I learned so much from so many woodworkers on YouTube. My learning experience was as much about managing a YouTube channel as it was woodworking. In the beginning, I had a lot of questions about the landscape of woodworkers on YouTube: A list of woodworkers on YouTube Step one would be to create a list … Read more
Life gets in the way of a lot of things, not just your side hustle! But let’s first define what we mean by “life” since, taken literally, it’s everything other than death. In the context of this saying, it’s about how the routine of day-to-day living – aka, doing the things you have to do … Read more
I’m surprised how often I’m asked, “How did you choose your first laser machine?” The short answer is I chose the one I thought would best meet my needs. But let me take you through the process in more detail. To set the stage, I’m new to laser engraving and cutting. This is my first … Read more
My Facebook account was disabled just a month after it was created. And if you can’t have a Facebook account, you can’t have an Instagram account either. It was, and still is, an incredibly frustrating experience. Background I don’t use social media. So the idea of using social media as part of the marketing strategy … Read more
Right after standing up your website, you should create a Google Business Profile. I did this more than a year after creating the LLC. Shocking, I know. But I founded my side hustle with a built-in first client and a word-of-mouth strategy. Moto Woodworks didn’t really need people finding it in a Google search, at … Read more
When I generated my first invoice, my accounting software (Zoho Books) prompted me to collect sales tax. Honestly, I hadn’t thought of it until just then! That prompted me to dive into a lot of research. I want to share the story because all small business owners have to grapple with this issue, but here’s … Read more
One of the fun things to do when starting your business is choosing your color palette. These are the colors you will use across all of your marketing material, digital and printed. Color theory You may be surprised to learn there is such a thing as color theory. This article does a reasonable job of … Read more
Having settled on a name, it was time to find a logo. The penny-pincher in me was tempted to scrape an image from somewhere and call it good, but I had this idea to use the Japanese character or kanji for moto. If the logo was going to turn out sensational, I knew I needed … Read more
There are so many subjective factors to consider when naming a company that it can drive you crazy. I’ve done it five times now, three times with other founders and twice by myself. The subjectivity spawns all kinds of hesitation, indecision, and arguments. So let me save you some of the headache. The factor that … Read more
Moto Woodworks is a custom woodworking and laser engraving business. It’s my side hustle. Maybe it will grow into something bigger, but this is the very beginning. The point is that I’m getting off my butt and starting the journey now! My woodworking roots Like many Baby Boomers, I took a woodworking class in the … Read more
