Becoming a millionaire doing woodwork.....
/This isn't a 'How To' guide on how to become a millionaire or anything like that, it's more of a ramble on my recent thoughts.
I saw a meme the other day on the internet somewhere and like the picture above it said "How to become a millionaire doing woodwork.....Start off a billionaire" It was pretty funny.
You remember when you were young, well I'm still young but young young, like 16/17 and you think of what you'll do when you're a millionaire, like you'd buy a Ferrari and go to the chip shop with your tracksuit and trainers on just because you can, you'll stay normal even though you have loads of doh' in the bank. Then you get to an age when you come to terms that you won't be the lead singer of the biggest band in the world or Hollywood hasn't called and asked if you're ready to be a movie star. It's not a big let down but it kind of lets you know that you still need to get up and get to work.
Woodworking is a funny thing though, you can make a nice living and a lot of woodworkers have a studio at their house or not too far from where they live so it allows them to spend a lot of time with their family. Then there's the fascination with woodwork that doesn't allow you to join the ranks of the normal people in society and get a real job. There's a lot that woodworking has to answer for. So, with all that, you get to spend time with your family, you can make a living and you don't need to be constrained to a normal 9-5. Do you really need to be a millionaire? Would it get in the way of working all the hours available to get the jobs done and out so you can get paid to be able to pay the bills? Would you find another pastime and the woodworking would be left on the back burner? Would you just buy nice cars and drive about all day?
Maybe it's not all about money, maybe it's about being present, enjoying what you do for a living while wangling someway to work from your house and spend as much time as you can with the wife and kids? Maybe it's about learning a discipline, learning a craft that you will never know everything about but you try to cram in as much as you can anyway. Maybe it's about meeting people on the other side of the world and having woodworking in common, then finding out you have other things in common. Maybe it's about spending any and if I'm honest nearly all profits from jobs on tools, used tools, new tools, you can never have enough tools. Maybe it's about trying to build that one perfect piece. Numerous people can tell you that it's perfect but theres always that one part that you keep looking at, you maybe see it a year later and try to sand the certain part your not happy with down with your fingers, your fingers can't sand anything. Mentally close a joint by squinting your eyes, that doesn't work either. Woodworking's a funny thing and depending on your disposition you are never 100% happy with any of your work but if you keep persevering maybe the next one will be the perfect piece.
I suppose at the end of the day you could make a million quid if the right person happens to see your work, it could go "viral". Perhaps a big company could like a design you've made and offer you a deal for them to reproduce/massproduce to the world. There's loads of ways and nothings impossible. Who knows, I'm not so sure it's the numero uno focus though. I think just being present, enjoying what you're doing and spending as much time as you can with family is the only path to be on, money comes and goes, they're always going to be printing it.
Onwards :)