great saw and works well on my miter saw station!
So, nothing against this author - thank you for publishing this generous video - but...
If a family member/boss wanted to gift me something nice, I'd much prefer they give me the $200 cash rather than a cutting board; cutting boards are ~$15 on Amazon and I could get a whole lot more utility out of the left-over $185 cash than I could out of the more expensive cutting board. Why are there so many frivolous customers?
I'm under cutting by selling at a loss 😮
Bold move
Good talking points. What have you found to be the best way to drive traffic to your website? Are you relying on your social media posts or do you look more into different search engines like google or bing?
Primarily social media for the most quality customers!
What do you use for a CNC?
Onefinity for small format. Avid for larger tasks.
Look at this legend, annoyed at Etsy for advertising the competition, while teaching the competition how to be more competitive. That's how you know its about the craft
Not annoyed at them, just point out the flaws 😁