Hi all, my name is Brian and I'm punching a clock like too many people these days. I have plenty of business spirit but lack ideas. I come from a long line of self employeed men and I have the bug now.

So, what does an extremely handy man do with all of his tools, bearing in mind I don't want to leave home except to ship products I make, what to make? I feel like wood products is calling me but I'm open to just about anything. Keep in mind I manage commercial properties for a living and can fix just about anything, my career is HVAC and energy management systems.

Any suggestions?

Brian

I am trying something that I feel is lacking in my area. What is lacking in your area? What is needed? Look on eBay to get some additional ideas they have everything you can think of and it could spark your creative side. From the sounds of it you have a lot of possibilities. What type of wood work do you like? Furniture? Cutting boards? I think the best way to chose is to go with what you love to do. Something that won't burn you out in a years time.

Actually I do scour ebay for ideas regularly! I have been considering breaking into something like heirloom toys, toy boat kits, maybe even an online hobby shop.

The real irony is that fishing is my forte' but I've done the math a dozen times and(currently)custom rods, guided trips etc will not put 2 boys through college. Additionally nothing has been done so many times as fishing from every angle. Flip side of it that most great fishermen aint exactly great businessmen and tend to fail a lot leaving open many doors.

So my focus is the obvious, do what I love (or close to it).

You could have a woodworking website giving detailed instructions for each project, with photos showing the work at various points of completion. Start with a niche such as toy boat kits, and develop from there. (With a woodworking site in general, add sub-domains such as one for toy boat kits.)

With enough quality information that others don't have, you could make it a paid subscription membership site.

Instead of a membership site, you could build a free content site and sell guides, ebooks, tapes, and DVDs. (For the content, you could have sample pages from your guides.)

If you focus on specific projects that don't have a lot of competition, you could do well with this. Each one might not be lucrative on its own, but, combined, they could be.

If you're becoming an expert in heirloom toys, you could offer consulting services for buying and selling in a niche such as heirloom toys. Your main market could be online auction sellers especially those on ebay.

Nancy
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Nancy I can't say for sure what I want to do other than get out of clock punching for someone else, but you have just given me some great ideas. Thank you!

Brian

This might sound silly bit why dont you have a do it all company, you can do anything from hang christmas lights to building special things for your clients. My dad kinda doest that and he is always working on something and he loves it. He gets calls for just about everything. If you are handy everyone needs a good handymand that they can trust and call for any kind of help. But you would need a really cute catchy name.
good luck
jacque

Follow your heart

Brian,

I started my ecommerce in July 2006. I'm also do all sorts of stuff online to make a living and it beats going to the office.

Best thing to do is go to the library and go to their small business section. There's a slew of info there. Start with How to Succees in Business by Breaking All The Rules by Dan S. Kennedy.

Also, as stated above, if you have access to computer and internet you could become an affiliate. It's basically promoting other businesses and in turn they give you commissioin. I've tried this scheme before and they work if you hook up with legit companies. Due diligence is a must. I spent days reviewing and reading products online. One I recommend is:

http://tengteng.mannco.hop.clickbank.net

Be careful and don't be scammed! Scams sometimes are disguised as good reviews.

Best,

Paloma

Hey Brian,

I have found that if you do what you are passionate about... the success and happiness will follow. A book out a few years back was a good read for me, and I want to say it was called "Do what you are".

It basically was a quiz that by the end gave you a list of the careers would be best suited to you.

I found out by going a different route that I liked being self employed almost by accident. As a gardener and landscaping for the fun of it, never really thought about doing it as a career...

It is what I loved to do on the weekends and I hated going back to work on Monday... as I could have done what I was doing 7 days a week. With good planning and meeting the right people, I am now doing that and cannot imagine ever working for someone else again.

Discover your dream and you will find the right bath that is best suited for you!

Good luck, and remember to always have fun!

*PS, with a name like ours, I can bet you will do very well!!



Brian

Hi Brian, I know exactly where you are coming from. I wanted to send this site to you it is www.oleplantation.com
This is a business that is close to me. I found out about them from a friend who is a driver for dhl. He picks up alot there. They do a big business.
I think why they do so well is the painted furniture. They make most of it on site and have a couple of ladies that paint them.
Maybe this would spark some ideas or something.
Ray W.

I think you should start with something simple if you want to do something with wood...maybe birdhouses or something similar...but something that you can knock out and duplicate quickly...do that and you may even get inquiries to build other projects...but the key is in the marketing...need a web page...even just a one page web page...and maybe even start your own blog...learn how to get your message out there...hope this helps

Carl
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