Going Pro: Part 2 – The Prep Begins

*If you haven’t already read the first post in Adam’s series, Going Pro: Part 1, start there.

After those brushes with mortality, I started taking things a bit more seriously. If I were going to leave my comfortable job and move forward, going into business for myself, it was time. 

Anyway, while the real decision came then, the actual planning and preparation for this transition had been in place for years–right after I walked out of Maloof’s shop with stars in my eyes. What follows is very practical and tactical advice. Some might say, boring. Fine. If you believe just manifesting piles of money will flow into your bank account because you followed your passion and listened to the right podcast or went to a weekend retreat with a guru…well, I truly hope you succeed. This blue-collar kid wasn’t taking any such chances. 

Ever since visiting Maloof’s shop and having that moment, my wife, Jen, and I started getting our finances in order. As it happened, around this time, I came across a blogger who goes by Mr. Money Mustache (as in grow your ‘stash…silly name; useful information). His blog was all about ways to be smart with your money so you can have financial freedom. This school of thought is sometimes referred to as FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). It can certainly be a position of privilege to consider retiring early (some people do it in their early 30s), and it certainly is nice to have money to save and invest. We got lucky with graduating from college when we did, entering the housing market when we did, and numerous other things. 

Acknowledging that, I also think much of what the movement teaches is just good sense: live as close to where you work as possible so you don’t have to spend your life commuting (this might mean a smaller home); bike when you can (get exercise and save gas and car payments); find ways to save and invest money that are boring and reliable (high yield savings accounts, index funds, etc.). Think about your recurring bills or spending as 10-year costs; for example, if you’re buying a $5 coffee every day, that may seem fine. But it’s $25/week, $100/month, $1200/year, $12000 over ten years. If you saved that money instead, with interest, it would be helping you with long-term freedom, instead of just getting a buzz to start your day. (I love coffee shops, and this remains a splurge for me, by the way. It’s just a common example). While understanding that this approach is not accessible to all, I found much of what he was espousing to be useful, and we employed what we could. 

The first thing we did was consider our spending. I made a spreadsheet, and we looked at everything. Immediately, at the time, cell phone bills jumped out as an area to cut. We were late adopters to smartphones and ended up with an off-brand phone plan that saved us $50/month ($600 for the year!). We were already avid bike commuters, but we looked at other costs we could reduce. We used those savings to make extra payments on our mortgage and refinanced when interest rates fell (very fortunate timing). The idea was to reduce our monthly expenses so that, if I left a well-paying job, there would not be immediate pressure to match my income. This approach was very low risk in two main ways: first, it mitigated the financial risk of leaving my job and going into business; second, it was not dependent on my going pro in woodworking. Having savings and reduced expenses was good, no matter what the future held.

During this period, I also invested in the tools and the shop. At this point, I was completing several commissions and doing a fair number of craft shows each year. I had a job, so there was no need for me to take a salary from the business. Instead, I just bought the tools I needed for the shop. I also moved my shop from the 15’ X 9’ part of my basement to a 16’ x 16’ garage. This was a major undertaking that involved running electric to the garage, insulating it (something I decided to do on July 4th in Washington, DC…I’m still sweating), and then setting up the major tools. 

In addition to home finances and developing the shop space, my main focus at this point was improving my woodworking skills as much as possible. This was time well-spent, but I would do it differently if I had the chance (more on that in the next post). 

Probably the smartest thing I did during this period was reach out to other woodworkers. I tried to find people similar to me: those who had transitioned from office jobs to a woodshop. I did not do this strategically. Instead, as names and stories presented themselves, I reached out. The most helpful was Josh Jackson, former owner of Arbor Exchange. Josh’s business was featured in the LA Times, and I randomly came across the story. We were roughly the same age, had both studied philosophy, and had been influenced by similar books. I found his email address and wrote a short email asking him for free advice…and he delivered. Josh did a quick audit of my social media and website and gave me a lot of great advice (#1: get better photos!). He also listed a number of great IG accounts for me to follow as exemplars. Josh stands out, but there were others…to a person, everyone I asked was very helpful and I’ve tried to pass along that kindness and value as well as I can (including, in some cases, forwarding Josh’s email). Thanks again, Josh. 

Finally, no discussion of working in the wood business would be complete without referencing Nancy Hiller’s book Making Things Work. Nancy was a national treasure that we lost too soon. The book paints a very clear-eyed narrative of what this work can be like: the internal/emotional struggles; the financial challenges; and the unique position of working in, and/or creating items for, a client’s home. I read and studied this book, and through good luck and Nancy’s grace, I was able to arrange a time and place for her to give a short talk on this topic when she was passing through the area. This was invaluable in terms of capturing the importance of risk related to insurance coverages, clarity of expectations with your clients, and managing your own expectations (don’t separate work and life–they are intertwined!). It also helped get to know one of the most impressive people I’ve met (and that is separate and apart from her being such an incredible craftsperson). 

To summarize: I spent roughly 8-10 years preparing for making this move. This included holding a well-paying, full-time job, reducing expenses, growing savings, learning the craft, and seeking advice from anyone willing to share. And yet, I was probably still “not ready”…more on that in the next post.