Business ideas for wood lovers

„I want to open a carpentry shop" is the business idea I hear from younger people all the time. I don't want to discourage you here (which is why I'm also giving you ideas below), but this is an idea of how to spend money, not how to make it. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit here. Obviously. But my main point stands. Behind investing in a workshop (whether it's done for free, with EU or government funding) there needs to be a broader business plan. You should at least know what you are going to produce and who you are going to sell it to. Don't make the mistake of leaving it for later. I've seen it done in bigger houses, with experienced entrepreneurs. They got machines because they were free (funds) and then started maintaining them, spending, while they were deteriorating, not producing or selling anything. But we got into other problems. Back to our business ideas.

This article is part of a series that aims to bring information about business and entrepreneurship closer to small entrepreneurs in the wood industry. If you want to find out more, read also this article.

I propose to open below a list of business ideas that I think are good right now. I don't want to write down ideas that I don't believe in or that are difficult to implement without big budgets and a good knowledge of the field (like chipboard manufacturing, CLT manufacturing). I then want to constantly update it with ideas that come to me or with ideas from you, from you. So it wouldn't hurt to come back here from time to time. Who knows how inspiration strikes me and opportunity passes me by. Anyway, whatever ideas you find interesting from the below, I want you to know that it's just the beginning. Without hard work (more than the team you'll be gathering around you) and a strong stomach to get you through the problems that, rest assured, will come, it will be very hard for these ideas to become your successful business.

Business ideas suitable for wood lovers

1. Wooden furniture - I was going to write wood furniture workshop, but I was contradicting myself (see above). I'll stick to what you're going to sell as a business idea. I specified wooden and not just any wood because you need different production machinery than chipboard furniture, for example. You should know that the market is smaller here for wooden furniture because it's more expensive. I mean it's going to be harder to sell wooden furniture than chipboard. But that comes with advantages if you're good at what you do and you have a good marketing and sales team. It's more expensive, so you can sell it more expensively using fewer resources (time, people, raw materials, etc). In other words, you can sell higher value-added products. It's very tempting if you ask me, especially in a market that I believe will grow in the coming years.
2. Furniture in chipboard, MDF - The machines are a little different from woodworking. You'll need a circular former, canting machine, CNC for milling and drilling, other machinery for this kind of product. Compared to wooden furniture, it will be much easier to sell chipboard furniture. The market is bigger. Customers exist. You just have to reach them with the optimal product and price.
3. Outdoor furniture - I've listed it separately because it's different, especially in terms of the raw materials you'll use to make your products last, to make them quality products. For the rest, see point 1
4. Timber frame houses - many will tell you that concrete and brick are holy, mind your own business. I say the exact opposite. The market for timber frame houses will explode in the next few years, in my opinion. You'll have to get up to speed with all the technology and find people you can trust. If you're serious, hard-working, willing to keep up to date with all the latest in the field, that's the business idea of the moment, in my opinion.
5. Houses in CLT - are built a little differently than timber-framed houses, but there will be more and more of these too. CLT is a panel made by cross-laminating timber. Basically, we're talking prefabricated wooden building elements. On the building site they are joined together like pieces in a game. Read more about CLT houses in this article.
6. Flooring, flooring, panelling, other interior products - you will need special machinery for their production. I think there will be more and more construction in Romania, so there will be more and more need for this kind of wood products.
7. Timber production - and I don't mean a gater, although you could start with that. I am talking about professional machines, of the kind that Wood-Mizer sells, dryers with which to deliver very high quality dried timber.
8. Wooden decorations - all you need is a CNC to mass produce almost any type of decoration in wood or other composite materials. I would say this is where you really need imagination and a marketing and sales team to sell what you can produce. Just a few ideas of wooden products you can sell: marketing products for companies (phone holders, card holders, pens, etc), decorative products for the home (rimming, paintings, etc), decorative products for restaurants (wine racks, shelves, dividers, etc), hotels. And these are just a few examples.
9. Wooden products for the kitchen - Wooden choppers, wooden spoons, trays, bowls, chopsticks, etc. I think you'll have competition from China here, but if you're creative and skilled, I think there's room for you.
10. Binale - production of doors and windows. Without quality machinery, I don't think you can think of doing business here. Energy efficiency standards, NZEB standardsIt forces you to come up with very good quality products if you want to make a difference. But even if you can and want to, this is an area that I believe will offer many opportunities in the coming years.
11. Online shop with wooden products - if you like online and you're a fast learner, I think this is the business to seriously consider. I would recommend the other business ideas more. But, if you think your chances of success are better with online shop, then online shop it is.
12. Storage of sawn timber - idea added to suggestion made by Claudiu Retisan on Facebook. In Claudiu Retisan's opinion, the only condition for the success of the business is the diversity of the shapes of planks, beams, beams.

Now you have the idea. You need a business plan, a plan in which you assess the variables of your future business and set out the steps to follow in your new venture. I'll tell you more about it in the following article.