Moving from Carpentry to Cabinetry

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
Your comment on MDF reminds me of something someone said to me when I first started. "This is construction, everything is heavy."

I get the feeling that y'all thought I asked, "how do I get rich in cabinetry?" I'm not asking how I can change trades tomorrow, I'm trying to think about the next 5 years.

For scale, a one man operation and the scale that comes with that. Cabinets, built-ins, vanities, maybe doors and windows. Finer work. I'm looking down the road. I don't know if I want to be lugging lvls around and climbing a lot of ladders when I'm 50.

Maybe there's not enough meat on that bone. Honestly I'm not sure. The only cabinet guy I know in town is pretty big, does all sorts of millwork and probably has 10 or more employees. I haven't really met anyone smaller that made it.

Return? Not sure. If I could make 50 a year personally, I'd be very happy. If I could make what I make now and have a more enjoyable day to day, I'd probably still be happy.

I don't know about marketing, honestly. I've worked mostly for small scale contractors who get everything word of mouth. When I was framing, the owner marketed the houses by apparently blatantly lying. Haha. Building I find natural, but not so much marketing and business. I spend my time doing one and not the other

I've found it difficult to make much connection with the builders I've met at work. We mainly work directly with homeowners. The builders we've worked with seem to hire us begrudgingly to fix things other subs have messed up. They're not shy about that or quiet about their annoyance at our cost. Not much interest in having anything but dirt cheap labor. This certainly hasn't made me eager to build a relationship. I've only been in durham for a couple years, so I haven't met too many.

I'm the second man on a two man crew. We used to have laborers, but it's just been two for about a year. I look pretty young, so I think I come of as kind of a helper/laborer type to clients and builders.

Taylor,
solid answers, in which you have answered some of your own questions.

MDF, pros, it’s inexpensive stable and can be machined. Cons, it heavy, the dust level is high, dose not like moisture. It has its place and that’s all I’ll say,

I’m a one man operation, some folks freak out when I show up on a job site alone. It has its own pros and cons.

Return, that’s an OK number and there is nothing wrong with it. Over time you will come to a gross revenue figure that will give you what you want.

marketing, is as simple or complex as you wish. I operate on word of mouth, I have business cards, I develop relationships with folks on the job sites when I can. I mainly let the work speak for itself. Marketing isn’t about lying, it’s about playing up your attributes even through word of mouth. Things like staying on budget, delivering a project on time or ahead of time at a high quality. Even as simple as showing up on time to a job site, and cleaning up behind yourself. That’s seen as quality behavior and when It comes down to it it’s doing what you said you would do. i know that may seem like just common good behavior, and it is. It is also marketing, everything you do and say is marketing. So that leads to the next statement.

building relationships with people. Start with the fellow you are working with. Ask to take on a part of a project as a sub. Price it to him and start there. Be fair to yourself in that you don’t under price trying to just get the project. If you do that you’ll get stuck and will have a hard time working out of that. While on the job site ask questions when you can, show interest in the over all project. But most of all let the work speak for itself, if you are doing solid work and showing aptitude toward the industry it’ll show and people will notice, and one day someone will ask you a question, and that’s how relationships begin. Be honest , be respectful, be professional. I say those three thing to myself everyday even when I’m frustrated with the situation.

that is a lot info and it’s kind of like throwing pasta at a wall some will stick some will not. Don’t be afraid to take a class on small business. A local community college could be most helpful. Take your time and don’t rush it. Challenge yourself, it can be right sobering but you learn by challenging yourself. This one that carry everyday it’s part of my signature.

i wish you luck and good fortune as you move forward and I hope this helps some.
 

Sourwould

New User
Taylor
Taylor,
solid answers, in which you have answered some of your own questions.

MDF, pros, it’s inexpensive stable and can be machined. Cons, it heavy, the dust level is high, dose not like moisture. It has its place and that’s all I’ll say,

I’m a one man operation, some folks freak out when I show up on a job site alone. It has its own pros and cons.

Return, that’s an OK number and there is nothing wrong with it. Over time you will come to a gross revenue figure that will give you what you want.

marketing, is as simple or complex as you wish. I operate on word of mouth, I have business cards, I develop relationships with folks on the job sites when I can. I mainly let the work speak for itself. Marketing isn’t about lying, it’s about playing up your attributes even through word of mouth. Things like staying on budget, delivering a project on time or ahead of time at a high quality. Even as simple as showing up on time to a job site, and cleaning up behind yourself. That’s seen as quality behavior and when It comes down to it it’s doing what you said you would do. i know that may seem like just common good behavior, and it is. It is also marketing, everything you do and say is marketing. So that leads to the next statement.

building relationships with people. Start with the fellow you are working with. Ask to take on a part of a project as a sub. Price it to him and start there. Be fair to yourself in that you don’t under price trying to just get the project. If you do that you’ll get stuck and will have a hard time working out of that. While on the job site ask questions when you can, show interest in the over all project. But most of all let the work speak for itself, if you are doing solid work and showing aptitude toward the industry it’ll show and people will notice, and one day someone will ask you a question, and that’s how relationships begin. Be honest , be respectful, be professional. I say those three thing to myself everyday even when I’m frustrated with the situation.

that is a lot info and it’s kind of like throwing pasta at a wall some will stick some will not. Don’t be afraid to take a class on small business. A local community college could be most helpful. Take your time and don’t rush it. Challenge yourself, it can be right sobering but you learn by challenging yourself. This one that carry everyday it’s part of my signature.

i wish you luck and good fortune as you move forward and I hope this helps some.

Thank you for sharing your experience
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
Thank you for sharing your experience
Good and don’t be afraid to ask more questions, there are others here who could share their knowledge and experience along with what I shared. It’s been my experience over the past several years that we have a responsibility to foster the future of this industry.
 

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