re: Sharing My Plans To Start an Apprentice Shop

If I can add to Huff’s comments……..

There are a lot of steps to the process you’re considering and it may well seem overwhelming at times, but it is a worthy journey. We have to be willing to give back to the community at large and the woodworking community specifically in order for our craft to continue. Over the years I’ve trained several guys, at least 2 of which now have very successful woodworking shops. While it was their talent that kept them going, it was fun to be a part of their growth.

Do your homework and due diligence. Things like general liability business insurance, healthcare (obamacare) and worker’s comp requirements, local permitting and licensing requirements, rent, and utilities all factor into your overhead. Administrative costs, such as accounting services, billing, and advertising, are involved as well. And then there is the cost of equipment; buying, replacing, and maintaining.

All those factor into your pricing before you consider the price of materials for the project. I have a shop rate that I use when determining the cost of a project. Generally speaking, I estimate the time needed to complete each step of the project, add a percentage for unforeseen delays, multiply the number of hours by my shop rate, and add the material costs. That becomes my price, and it is firm. If the customer wants to “negotiate” the price, I will remove features from the bid, but not price itself. You have to be confident in your pricing based on your abilities and know what your work is worth, otherwise you will end up losing money.