“Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.” I put this quote on my first website way back in the day when the Internet was first born. People told me that I shouldn’t say that because they might think I’m too expensive. I told them I didn’t want to work for those people. I wanted to work for people who appreciated a quality job. I told my employees that we are attempting to achieve perfection, and that we would only settle for excellence. If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life. Only take on the projects that make you smile. For me…..I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction doing the work I can be proud of. Thanks for sharing your journey. All the best to you.
Sam, your creativity and woodworking abilities are obvious. Thank you for sharing your experience and inspiring me to upgrade my truck storage drawers. I am a hobby woodworker and people are always telling me that I should take orders or sell online. I don't want my hobby that I enjoy to become work and suck the joy right out of it, so I know where you are at. There are companies out there that are already set up with CNC and mass production that may be interested in taking on your design. If you approach them with your list of interested customers, they may compensate you very well for your time, prototype and plans and get you out from under the stress.
I made a set of drawers for my FJ and released a simple materials list and plans on a forum for everyone to use. There was a lot of interest in them and many inquired about buying them. I had also thought of flat packing but after thinking about it, it would not be enjoyable in the end. Sharing the plans has been rewarding since so many forum members built them. On the other hand you went for it and tried the process of manufacturing so kudos to you and they are a great product. You do you.
Glad you understood yourself and the task enough to know what it would all entail. I was stubborn and decided to give it a shot, and learned the hard way!
Sam, there are a ton of really skilled and talented woodworkers here in the Northwest. Have you considered taking more of a design/engineering role as your primary focus and working with folks who can take over the day-to-day? Perhaps some sort of a profit share solution could work until you 'break even' on your investment? You've got great vision and knowing that you're less of the nuts and bolts type could be a great starting point to a different journey as opposed to the end of this one. Good luck out there - i'm looking forward to seeing the plans go up.
I would definitely consider such a proposition! I'd love to find somebody skilled that I would mesh with and take over the day-to-day. I don't have any idea how to come across somebody like that, or where to look. I'm not much interested in managing, so profit share sounds like a great solution.
It sounds like you have a good idea what you want out of this and what your strengths are. Would love some diy plans so I can take a crack at this myself. Best design for my use I’ve seen so far! Any idea when you’ll be releasing plans?
That's a great disicion to do what you really like to do. Create detailed plans, start with one and move to multiple by make and model. Also the precut set is great too. It will be just maybe a little bit later. Step by step. Good luck!
Totally understand where you are coming from, the last thing you want is to come to fully resent a project that you poured a lot of (initial) joy into! The sneak peek you gave to the DIY plans looked amazing, it's exactly what I was hoping they would be like! I really would like to try and build my own, looking forward to buying the plans when you release!
Call around to different local cabinet companies and see what they can do for you. You would be surprised by just a few calls. Don't give up on a good idea. You obviously found a niche. That's rare. Stay positive I've been through growing pains like the rest of us. The SBA can also help. They actually have a mentor program as well as buisness loans. Charles
Thanks for the recommendation. I already bought one, set it up, spent dozens and dozens of hours playing with it, and got super into CNCing because of it. At the end of the day, it was great for signs and artwork, but was nowhere near accurate enough for manufacturing, also way too slow. Great hobbyist machine, though.
@Sam Chou... if you are interested in assistance with your support role please reach out. I have been involved in Customer Service for 7+ years and would be happy to assist you on the support side of things if you have an interest in "sending it" with your side hustle. IMO I am a firm believer in intuition. Do what your gut tells you to and thanks for sharing your creations and honesty with us. Cheers. HMU if you are ever in the Tetons.
I think most of us that have tried something similar get it. Just say you decided not to do it and will sale plans on etsy. @shopnation does a great job doin something similar. Most of us here can probably build our own anyway and you can just monetize the design. And keep designing. U may have a knack for it. Good luck in future endeavors.
Stop complaining you know you have enough motorcycles park there so you know your attention isn't devoted to this as a career or a production Hobby so either go for it or just hush up complain complain complain you have a nice little place to live you have some money in the bank stop complaining darn millennials
I figured I would receive a comment like this after posting this video. Believe me, I fully understand I am complaining about first world problems of my own creation. But I felt I owed my subscribers an explanation as to why I've been out of it for so long. Even if it's just mostly me complaining about how my great life is so hard. Sorry I wasted your time.
@@SamChou Sam forget this guy, his comment is literally worth nothing. Thanks for this video talking about your real experience, it was insanely insightful into this business as it was the direction I was heading, I'm not in your market so we're not crossing paths but I appreciate your transparency on all this, it's been super helpful. I still would like to get into this as a business so we'll see.
Hey Sam I’m from Australia, your crunk draws video was so inspiring I ended up designing my own for my truck I haven’t started the build yet but just wanted to say thank you for the ideas and I hope to show you what I came up with
I respect and agree with your decision . I think you had an awesome idea and it took on a life of its own. I can imagine that doing all that on scale is a bit of a process and really needs to be a separate business venture for someone who has more time to dedicate to it. Thanks for showing the community something new and what can be made with a little know-how and inspiration.
Subcontract out the work. Have a cnc or cabinetry shop cut everything out. Sell it as a flat pack. If you can scale the company still and take those drawers to sema you'd have more than enough work. alternatively, you could have the work done in china and(or) Thailand, Philippines and shipped over.
Thanks. I just met with a local cabinet shop, and it seems everyone in my area (or the world, it seems these days) has more work than they can keep up with at this point. I'll keep checking.
@@SamChouany luck on figuring out this route?! Just stumbled upon you’re Crunk drawer vid and dying for one but I’m not a carpenter so DIY plans won’t do me any good.
No risk, no reward. Easy for me to say though. I will say you have amazing craftsmanship and attention to detail. A $20,000 investment could turn you into a millionaire. Food for thought.
I very much understand. My thoughts: If you want out from underneath doing it at all, I’d say try to sell. It’s a great name, good branding, and a short but sweet history to the company. This happens all the time, you wouldn’t be the first. The other side of the coin depends on one thing: if you enjoy the custom side of things. If you do, then you could limit yourself to a certain number of custom builds a year & stick to it. After 5, 10, 15 years, you’d be a legitimately established entity in the market. Lots of possibilities there, but only if you limit yourself and if you actually enjoy the custom process. I found you because I’m looking for something for my 4Runner, but I’m a photographer not a craftsman. 😝 Anyways, I hope you’ve been doing well & getting outside!
I wish you the best as you sort this out. What I can tell you that decades ago I let my hobby become my job. Financially I've done okay but I really miss my hobby. We all have to eat but don't destroy what brings you pleasure for money. That said you have an amazing talent. I'm just starting an overland build and I wish I had the knowledge you do. Good luck!
“Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.” I put this quote on my first website way back in the day when the Internet was first born. People told me that I shouldn’t say that because they might think I’m too expensive. I told them I didn’t want to work for those people. I wanted to work for people who appreciated a quality job. I told my employees that we are attempting to achieve perfection, and that we would only settle for excellence. If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life. Only take on the projects that make you smile. For me…..I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction doing the work I can be proud of. Thanks for sharing your journey.
All the best to you.
Sam, your creativity and woodworking abilities are obvious. Thank you for sharing your experience and inspiring me to upgrade my truck storage drawers. I am a hobby woodworker and people are always telling me that I should take orders or sell online. I don't want my hobby that I enjoy to become work and suck the joy right out of it, so I know where you are at. There are companies out there that are already set up with CNC and mass production that may be interested in taking on your design. If you approach them with your list of interested customers, they may compensate you very well for your time, prototype and plans and get you out from under the stress.
I made a set of drawers for my FJ and released a simple materials list and plans on a forum for everyone to use. There was a lot of interest in them and many inquired about buying them. I had also thought of flat packing but after thinking about it, it would not be enjoyable in the end. Sharing the plans has been rewarding since so many forum members built them. On the other hand you went for it and tried the process of manufacturing so kudos to you and they are a great product. You do you.
Glad you understood yourself and the task enough to know what it would all entail. I was stubborn and decided to give it a shot, and learned the hard way!
Sam, there are a ton of really skilled and talented woodworkers here in the Northwest. Have you considered taking more of a design/engineering role as your primary focus and working with folks who can take over the day-to-day? Perhaps some sort of a profit share solution could work until you 'break even' on your investment? You've got great vision and knowing that you're less of the nuts and bolts type could be a great starting point to a different journey as opposed to the end of this one. Good luck out there - i'm looking forward to seeing the plans go up.
I would definitely consider such a proposition! I'd love to find somebody skilled that I would mesh with and take over the day-to-day. I don't have any idea how to come across somebody like that, or where to look. I'm not much interested in managing, so profit share sounds like a great solution.
It sounds like you have a good idea what you want out of this and what your strengths are. Would love some diy plans so I can take a crack at this myself. Best design for my use I’ve seen so far! Any idea when you’ll be releasing plans?
How much were you selling these for back in the day? Love your stuff!
That's a great disicion to do what you really like to do. Create detailed plans, start with one and move to multiple by make and model. Also the precut set is great too. It will be just maybe a little bit later. Step by step. Good luck!
Totally understand where you are coming from, the last thing you want is to come to fully resent a project that you poured a lot of (initial) joy into! The sneak peek you gave to the DIY plans looked amazing, it's exactly what I was hoping they would be like! I really would like to try and build my own, looking forward to buying the plans when you release!
Call around to different local cabinet companies and see what they can do for you. You would be surprised by just a few calls. Don't give up on a good idea. You obviously found a niche. That's rare. Stay positive I've been through growing pains like the rest of us. The SBA can also help. They actually have a mentor program as well as buisness loans. Charles
take a look at the Maslow CNC inexpensive and handles 4x8 sheets
Thanks for the recommendation. I already bought one, set it up, spent dozens and dozens of hours playing with it, and got super into CNCing because of it. At the end of the day, it was great for signs and artwork, but was nowhere near accurate enough for manufacturing, also way too slow. Great hobbyist machine, though.
@@SamChou I have one, haven’t built it yet. Would like to get a Longmill, but 48x30 is their max at the moment, I think. But price is not bad
best designed one out there buddy
Nice work. Wondering where do you get the heavy duty slides from.
Please design compact with sink for Jeep Cherokee XJ 4door
Do you sell plans for these drawer units?
@Sam Chou... if you are interested in assistance with your support role please reach out. I have been involved in Customer Service for 7+ years and would be happy to assist you on the support side of things if you have an interest in "sending it" with your side hustle. IMO I am a firm believer in intuition. Do what your gut tells you to and thanks for sharing your creations and honesty with us. Cheers. HMU if you are ever in the Tetons.
I think most of us that have tried something similar get it. Just say you decided not to do it and will sale plans on etsy. @shopnation does a great job doin something similar. Most of us here can probably build our own anyway and you can just monetize the design. And keep designing. U may have a knack for it. Good luck in future endeavors.
Lot of recommendations for Shop Nation! I'm very surprised I haven't seen that channel before. Thanks for the support.
Sell the plans please
Stop complaining you know you have enough motorcycles park there so you know your attention isn't devoted to this as a career or a production Hobby so either go for it or just hush up complain complain complain you have a nice little place to live you have some money in the bank stop complaining darn millennials
I couldn't agree more. Millennials are ruining society and this punk is the absolute worst.
I figured I would receive a comment like this after posting this video. Believe me, I fully understand I am complaining about first world problems of my own creation. But I felt I owed my subscribers an explanation as to why I've been out of it for so long. Even if it's just mostly me complaining about how my great life is so hard. Sorry I wasted your time.
@@SamChou Sam forget this guy, his comment is literally worth nothing. Thanks for this video talking about your real experience, it was insanely insightful into this business as it was the direction I was heading, I'm not in your market so we're not crossing paths but I appreciate your transparency on all this, it's been super helpful. I still would like to get into this as a business so we'll see.
Hey Sam I’m from Australia, your crunk draws video was so inspiring I ended up designing my own for my truck I haven’t started the build yet but just wanted to say thank you for the ideas and I hope to show you what I came up with
I respect and agree with your decision
.
I think you had an awesome idea and it took on a life of its own. I can imagine that doing all that on scale is a bit of a process and really needs to be a separate business venture for someone who has more time to dedicate to it.
Thanks for showing the community something new and what can be made with a little know-how and inspiration.
Subcontract out the work. Have a cnc or cabinetry shop cut everything out. Sell it as a flat pack. If you can scale the company still and take those drawers to sema you'd have more than enough work. alternatively, you could have the work done in china and(or) Thailand, Philippines and shipped over.
Thanks. I just met with a local cabinet shop, and it seems everyone in my area (or the world, it seems these days) has more work than they can keep up with at this point. I'll keep checking.
This is the best answer and should be pinned for further ideation. This type of work is done in China every day, and can be done very inexpensively.
@@SamChouany luck on figuring out this route?! Just stumbled upon you’re Crunk drawer vid and dying for one but I’m not a carpenter so DIY plans won’t do me any good.
No risk, no reward. Easy for me to say though. I will say you have amazing craftsmanship and attention to detail. A $20,000 investment could turn you into a millionaire. Food for thought.
I very much understand. My thoughts: If you want out from underneath doing it at all, I’d say try to sell. It’s a great name, good branding, and a short but sweet history to the company. This happens all the time, you wouldn’t be the first. The other side of the coin depends on one thing: if you enjoy the custom side of things. If you do, then you could limit yourself to a certain number of custom builds a year & stick to it. After 5, 10, 15 years, you’d be a legitimately established entity in the market. Lots of possibilities there, but only if you limit yourself and if you actually enjoy the custom process. I found you because I’m looking for something for my 4Runner, but I’m a photographer not a craftsman. 😝 Anyways, I hope you’ve been doing well & getting outside!
If you do a class I will love to learn from you, you have the skills and want to help out newbies out if you have a class 3 times a year 😊
You could go the route of licensing the product. I believe that allows royalties 🤷♂️
Thanks for sharing. Great work
I would be interested in the plans to build my own.
I wish you the best as you sort this out. What I can tell you that decades ago I let my hobby become my job. Financially I've done okay but I really miss my hobby. We all have to eat but don't destroy what brings you pleasure for money. That said you have an amazing talent. I'm just starting an overland build and I wish I had the knowledge you do. Good luck!
Thank you for the kind words! Seems I'm not alone in my struggles.