Pine furniture shop with a workshop

Local households, new homeowners, cottage and cabin owners, and interior buyers looking for solid wood pieces.

Sales of finished pieces, plus custom orders and repairs. Margins come from making or restoring pieces yourself rather than only reselling.

• Woodworking or furniture restoration
• Customer service and selling
• Basic bookkeeping and stock control
• Quoting custom work

• Check zoning, signage and business licence rules with your municipality before signing a lease
• Commercial general liability and contents insurance, and check cover for workshop tools and fire risk
• Dust, finishes and fire safety in the workshop, so check local fire code requirements
• Lease terms, rent and winter heating costs can eat into margins, so check your break-even point
• Once you hire, check workers' compensation (WCB/WSIB) rules in your province
• Register for GST/HST once you pass the small supplier threshold, and check provincial sales tax rules

Startup costs are estimated at typically around $40,000 to $120,000 CAD, depending on the unit, lease terms, workshop tools, stock and fit-out. Check your break-even point before you sign a lease.

Monthly revenue is estimated at typically around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on your location, how much you build versus source, and your pricing. The estimate assumes at least about 35 hours a week running the shop and workshop.

Check zoning, signage and business licence rules with your municipality before signing a lease. Also check insurance, local fire code requirements for the workshop, workers' compensation (WCB/WSIB) once you hire, and GST/HST and provincial sales tax registration.