Surviving the Off-Season - 4 Ways Carpenters Can Make Big Money Doing Small Jobs
Saying carpenters have an off-season is not exactly correct since most professionals in the trade work year-round. However, if you are a carpenter specializing in outdoor projects, such as garden furniture or wooden structures needed for houses, you can say winter is your off-season. The same is true if your area has a rainy season that makes it difficult to work in wood outside.
Still, just because the weather is not friendly, this doesn't mean most carpenters can afford to take a break and wait for summer. This is a line of work where you have to be very good and well-known to make big money. However, your reputation doesn’t build itself - you need experience and lots of happy customers for this.
Luckily, there are plenty of small projects you can tackle to train your skills and reach out to a different audience. Here are a few ideas to help increase your income and reduce costs during the off-season.
Let the Internet Inspire You
The internet is an extremely wide world with many ideas, recommendations, and interesting people. All these (and more) can spark your inspiration when you feel stuck, and the clients stubbornly refuse to show up.
For instance, you can find a multitude of impressive DIY woodworking projects on platforms like YouTube and Pinterest. However, even though they are promoted as DIY, many of these projects require specialized tools and woodworking skills regular people don’t have. So why not step in?
After all, not everyone can design and build a table with a resin pattern at the center or a phone stand and amplifier. You can create these objects on order or start your own YouTube channel and show the step-by-step process (with the option for viewers to place an order if they find the process too difficult or time-consuming).
Open an Online Store
If you like creating all sorts of wooden objects, from home decorations to shelves and raised garden beds, why not open your own online store?
There is a wide range of wood objects you can sell online, such as customized photo frames, candle holders, small toys, decorative items, and more. As your audience grows, you can advertise bigger projects (bed frames, outdoor decks, furniture, and so on and extend your customer database.
Reduce Administrative Costs
If you’re running a small business, you may not need a business administrator, an HR person, or even an in-house accountant. Most of these tasks can be outsourced to specialists or specialized platforms. For instance, you can send cost projections and bills for carpentry services using an online platform – no need to do those manually anymore.
You can also use a Project Management app to monitor all your projects and make sure you’re not missing any deadlines or meetings with customers. And if you have an online store, you can use the built-in analytics to check for progress and learn how to attract more customers.
Teach Others About Carpentry
Some people would love to take carpentry as a hobby, so why not help them make the first steps?
Nowadays, it’s quite easy to put together an engaging online course and then disseminate it via various platforms like Skillshare or Udemy (to name a few). And if you don’t know how to start, you can take an online class on creating your own course. Funny how things go, right?
The good news is that once your course is complete and ready to go out into the world, you can have a new income stream. As long as the information and methods you describe and teach are up to date, your course will continue to bring in new students without much effort on your side.
Wrap Up - carpenters small jobs
There you have it – 4 ways to make big money as a carpenter, even if you’re in your off-season. All you need is determination, ingenuity, and the courage to start something new. So don’t wait any longer; start your journey today! All carpenters can take on small jobs when 'off season' that can still help with bringing a steady income in.
