How I Built My Woodworking Career

This is how I built my woodworking career from the ground up.

🟥 Sacrifice:
Make sure your reason outweights the sacrifices you will have to make. If your purpose is strong enough, the sacrifices won't even feel like sacrifices.

🟥 Skill Stacking
Never stop learning and constantly think of ways of blending different skills together. Some may not be compatible or desireable, but at the very least you'll have fun.

🟥 Accountability:
Positive mindset is everything. Without it, every achievement and material possesion you have will feel meaningless.

🟥 Leverage:
Understand that most people still view business growth through labour and capital. When in actual fact, there are two new ways that are lower cost, lower risk, and are available to everyone.

🟥 Give:
When was the last time you listened to someone forcing their unsolicited opinion on you? Probably never. So stop doing it to others, and instead set an example through your actions as to why they should listen to you.

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MY FREE ONLINE COURSES:
🚀 Purchasing and Using Tools Correctly
🪚 How To Make a Dovetailed Box:
🛠 How To Make a Cabinet:
🧰 How To Make a Toolbox:
✏️ How To Design Furniture
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HOW TO SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:
💪 Become a Patron - Donate a Regular Amount of Your Choice
👕 Purchase Merchandise - Premium Materials, Quality Design.
🎁 Wishlist - Help us Purchase New Equipment & Resources!
🍺 Send a Tip - Quick, Easy, and Massively Appreciated!
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WOODWORKING BOOKS I RECOMMEND:
📘 Collins Complete Woodworkers Manual
📖 Workbenches: Design & Theory to Construction & Use
📚 The Overstory - My Favourite Fiction Books about Trees
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MY FAVOURITE TOOLS:
🪚 Knew Concepts Fret Saw
⬜️ Faithfull Engineers Squares
⚙️ Veritas Wheel Marking Gauge
🗡 Precision Marking Knife
🎥 Lumix S1H Mirrorless Camera

🪚 See EVERYTHING I Recommend HERE:

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KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ME:

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🕵️‍♂️ WHO AM I?:
My name is Matt Estlea, I'm a 28 year old Woodworker from Basingstoke in England and my aim is to make your woodworking less s***.

I come from 5 years tuition at Rycotewood Furniture Centre with a further 1 year working as an Artist in Residence at the Sylva Foundation, which is where I began growing my business. I then returned to Rycotewood to teach Evening Classes for 2 Years, while also teaching City and Guilds Furniture Making for 3 years. They were some long 12 hour days!

In September, 2021. I resigned from teaching at the school to focus on my own business.

🎓VISIT THE FREE SCHOOL HERE

I like to have a laugh and my videos are quite fast paced BUT you will learn a lot, I assure you.

Lets go make a mess.
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GET IN TOUCH:
While I take time to read every single message I receive whether its emailed, DMed or asked publicly on social media, sadly I do not have time to reply to everything. If you have a short message you’d like to send, it’s best to send me a message on Twitter.

For longer messages, please drop me a message via the contact page on my website.

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PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I get a lil’ commission from recommending at no extra cost to you. If you’d like to know more about how this works, and what businesses I work with, please read my affiliate disclaimer here:

[viliusmarcinkevicius]

Coming from an architectural background I worked cnc prior to starting my woodworking business. Currently I'm trying to stay afloat, it's hard at times, but year after year (going on my 4th) it's getting better, without any need for advertising or social media. Just word of mouth. I remember I used to watch your videos before undertaking woodworking and they really helped me grow, so I appreciate you striving for quality and joy that work brings. Hopefully someday I'll be well enough financially to be able to support you in return. If you ever happen to van through the Baltics give me a holler, I would be glad to host you!

[luisurbina]

Brilliant! "Pesimism is a zero sum game against yourself, where the only way you can proof yourself correct is by letting yourself down" - Matt Estlea

[stuartmckee]

I shared this video with my son. Despite him having no interest in woodwork, your message on positivity and attitude resonates at many different levels. He struggles with self belief and I think what you've articulated will hopefully help and inspire him. It's helped me regardless. Stay strong and good luck.

[jmwww]

Matt, so glad to hear you’ve turned a corner and it’s clear from your video that you have your mojo and enthusiasm back on volume 11.
Loved the content, sentiment and heartfelt advice in this video. Few people could’ve expressed it so well and I hope a lot of young folk see this and are inspired to follow their dreams with their eyes wide open and their stacked skills at the ready in their armoury.
Good luck with all you do and hope you still find time to do enough of what really gives you the fizz as you grow your business.

[pedullastudio]

Great video mate! Well done for putting yourself and your knowledge out there for others to see. Awesome!

[PGeraghtyrebel]

I've just gotten into skill stacking within my career in the past 5-7 years. I'm a cabinet maker by trade. I worked in factories doing commercial and residential cabinets and a bit of fine furniture. I also LOVE concerts and festivals and any event. I then got a rare opportunity to start working for an event supply company and got to begin working on large interactive (mostly wood) photo-op props for festivals and events (which really doesn't feel like work because at the end of the day I get to make really cool stuff). My other skill set is in music (12 years in piano lessons, a decade as a church organist and also 20 years as a drummer) and in the near future I plan on studying instrument repair and making and blending that into my skill set. It's surprising how easy it is to become successful (successful meaning: "experiencing fulfillment from your career" and not financial success) when you are constantly open to learning new skills and applying them to your passions. Eventually you become specialized in certain "stacked" skills and can find niche markets where you can be very valuable. I'm sure I have sacrificed many opportunities to become rich in a field I don't enjoy and it has always been a grind but with a career I am passionate about I can honestly say I haven't "worked" a day in 5 years and I am blessed to enjoy waking up and doing my craft. I almost lost hope with my career after my apprenticeship due to monotonous factory jobs. Looking back, however, I DID end up working almost every position in woodworking factories and I invested 10's of thousands of dollars into my own tooling. I just underestimated the skills and knowledge until I tried to have a go at working on my own as a contractor and realized how much people appreciated my knowledge and skills and are happy to pay whatever rates I charged. It was an eye opener and a huge boost in confidence the first month I realized that I wasn't employed by anyone but I made enough to pay the bills. There are still sacrifices to be made to become even more self sufficient in my job but right now I am truly happy with how I got where I am today and no longer stressed about the future job/financial security I can get from doing what I love. "...the key to achieving true expertise in any skill is simply a matter of practicing, albeit in the correct way, for at least 10 000 hours." So choose the things you love and practice them and share them with the world and you will be surprised where it will lead you.
I love your Channel Matt! You are an inspiration and a great teacher! Looking forward to more videos and watching you continue to succeed!

[dougwardle]

Matt, this is probably the most thought provoking video you’ve done. Well done and thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas. You’re absolutely right about the optimism v pessimism thing.

[educatednumpty]

As one of the many who have watched you grow over the years. Who have watched the struggles of setting up the first workshop, and suffering at the hands of text to speak on live streams. To plough through the tears of laughter of Rob's Belvita Challenge song and the joy of breaking the Dovetail Record to get to where you are now. Know the many are here to back you up whenever they can so you don't have to struggle alone.

[briefwechsel]

Number one video on self-employment and small businesses. I hardly ever find people who so accurately understand my life and my business. Thank you.🎉

[bobbeckman]

Thanks Matt. Glad to see you back. Hope to see more videos

[DaisyTempest]

Loved every part of this Matt, thanks so much for sharing this personal journey - it’s so inspiring. So proud to call you a mate ❤

[CheeseSauceLaChedda]

i watched you videos on building your own bass and followed it to build a bass of my own for my final project in college needless to say it did very well, great advice and glad to see your doing well

[RuudInTheWood]

So, having watched this video I am struck by how your teaching career gets no mention. For me, that is one of the outstdanding skills that you possess. I learned a lot from your online instruction and it was, at least for me, better than anyone else's. And you had a lot of competition. I can see that your teaching fits in under "coming along side the people you want to reach" but it was much more than that for me. Cheers!

[garykidson]

Thanks Matt, great video and solid advice. I ended a 20year career to become a stay home dad, and took up woodworking as a hobby. Slowly starting to consider Turing it into more when my eldest goes to highschool next year

[Augcliffe]

I’ve always loved your videos Matt. I had no idea you were struggling if I can put it that way. Your perseverance is admirable.

[SelageD]

Thanks Matt! Im an architect from Germany currently working on starting my own workshop for architecural scale models. This video was incredibly helpful in understanding such a business 👍

[LucDekens]

I like the honest and inspiring message.
Looking forward to your future progress.

[jc-qcyk]

Thank you, this was actually what i needed. The overlap in areas of business and not seeing the niche as saturated. But actually seeing it as a place to have less “competition” to be at the top of “the game” . That really hit me in a good way. This made me see my future project in a whole new positive light. Again, thanks.

[annietempest]

One of the most inspiring videos I’ve ever watched. Everything this guy says is, in my long experience, absolutely accurate. The gift of energy is not given to everyone. If you have it like this, nothing can stop you if you put the work in. Bravo.

[pk.finger]

Hey Matt, you video comes right in time! I am in the middle of setting up my future and make use of the skills I collected over the past few years. As many others I am trying to escape an corporate job through woodworking. It’s unbelievable how often you here the same line of how this is not going to end well, but I resist to believe that story. You inspired a few very valuable ideas with your video. Thanks for everything you give to the community!