Turning a passion into a profitable home business is no small feat.
Being good at something is a step in the right direction, but you need to have a focus and a clear plan to succeed.
If you’re skilled at woodworking you’re already halfway there. Now it’s time to find some woodworking business ideas you can use to turn your passion into a money making machine.
Don’t worry, we’ve done the hard part and created an extensive list of some great ways you can put your woodworking talents to use as a backyard business.
Let’s jump in.
Best Woodworking Business Ideas
1| Custom Furniture Design and Creation
If it was your grandfathers home made rocking chair that turned you on to your love of woodworking, you might be on to something.
Creating one-of-a-kind custom wooden furniture can be a profitable home business if you know what you’re doing.
Here are some key things to keep in mind when getting started with a custom home furniture business:
- Practice Your Craft — Making wooden furniture built to last takes serious skills
- Choose Your Artistic Style — Do you prefer rustic, modern, or an eclectic mix?
- Find Quality Suppliers — If you want to grow your customer base choose quality suppliers
- Sketch and Plan — Have at least basic plans or models you use for each custom design
How to sell and Promote Your Custom Wooden Furniture Business
Selling yourself as an expert at making quality handcrafted wooden furniture isn’t easy.
These are usually expensive pieces and potential customers want to be sure you can be trusted. Promoting your new business on social media is a great start, but this is one business you should consider creating a website for.
Don’t worry if all of this sounds a bit overwhelming. There are tools such as Wix that make it super easy to make a basic site without any background in web design.
If you want to build a site with a little more punch on the popular WordPress platform you can always hire a design expert through sites such as Upwork.
2| Wooden Home Decor and Accessories (Personalized)
The home decor woodworking business ideas you can come up with are almost endless and it doesn’t hurt that there’s a huge market for these kinds of wooden pieces.
People love sprucing up their home interiors with custom wooden decor and accessories.
Here are some ideas for the kinds of unique wood creations you can make and sell for in home use:
- Wall art
- Plant stands
- Spoons, forks and ladles
- Candle holders
- Picture frames
- Wine racks
- Custom cutting boards
- Wooden bowls
- Coasters
- Coffee Cup Holders
- Rolling Pins
- Paper Towel Holders
- Jewelry Boxes
- Pen Holders
- Mugs
The skies the limit with home decor.
If you’re skilled at engraving you can add personal customizations as well. They can be great gift ideas.
There’s no better way to show a person how much they mean to you than the gift of a one-of-a-kind creation made just for them.
How to sell and Promote Your Wooden Home Decor and Accessories Business
This is the kind of business that was made for selling through social media. So create that Facebook Page, promote on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook Marketplace.
Etsy is a great tool in your marketing self promotion for this style of woodworking business as well. It’s a marketplace platform for creatives to sell all kinds of handmade products such as wooden home nick-nacks for all occasions.
3| Woodworking Workshops and Classes
If friends and family are always asking you to show them how you made your latest wooden masterpiece you could be staring at one of the most rewarding woodworking business ideas out there.
Why not think about sharing your expertise with others?
If you have a large garage or backyard shed workshop, you could easily teach workshops and classes right from home. Just make sure to do your homework on liabilities and local regulations.
It’s a good idea to have insurance to protect yourself from the small chance that someone may be injured while taking one of your classes.
How to sell and Promote Your Workshops and Classes
If you’re going to offer in-person classes you’ll want to be sure to create a Google My Business page for sure.
Good old fashioned word of mouth is also a great tactic for promoting this type of business.
You may also want to look for bulletin boards at local grocery stores, the library and community centers and post your offer there as well. It involves a bit of leg work, but it will be well worth the effort when those woodworking hobbyists start hitting you up for classes.
4| Reclaimed Wood Creations
My uncle has an amazing reclaimed wood table he made by hand and it’s always a great talking point when visitors stop by.
It has a nostalgic appeal and a certain beauty that generic wooden furniture just can’t match.
There’s a real market for this stuff. It looks great and it’s eco-friendly because you’re using old wood to make something new. That’s a side bonus that can attract customers that take sustainability seriously.
If you’re looking for woodworking business ideas that are both profitable and promote social consciousness, this is the one.
Best of all you can tap into your adventurous spirit to find material for you reclaimed wood projects.
Check out local salvage yards, discarded wood at construction sites, old wood people are throwing out curbside and even local garage sales. You never know where the perfect piece for that table top might turn up.
How to sell and Promote Your Reclaimed Wood Creations
Social media is probably the best place to promote this type of work. Instagram and Pinterest are perfect for showcasing you’re eye dropping creations.
5| Wooden Toys and Games
Kids these days love their hi-tech gadgets, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for more traditional toys and games.
Wooden toy making is still one of the better woodworking business ideas out there. In fact, it’s the most profitable handmade wooden product on our list with a a gross margin of 30% on average.
These can be simple wooden block games, puzzles, carved animals or even those classic favorites rocking horses.
Before embarking on your woodworking toy store there are some important things to keep in mind:
- Wooden toys should be carefully designed to prevent choking hazards
- Toys should be polished and finished with smooth edges
- Use only safe, non-toxic paints
How to sell and Promote Your Wooden Toy Business
This is a business idea that matches up well with a service like Etsy or Shopify. You’ll want somewhere you can easily create a visually appealing showcase of your handcrafted collection.
You can also come up with creative ways to showcase some of your best work on Instagram and Pinterest to drive traffic to your Etsy or Shopify marketplace.
6| Summer Backyard Games Made From Wood
Games aren’t just for kids.
As adults we love our backyard games in the summer and some of the most popular ones are made from wood.
Think corn hole, oversized lawn Jenga and ring toss. These are games made for summertime fun!
The great thing about these is that you can customize them for each customer.
One customer may want a football themed cornhole game and another might want one that pays hommage to their favorite movie.
There’s a growing market for these types of products, so if you’ve got the skills to make these and other similar items it’s definitely worth exploring.
How to sell and Promote Your Wooden Backyard Games
The channels we’ve talked a lot about already such as Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook Marketplace will work here as well, but they’re not your only options.
If you have some friends and family that are willing to be the stars of your videos, you could also prime this business with Youtube and Tik Tok videos.
There’s no better way to show how much fun your creations are than to show others having fun with them!
Speaking of Youtube . . .
7| Youtube Woodworking Channel
Selling your wooden creations isn’t the only way to make money online from your impressive skills.
If you’re good in front of a camera or at least willing to learn, Youtube can be one of the most fun woodworking business ideas you can do right from your backyard workshop. It doesn’t take a big investment either.
With nothing more than your smartphone, a cheap microphone and a $20 ring light you can make professional looking videos to share with the world.
Disclaimer alert! You don’t have to be a pro to create online videos, anyone can do it, but getting good at it takes practice like anything else.
What’s the best way to practice?
Just start making videos!
Yes, you’re first few will probably be terrible, but you’ll get better at it. Besides, few people will likely see those first few attempt anyway — except maybe your mom, grandma and cousin Beth.
How to sell and Promote Your Youtube Woodworking Channel
As far as woodworking business ideas go, how to promote this one may seem painfully obvious. You just create the video content and people will flock to your channel right?
Not quite.
You need to focus on SEO best practises and promoting on other channels such as Twitter (Now X) and Facebook as well.
If you’ve no idea what SEO’s all about. Check out this simple and free guide by Hubspot.
8| Outdoor Garden boxes and Planters
If you’ve ever doom scrolled through Facebook Marketplace because you were bored an looking to kill some time, chances are you came across people advertising wooden garden boxes and planters for sale.
There’s a reason for that.
People love to garden and they love wooden planters to spruce up the look of their patio.
These can be based on simple designs or involve fun innovations. It all depends on your skill level, but if you can make your creations stand out, you can make some great extra money with this as a business.
How to sell and Promote Your Outdoor Garden Boxes and Planters
Remember when we said how often you run across wooden planters for sale on Facebook Marketplace? That’s because it works.
Create yourself a good Facebook Business page and post frequent images of your latest creations. Share them with friends and spread the word!
9| Custom Engraved Wooden Signs
My parents have a cute wooden sign above their stove that basically tells you to make your own meal if you don’t like what the cook (mom or dad) is offering. It’s been in the same spot for decades and it always brings back fond memories when I visit.
There’s no better way to add a bit of rustic charm to a home than by adding a personalized touch like a custom engraved sign.
If you have engraving skills and a CNC router this can be one of the most profitable woodworking business ideas out there.
You’re only limited by your imagination. Here are a few quick ideas for things that can be engraved on signs:
- Family names
- Welcome greetings
- Witty anecdotes
- Inspirational quotes
How to sell and Promote Your Wooden Sign Engraving Business
For this one I’d recommend heavy promotion on Instagram, Pinterest and a Facebook page if you want to be up and running quickly.
Etsy is also a great match for selling your custom handy work. Just be sure to showcase your best work.
10| Create A DIY Woodworking Blog
Creating a DIY woodworking blog is an online business you can make money with and never sell a thing. Revenue can be earned through advertising and affiliate marketing. It’s similar to running a Youtube channel in that respect.
The big difference with a blog is you need to be a decent writer as well. You can get better at it, but it takes a ton of practise.
This isn’t a quick money maker, so you need to be in it for the long haul.
If you are a good writer and you’re not in a rush to start making money as soon as possible this can be a great way to share your woodworking DIY tips and How-to’s to a wide audience.
You’ll be able to showcase images of your various woodworking projects in your writings as well. Blog articles always do better when you use your own original images.
How to Promote Your DIY Woodworking Blog
Promoting a blog is a little more challenging than some of the other business ideas in our list. You’ll need to develop some SEO skills, always post your articles on each of your social media sites and be sure to encourage friends and family to do the same.
Another great blog promotion tactic is to seek out backlinks to your site from popular blogs in related niches. This can get a bit complicated, but for a quick guide checkout Backlinko’s great introduction to this topic.
11| Handcrafted Seasonal Wooden Items
Want to know the best way to make sure you choose woodworking business ideas that aren’t affected by seasonality?
Make it your business to sell seasonal items.
That probably sounds like a bad idea right?
Here me out.
The trick here is to sell woodworking products for all seasons. Here’s a quick list of ideas for handmade seasonal wooden products to get you started:
- Christmas decorations
- Halloween decor
- Beach Signs
- Cottage or Camping Decor
- Wooden BBQ Tools
As summer ends and winter approaches you can switch gears from beach and cottage signs to Halloween decor and so on.
How to Promote Your Seasonal Wooden Items
If you’re not promoting and selling on Etsy with this business you’re missing out on amazing profit potential. The Etsy platform was made for crafty businesses like this.
12| Dog Houses
Dogs are a big part of our lives. They’re more than a pet, they’re a member of the family and they deserve a home of their own.
I’m not the only dog lover that thinks that way. There are a lot of us.
Building beautiful dog houses and beds for those four legged friends can be a great way to make a profit from your woodworking abilities.
If you can personalize these tiny homes with custom engravings even better.
Each dog has it’s own unique personality and if you can add a personal touch that reflects that, you’re bound to be a big hit in the wooden dog house market.
How to Promote Your Wooden Dog House Creations
How cute are those Tik Tok, Facebook and Youtube videos featuring our beloved dogs and their various antics?
Every pet lover loves to waste a few hours on these.
Take advantage of that and come up with creative ways to create videos featuring your dog house and real dogs enjoying them. You’ll want to enlist the help of friends, family and former customers for this, but it will be worth the effort.
13| Wooden Tables
Remember a while back when I mentioned my uncles reclaimed wood table?
This isn’t just a great idea for reclaimed wood. You can make beautiful handcrafted wooden tables using locally supplied lumber for your woodworking business venture.
From simple picnic tables, to elaborate dining tables there are lots of opportunities in this category.
How to Promote Your Handmade Wooden Tables
Facebook Marketplace is a great place to start promoting your table business. I would definitely recommend a website with at least a landing a page and a catalog of your different creations for best results over the long term though.
14| Outdoor Wooden Furniture
Every year on the way up to the cottage we pass a dozen solopreneurs selling handcrafted outdoor furniture on the way.
We see garden benches, adirondack chairs and wooden storage boxes on full display.
There’s a reason so many roadside vendors are selling these on the way up to the cottage. People love that rustic look for their home away from home.
If making outdoor furniture is your favorite hobby, why not make some money from your creativity?
How to Promote Your Outdoor Wooden Furniture
Besides selling your furniture on the side of the road, you can also tap into online marketing channels such as Etsy, Shopify and Facebook Marketplace for promotion as well.
It’s also a good idea to have a local Google Business page for your business. This is the kind of item that people love to search for close by.
When they type “handcrafted outdoor wooden furniture near me” in Google, you want your business page to be the first thing they see.
15| Decorative Wooden Wall Shelving
Beautiful wooden shelving can transform any room from ordinary to spectacular in a matter of minutes. If you make custom wood shelving for your friends and family, it’s time to expand your customer base.
You don’t have to be an interior designer to appreciate decorative wooden wall shelving.
Do a quick search for wooden shelving and you’ll see what I mean.
There are so many different design options and styles you can offer. It’s easily one of the best woodworking business ideas in this list in my opinion.
How to Promote Your Wooden Wall Shelving Business
Every technique we’ve talked about so far can be used to sell your wooden wall shelving. Spread the word through every channel available to you. Use Facebook Marketplace, Pinterest, Instagram a website and specialty channels like Etsy.
If that sounds overwhelming, pick one or two to start with at first. You can always expand your promotional activities later.
16| Bird Houses and Wind Chimes
There are few things more peaceful than sitting in your backyard with your morning coffee listening to your windchimes whistle with a gentle breeze and admiring the birds munching away from your birdfeeder.
People love these little additions to their back garden oasis.
If you have the skills to build beautiful birdhouses and wind chimes out of wood, you’ve got a great opportunity to turn that into a profitable side hustle or full time business.
How to Promote Your Wooden Birdhouse and Wind Chime Creations
Word of mouth is a good place to start when you’re just out of the gate building birdhouse and chimes, but as your creations get better you’ll want to get better at promotion.
I would recommend considering your own Shopify channel for this woodworking business idea — at least once you get quicker at it. It’s the kind of item you can produce fairly quickly once you get a good routine in place.
17| Custom Cabinets and Bookcases
The last of our woodworking business ideas that can’t be left of this list involves custom cabinets and bookcases.
Either one can be both a great accent piece and add useful storage space in a home. You’ll find a big market for people that prefer handcrafted wooden storage units over the generic pieces they can find at the big box stores.
If you can make quality, eye catching wooden cabinets and book cases you can make a living crafting them by hand from your backyard workshop.
Make Your Woodworking Business Ideas A Reality
I can’t think of a better way to make a living than using your own creative woodworking talents to build and create from your own home workshop.
Remember, these are all just ideas.
You can sell as many of these products through your own home business as you like if you don’t want to specialize.
If you have the time, supplies and skills you’ll find plenty of customers for all of the handcrafted wooden masterpieces you create on your backyardpreneur journey.
