This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
What's up my friends? Welcome to Cytosill School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. So, so glad you're here. For more than four years, I've been making daily episodes seven days a week, 365 days a year plus an extra one, you know, whenever it's sleep year, all about how you can create financial security through the form of a money-making project.
Isn't that funny how it works? You know, to have financial stability, you need to make money. And how can you do that without quitting your job? How can you do it without going into debt? You don't necessarily have to become a capital E entrepreneur.
There really is something that everyone can do. And a lot of what we try to do with these episodes is give you ideas. Give you ideas, get you thinking, help you adjust or acclimate to a new kind of thinking, which is even better than just giving you ideas. Because if you have the mindset, then you can go and do all this on your own. So that's my goal.
And I do this by telling a lot of stories, often answering questions, telling stories, doing some analysis. So in today's story, when a man moves into a new apartment and can't find the earthy table of his dreams, he's got a very specific aesthetic in mind, he finds himself with a tremendous new business. It really is tremendous, folks, just you wait. He gets an early boost from his dad, proving the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. All right, we're gonna branch out a little with this one.
The story is called "Woodworker Proves, Money Grows on Trees." Do you wanna hear how money grows on trees? Well, stay tuned. The story's coming up in just 30 seconds. [Music]
In the summer of 2019, John Kriegel was getting ready to move into a new apartment. So far, so good, but there was one problem.
He needed new furniture and was especially set on finding the perfect coffee table. He wanted something rustic, earthy, and asymmetrical. He began searching online and found the exact style he was envisioning. It was a type of furniture called a live edge. Essentially, the furniture looks like it was cut right out of a tree.
Although John fell in love with the style, he was not a fan of the price tag. It was unbelievably expensive. What a shock, but fortunately for him, and for the sake of this story, he wasn't ready to give up on his dream table just yet. He figured that if he couldn't afford to buy it, maybe he could make it himself with the help of his dad, who John describes as a master woodworker. The father-son team sourced a slab of local walnut wood and brought it to his dad's shop.
They began to work on the piece, and as they shaped it into place, John found an appreciation for his dad's love of woodwork. The grain was beautiful and therapeutic to touch. Not only that, but he loved knowing that the art he was making would also be functional. Together, they were able to make that table John had been pining for for so long. Now, even though the task at hand was finished, John didn't want to stop woodworking.
As it turns out, and as you heard earlier, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It was a way for him to be creative, carry on his dad's work, and further his beliefs around sustainability and the environment. Last but not least, he figured he could make some extra money. From there, Origin Woodworks was born. John already had an old auto shop that he ran a lawn care business through.
So he decided to base the woodwork business there too. He also spent around $1,000 in new tools. The first thing he did was create a logo. He decided to go with an Elvish font. That would be Elvish, not Elvis-like, but like elves, paying homage to Lord of the Rings because he felt that it was earthy and fun.
From there, he created social media accounts and began building his website. Now, here's a bit of shameless self-promotion that I promise I didn't make up, but this comes from John. He says he got his first paying customer from tools he learned from the book "Side Hustle," from idea to income in 27 days. He said that he really tried to take what he learned from the book and imagine it from the perspective of a client. He landed that first client in early December, 2019.
She found him through Facebook Marketplace and emailed him. She also wanted to pay online, meaning that John had to learn how to set up a payment processing system for the first time. But hey, how hard can it be? Naturally, he figured it out. After some back and forth with a few more clients, John decided that he would charge $100 an hour for his work, plus the cost of materials.
His products, therefore, vary in price, anywhere from $85 for a charcuterie board to around $4,000 for a large dining room table. In the first year, John "Side Hustle" pulled in a profit of about $6,000. At this point, most of his customers have come through word of mouth. He notes the great thing about selling furniture is that every piece he makes is a potential ad for a new client. However, John hopes to branch out into more digital marketing in the near future.
This has been one aspect of his hustle that he struggled with. One item in particular, he found that he needed to highlight the process of shipping and completion timelines for customers. He noticed that on the reviews for his competitors, people tended to be upset about delays. Therefore, John's made sure to include this information on his website so that everyone is aware of the process. Good work takes time.
In the future, he hopes to get a piece of furniture from Origin Woodworks into every home in his state of Missouri. Until then, he's enjoying his creative outlet that doubles as a business. Not only that, but he's found great satisfaction being able to give back. He donates a portion of all profits to One Tree Planet, a nonprofit organization that plants trees around the world wherever they are most needed. [Music]
Congratulations John, so glad you were able to make this work.
It sounds like it's just getting started, so can't wait to hear what happens, let's say a year from now or so. I do hope Origin Woodworks will get in every home in Missouri, maybe even beyond the state line as well. And just a comment on pricing here. Now John has figured out, you know, he's decided for himself that he wants to make $100 an hour for the work he puts into this project. I think he's still charging set prices for the pieces, if I'm not mistaken.
But if you're doing work that has no standardization and is completely personalized for each order, then it is possible to just charge that hourly rate, you know, to charge that hourly rate plus the cost of materials. Sometimes people are a little bit reluctant to do that because as a buyer, you're like, well, you know, is it just an estimate? How does it work if it turns out to be more, et cetera? But it is an option. I tend to encourage people to choose that set pricing more often, just because it helps you standardize.
Even if you're doing personalized, customized work, it helps you have a standardized process for yourself. It also rewards you as you improve. Like you're not cutting corners, you're still doing really quality work. But naturally, as you practice a craft, there are just certain processes that will take less and less time. And if you have a set price, then you are rewarded for that increased efficiency.
But if you're actually charging by the hour, then all of a sudden you've gotten better and you're making less money. Just wanted to mention that for anybody out there who's trying to decide on their pricing in this type of product business where things can be personalized. All right, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. That's all for today. But if you'd like to check out the show notes, including links to Origin Woodworks, One Tree Planet, anything else I mentioned in the episode, just go to sidehustleschool.com/1478.
That would be for episode 14781478. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you'll come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
[Music]
From the Onward Project.
