Thinking of opening my own business...

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
M

meshel

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2006
Messages
87
Location
Moshav Gimzo, Israel.
To post this, I figured - this is the safest to post my question/offer

Some of you know me, I'm not as active as I would like. Lately I have been considering opening a woodturning/woodworking store where I live (In Israel - the state of...)

We don't have enough businesses that sell quality tools and even less that sell wood...

OK. Let me present the concept(s):
1. This will be a small and friendly store
2. It will not sell power tools (I don't have the space or inclination)
3. We will sell hand tools (carving, woodworking and turning tools) - probably some lathe accessories and such, carving accessories etc.
4. I also want to sell pre-cut wood (almost impossible to get this in Israel basically you need to know someone who is willing to do it for you or import) - all the businesses force you to buy a full board (they will not even agree to cut it for you or surface it) - I believe that many turners, carvers, and woodworkers would appreciate the possibility to purchase small/medium/largish blanks without purchasing the whole board. to top it all it is also quite hard to find any exotic wood here - even if you are willing to buy the board...

My problem, I don't want to start buying boards and cutting them up - I don't want to deal with it, nor have the equipment to do it, or the time... so I would like to buy this stuff wholesale from someone...

Where would I go? I need to keep a certain amount of stock available (not a big stock) and shipping has to be by sea - otherwise it becomes way expensive...

Can anybody help me out (information, business offer, suggestions, anything?) should I post this somewhere else? where?

All the best
Moshe
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
I dont know what the market is like in your country but I'd be surprised if you would be able to make a living from such a venture. As a part time interest however, it may be fun for you.
regards, Bill
 
I'd have to agree to start by helping out some of your friends, via a large bulk buy to start with. If it becomes popular enough then consider a storefront. Storefronts take a lot of money up front and take a long while to recoup that on the back end.

I'm also not sure what you would have to go through to import some of the wood. I know certain countries require it to be fumagated and other things before it can even enter the country.
 
talbot said:
I dont know what the market is like in your country but I'd be surprised if you would be able to make a living from such a venture. As a part time interest however, it may be fun for you.
regards, Bill
Click to expand...

No intention of making a living from it... Not possible I'm afraid - not even enough potential customers in the country to do it (not to mention the area), and if there were - I'd have 10 competitors in a second. this is purely part time, off hours, out of the way, small, side venture, to operate mostly on a small unassuming website and my small workshop which has some room (by no means spare :) ) that can be used for storage and display of merchandise (again not a large amount).

A way to get to know some new and interesting people and to help some hobbyists like me, and make some money off it - hopefully, maybe to pay for a new tool (just like putting adsense on my blog in a way - I might buy a new tool in a couple of years of it :-().
 
I also want to sell pre-cut wood (almost impossible to get this in Israel basically you need to know someone who is willing to do it for you or import)
...
My problem, I don't want to start buying boards and cutting them up
Click to expand...

And yet this, according to your own admission, would be your best business opportunity. Finding dried wood blanks in the U.S. is hard enough, finding quantities to sell I can't imagine. Shipping green wood isn't cheap, that water's heavy.
The group buy idea from jleiwig is your best bet. Plan on making it another part of your hobby that may not cost you money and probably won't make any either.
jmho
 
I have read in the past about Bethlehem Olivewood and what they go through to produce and offer those blanks. I wish you luck and don't think I have much of a real idea just what it is that you are about to take on. I don't have a lot to suggest at the moment. But I will say you will always be on the back of my mind and if I run across anything I will let you know.
 
I think you will have to find several wholesalers to fill all the voids.I can do local domestics for you,but not in huge runs as I'm small(one man show).I agree with doing the bulk buy thing first to try out how it will go before putting up a bunch of money.Good Luck and keep us posted on how things go,Victor
 
Daniel said:
I have read in the past about Bethlehem Olivewood and what they go through to produce and offer those blanks. I wish you luck and don't think I have much of a real idea just what it is that you are about to take on. I don't have a lot to suggest at the moment. But I will say you will always be on the back of my mind and if I run across anything I will let you know.
Click to expand...

I have once (and once only) sent a box of wood to the US, Olivewood by chance, sold it right here on this site to a bunch of nice guys and gals... Was done as a group buy through Kent4Him. Even though the purpose was to get the lowest price per blank possible (I took no commission except for shipping to the US and packing expenses) it was still not very cheap (though we succeeded in beating the Bethelehem price :) ) - the amount of work was amazing (getting the wood, cutting it, grading the blanks, but mostly getting rid of the gunk and bad blanks - good smell practice material), and I still can't figure out if I came out even on the whole thing (I think I might have lost a few dollars), but it was a great learning experience (so good that I never repeated the exercise) - and I'm not sorry I did, some beautiful pens came out of it...

But maybe working in the other direction and larger amounts would work better, who knows?
 
Well, everything became much more serious yesterday, as I was informed by my bosses that the company is going through cutbacks, and I'm one of them... so goodbye cozy and comfortable job (at least for awhile).... I still don't think I'll make any money from this venture but every cent just became that much more important.
I'm pretty certain I'll be back on the horse in a short time, I've already had a few offers - we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom