In my previous articles the last few months I have mentioned, “It’s a marathon not a sprint,” regarding the career of woodworking (or any successful career). As a Young Wood Pro, you are in the early stages of that. In this article, I will expand on that by discussing the long view. 

Let's start with a simple question: What does your marathon look like? Do you have a specific long-term goal in mind? Some are simple, like make enough money to stay open. I encourage you to get more specific and set some long-term goals beyond just money. 

It’s important to have this in mind for when obstacles and opportunities come along, you can use the goal as a way to help make your best choices. For example, one of my goals is “to build furniture that is dedicated to a legacy of quality that carries my name with a certain level of respect amongst my peers.” I am a fan of aiming high and it has served me well. 

So, when something comes up in my business where I have choices to make, I always ask which direction can I go that best serves that goal. It’s a question I have always asked myself before taking on certain projects, making financial commitments, collaborating with companies, and when other things have come up. Sometimes my decisions have not been in line with trends or popular opinions, but they did serve my long-term goals. Sticking to what I know is best for me has never led me astray in work and life. Here are some broad examples and suggestions based on my experience. 

Tying up money in lumber
One example is that I rarely ever invest in l umber. I know that's not popular and as a woodworker at heart, I understand. 

As much as I would love to have stockpiles of my preferred species laying around, I have found it not to be in my best long-term interest. My clients pay for the lumber, I go get it after I have received a deposit. I have learned is better for my business when I keep my money in the form of cash instead of lumber stacked against walls not being used. 

That allows me flexibility to adjust and handle what comes up. Some of those things can be getting temporary help, tools or machines going down, injury, or anything else like last-minute marketing that I might need. I also like just having the space in my work environment to be as open and flexible as possible. Having a bunch of lumber taking up that space can be problematic for my process. 

I will say that’s just a singular investment choice I usually do not make. Sometimes I will grab some lumber if it’s unbelievably cheap, for prototypes. Continually making investment choices that tie up your cash can be extremely troublesome and can end your business in the long run. Sometimes in running a woodworking shop, we have to prioritize running a successful business and put woodworking second. That doesn’t mean you don’t love woodworking or that you’re sacrificing any of your values or quality. It just means ultimately some decisions come down to living to fight another day.

Avoiding long-term expenses
Another type of business expense I usually shy away from is investing in something that actually will perpetually cost more money. A great example of that is opening up a retail space to sell my furniture goods. I call this a reoccurring investment and it can be deadly to a young business if you’re taking on more than you can handle. 

It’s an attractive thought and I’ve had it come up many times, but I usually find the solution is on the other side of my pride. I am almost always better suited reinvesting and making my work process in the shop more efficient. I invest in my shop. I invest in me. An investment like a retail space is really like starting another business while running the one I already have. It’s having two monthly overheads to worry about and staff. 

For me the solution was simple, social media can serve as my storefront while having a drastically lower overhead. I have found other creative ways to get clients around my work in person. It requires a little creativity, but it has worked out well for me. I use this example as a teaching mechanism for Young Wood Pros so they can understand that sometimes what looks good in the short term can be career ending in the long term. 

Ongoing commitments
My last suggestion is based on continuous experience in making the mistake. I have a habit of getting very locked into the work piece currently in my hands. I have been known to eat sleep and repeat until the piece is finished. This is not a good way to run a business. 

The problem that always happens is that if it’s a large piece, months will go by and I have not gotten the things that needed regular attendance such as keeping up with social media/marketing, doing and completing incoming bids for clients in a timely fashion, taking down days to maintain my equipment, sharpen a lot of my blades and knives, or take a day from my body to rest. 

All these things need to be done on a regular basis and I encourage you to form a habit of that. This is part of what I called the long view that will lead to your business thriving and surviving for the duration of your career. The best practice I have found to mitigate this from continuously happening is that I set a specific time on a specific day of the week to spend an hour double checking that I’m not allowing other aspects of my business to go unattended. In other words, set some time aside for office work, it’s important. It is the work that brings in future work.

I am certain that if you put a little thought into what your marathon looks like you can easily come up with ways to ease your journey. Keeping the long view in the back of your mind as a business person is vital and the best way to stay on the road to where you want to go. 

Over the years that I’ve been a professional woodworker I am also certain that I could give you many more examples, but I didn’t want to take all of your time hostage. I’d rather you go sit down and look at your own marathon. I do hope these suggestions and examples have at least helped or opened your mind to looking at some of your own with a new perspective.

#YoungWoodPro is a contest and an educational program sponsored by Grizzly Industrial to help novice professionals improve their skills in business and woodworking.