What is easy first project for new person?

Hi

From what I have seen from doing multiple booths and other woodworkers that do booths at those same shows, you cannot return year after year with the same product, regardless of how great your product is. You hit the nail on the head and with making a great product and someone not needing it again. Unless your company is called bobs wood piggy banks, you have to come with new stuff, after all you are a woodworking business not a piggy bank business. Sure, keeping best sellers around is great but shouldn't be the main product. For example, I always feel bad for cutting board folks, they do make sales, but they severely limit the number of customers with just one product and the same one every year. You have to pay attention to what is hot for that timeframe make those type of things. As others have said, having multiple price ranges from a few bucks to a car payment is also key, I don't know how many times I have made something out of scrap wood just to add stuff to a table and it be the biggest hit. One item at 300 bucks or 10 items at 30 still spends the same. Lastly, this hurts to say but it's all in the decoration of your booth. I loathe going with my wife to hobby lobby to buy decorations that I honestly think is a waste of money, yet our booth is always complimented and always swamped each time while similar woodworkers are falling asleep at their booth sitting in a chair with their phone. Just my 2 cents of course.

Notice he didn’t tell you what he was selling in the “clear water area” because it is in fact saturated and a lot of copy cats. 😂

Regardless of whether or not you can still make money if you know how to use it, Etsy is in fact saturated. Period.

Think about it this way buddy. Your shop is neat, tidy and clean. You can window shop walking buy, you onmy get a couple seconds to impress me enough to want something. The decorated booths where you HAVE to go in and look around? You spend time looking around, probably 2-5 minute chance PER ITEM as i can see multiple things at once to convince me i want something. And stupid little things at the checkout usually slow me down too, i love me some littles. 😅 And for returning customers? Make NEW things to match what we already got! Tree serving tray sells well? Make some matching plates, or something.

Great video, I'm a woodworker but I also have Etsy shops for my artwork and 3D prints, so this is something I can definitely use across all the shops

Like to see you do this now 5 years more experience in carving and see how you might change your approach. Also to see you program this.

Great! Thanks. You a good guy.

It’s great to see you still appreciate where you started and where you are now but what I dig the most is you inspire people to keep at it no matter how hard it gets. I wish you all the success and more

That was a genius idea to glue up like that

Etsy is dead! You can hype up a few shops but overall, it's a lost cause with TEMU and other third party suppliers. Most of the items are simply junnnnnnnk!

You definitely could’ve set up a u shaped shelf booth to sell food products on the shelves and have your displays sitting on top of shelves also could’ve added holiday lights on the holiday wall to attract those type of customers.

I’m a handcrafter (leather working). No offense intended, but your stuff may be super high quality but it doesn’t look handmade or special. The designs look high run rate simple. Hope you find your market sweet spot.

No offense to your product and process but you're not a woodworker, you're a production manufacturer.

Lots of good info

Ryan is an Etsy expert! Follow the guidance of those who succeed

When will US switch to mm?

I started my Etsy shop almost 2 years ago. I made some bottle openers, wine bottle holders, candle holders and plant stands and thought I'd give it a try. I tried a local pop-up market but got nothing. I've never had any luck on FB so Etsy seemed to be the next step. I opened my shop with those initial products and.... crickets. I had been messing around with a bird feeder and a squirrel feeder so I decided to list those. BAM! Sold 3 squirrel feeders in the first month they were listed. Sold 8 more the following month and then the bird feeder started to catch on. I had 33 orders that following month and I was off to the races. Basically, I put up products and hoped for the best. I did my best with the photos and learned about SEO so it wasn't a total crap shoot. But, I didn't research my niche. In reality, my niche found me. Now, I wouldn't recommend that strategy, I just got lucky. I have taken advantage of it though. I've added more feeders and I'm working on some birdhouses for this year. I've even had some success with some wooden jack o' lanterns for Halloween. I've had over 500 sales. I have over 160 5-star reviews. I do all the work myself, in my garage. I track all my stats and I have an overall conversion rate of 3.13%. I average between 25-30 orders a month. That keeps me busy enough and puts a tidy sum into my bank account every week. My fees have come to about 14% of my gross product sales. For what you get, e.g. sales tax collection and remittance, payment processing and discounted shipping rates, that's a bargain. My take is, Etsy is not dead. The saturation is in the niches where the "experts" say you should. Be creative and don't be lazy and above all, be patient. Oh yeah, and play by Etsy's rules and you won't have any problems.

I've never liked the idea of selling a million widgets. It's boring, monotonous and repetitive. Personally, I can't do that. I watch tons of craft videos to see how people "make money" with woodworking... and by in large it's mostly cutting boards or some variant of a carved food tray. I've never bought or made a custom cutting board ever. I bought one at Home Goods probably 15-20 years ago for $3.99 and still use it to this day. (Current day, I'd go pick up at Goodwill if I thought I needed another one) So when I see these types of things for sell, they don't appeal to me, so why would I make them for others to buy if I'm not excited about them, just to make a few bucks. Again, this is just how I think, I know sometimes the most boring products are the most profitable. I made the most money selling directly to other businesses to meet their needs. I've done countless trade show booths, show room displays, mall kiosks etc... where the profit margin is stupid high. Like I could sell a mall kiosk for a high traffic location, (like Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip) where the retailer has a $30k month rent, has a tight deadline and can only be installed after 10 pm. So any delays cost them big. So if I can come in and say I can make your kiosk in 14 days, and have it installed by a certain date... but I need $60k to do it... I'm most likely going to get the job, because the "big place that makes them" is backed up 9 months and they want $120k with $60k deposit up front. Cost of materials is just some MDF, veneer, maybe some acrylic, some LEDs... but mostly just labor. I'm going walk away with $40k profit for 2 weeks of work.

A small crappy shop vac plugged into a torsion box, with skimmed top is actually a pretty effective and cheap way to get started with your own DIY vacuum table. Obviously, the vacuum cleaner won't last as long as a real pump, but they are only $40 and gets you productive sooner than later.

why would Etsy cut you?

Just started woodworking, and I've spent a fair amount of time watching videos. Really enjoy your style, and had to subscribe to a brother Aggie. I'm class of '92. Gig 'em.

Kaizen - Continuous Improvement . . . Keep thinking, Keep innovation, Keep inspiring !

I'm a CIC Academy member. So thankful that I am. I just started my full-time woodworking business in the last 6 months. The CIC videos are amazing but I find the weekly coaching calls invaluable.

Thanks for this video! I'm just getting started and learning from people who are good a what they do has already helped me avoid disasters (plural). I appreciate your time and effort and insight!

So… don’t make what you’re making and try to do sales without Etsy. Sick.

Whoop!

Great video - love the content - I am still plotting on what my "angle" will be - I still have a list of projects to do for my house - but in a year or two I would like to start doing stuff for selling and your videos are wonderful food for thought on what I should do. Thanks and keep up the good work! (I also ordered one of your roughing bits to try it out, so I guess I am a customer now too!) Wish I had heard about you a few years ago before I visited southern Texas - maybe I coulda got a tour - LOL - but I did get to see the USS Lexington and the Texas State Aquarium (daughters did the swim with shark thing) maybe I will have to come back when the new bridge is finally finished in Corpus Christi. Thanks again!

Thank you for this video. I'll use this info!! Ill be in touch!

Free game love it

Thank you for your advice!! Something to think about for the future..

Is that a Laguna IQ CNC? How does it compare to a Onefinity?

There is a setup fee now. $15 or $29 depending on location, not a big obstacle.

Love the sawdust demo for chip load

I'm not a woodworker. Appreciate the transparency of this video. Says a lot about the channel.

Vacuum wand ... lol

You need animal piggy banks and trays Cat, Dogs and maybe a Pig different shapes

More great insights.

I'm interested in your point that you create multiple listings for the same product. Doesn't this dilute the reviews by spreading them across all those listings, rather than the product itself?

If you managed to sell some items then you didn't fail.

ok. tell me how you can beat a Chinese company with 100+ CNC machines in a big ass hangar that even doesn’t need a air conditioning or heating because it is located in an area with a calm climate. Which steals your design and Idea - made it UGLY but cheap by 70%. compete with that. LOL

I’ve been working with Ryan for several months now through his CNC academy and have learned so much. But for a year and a half before I ever bought a CNC, I watched him and learned so much because he gave good, thoughtful advice, and wasn’t trying to sell me an expensive tool he could earn a commission from. I trust the guy and encourage you, whether you have a CNC or not, to binge his videos as often as possible. I’m in the process of launching my store and his experience and willingness to share is invaluable.

Clear bags are much better advertising (freely) than one that no one can see in to. Lots of people will see what others have purchased and may be more interested in stopping at your booth or going back to it!

I'm not surprised this was a fail, why would one need ANY of that? I mean, people online buys all the kinds of crap but this.... Show us what sold instead so we can see what people really prefers in a market that big it's easier to make a statistic

The academy is a great place to learn even if you don't have a CNC just yet. The academy gives you the videos to help you decide hours far you want to take. A friendly community to have questions answered. The videos will also give you motivation to keep moving forward!

It is dead.. I submitted my info to be verified a month and a half ago and it still says pending. I’ve tried to contact them via email 3 times and haven’t gotten a response. It’s my account with 30k sales! I’m ready to close up shop and go elsewhere.

The company I work for supplies parts for CR Onsrud!

Great content...and truthful experience Thanks man