How Building a Coffee Table Led To Entrepreneurship

Have you ever looked back on your life and thought, "Wow, I'm so glad I did X at that time, even though I never could have imagined how it would change my life for the better?”

I had that with building a coffee table that led to me going into entrepreneurship. I now love the game of business and entrepreneurship, but I was never inspired to be one.

You sometimes hear those stories from older successful entrepreneurs that they would have a lemonade stand or sell sports cards to make money as a kid. They knew early on that they would not become an employee.

I never had that. I actually enjoyed the thought of that steady guaranteed paycheck in my bank account every couple of weeks.

By moving to New Zealand, to live here for a while, my environment changed and had to work on building a new routine.

It was at this moment I had time to explore new interests. These interests grew into a profitable business.

In this article, I will break down how and why I got into entrepreneurship. Because I’m so glad I did… And maybe it’s for you too.

Problem

While I was still living in the Netherlands, some of my mates earned money on the side of their job at the weekends. They would do the work they normally do as an employee but for an acquaintance. These were painters, builders, electricians or landscapers doing a job on the side for an hourly rate. I always understood they earned pretty nice pocket money on a Saturday morning.

I never did that. Playing rugby at the weekends consumed pretty much my whole Saturday. On Sunday I had to recover the body and would drive my Harley Davidson for the day.

During the weeknights after work, I was either in the gym or on the rugby field to train.

Not much time left for a side hustle. Although, earning some extra cash on the side always did interest me. I loved the thought of earning some extra income by doing what I'm passionate about; building fun and creative projects.

When I moved to New Zealand, my ways of living got a complete reset. I had no job, no Harley Davidson, no family here. I had to establish a new routine.

The house we were renting had a nice big shed. So I had the space to build small to middle-sized projects.

There were 3 weeks between the day I arrived in New Zealand and the day I would start working at a new job I found. I decided to take that time to figure out what I could do to start earning money on the side.

The problem was, I did not know how to do that:

• I had no tools
• I had no network
• I never had a side hustle
• I did not have much starting capital
• I had a very niche skill as an employee → irrigation designer
• I was unsure what the problems were and what I could solve on my own in New Zealand

Research

I mentioned to the builder that was renovating a part of the house we were renting, that I was keen to build stuff to earn some extra money on the side.

He said he could not help me with finding what to build, but he was happy to donate some older spare tools that laying around.

I had now a mix of small power tools and hand tools for both woodworking and steel manufacturing.

This changed my thinking pattern. It went from “What shall I build that could earn some money on the side.” to “What can I build with these tools that could earn me some money on the side.”

Because I had a mix of woodworking and steel manufacturing tools, I decided to build a couple of pieces of industrial furniture.

Industrial furniture pieces normally have a mix of used wood and steel.

Pinterest was my main source of inspiration and that got me excited to start building.

Design

An industrial coffee table would be my first project. I designed the coffee table in Inventor to figure out the dimensions. I made a technical drawing for myself that showed all measurements.

Making technical drawings was part of my previous work. It is a handy skill to have.

I would use this design process for the rest of my projects as well.

Build

After I bought steel from the local manufacturer and a slab of wood from the local supplier I was able to start the manufacturing process in the shed with the basic tools I gathered.

This was the finished project 1: Industrial Coffee Table

This was the finished project 2: Wine Barrel Table

This was the finished project 3: Industrial Coat Organizer

Al fun projects!

Revenue: $0

Every time an industrial furniture piece was finished, we would put it up for sale on Etsy & on the local Facebook marketplace.

I determined the pricing by: material cost + (estimated labour hours x $35) = retail price

No margin really, because by sticking to that formula I was already more expensive than the compatible pieces of furniture. My process was pretty slow because of the limited tools I had available.

I was OK with that because my main goal, for now, was to get a sale. This would be the best indication that there is demand for what I’m building. After I get a sale, I would be more confident to invest in better tools to speed up the manufacturing process.

Unfortunately, the sales never came. $0 earned. Was it priced too high? People did not like the pieces? Was it poor marketing from my side and did not reach the right people? Could be a combination of all 3 and more.

Fortunately, other opportunities started presenting themselves.

DvW Construction

People were impressed with what I was building in my spare time but they did not need what I was building.

In a short amount of time, multiple people asked: “I hear you do welding on the side, can you manufacture something for me?”

My reaction: “Absolutely!” I was desperate for a little win at this stage.

From that point onwards I started manufacturing all sorts of steel components in the evenings and weekends for extra cash.

Some things I build:

• Steel carport
• Steel sign pole
• Pergola brackets
• Steel fence parts
• Steel frame for a pathway
• Vice brackets for on the back of trucks

And more.

From Steelwork to Startup

By manufacturing steel projects on the side, there were 3 things that I really started to enjoy:

• What I created, was recognized that I built it → Not: “Thanks for building that Dan, let’s put our corporate name on the product.”
• I got a taste of my income not being capped by a set salary number → Not: “Thanks for working overtime Dan, as a reward you still get paid the same salary.”
• I was learning a lot of new skills fast because I was responsible for every process, from quoting, to selling, to organizing materials, to manufacturing, to invoicing. → Not: “Your role is to make technical drawings Dan, keep doing that.”

This I think planted the seed of wanting to be an entrepreneur.

I decided to not pursue steel manufacturing further, I enjoy working with my hands but building a manufacturing business in New Zealand did not fit in with my long-term goals.

At the beginning of 2022, I decided to take the leap and quit my job.

I started Madeway Engineering Solutions which is my small business that provides efficient irrigation system designs but also educates new and experienced irrigation designers to make a wider impact towards sustainability goals.

The week of writing this I have reached 500 days in business which is an awesome milestone!

Conclusion

It all started with a coffee table, but it’s not about the coffee table. It was about the lessons the process taught me and it built momentum to create, learn and explore more.

Although my initial attempts at selling industrial furniture didn't generate revenue, people started approaching me for welding and manufacturing projects. This ignited my passion for entrepreneurship, leading me to start my own business, Madeway Engineering Solutions.

Pursuing entrepreneurship doubled my income, skyrocketed my personal development and gave me a lot of fulfilment.

I would not have had that if I did not take action with the tools I had available at the time.

It’s a perfect example of the saying: “You don’t know, what you don’t know”. I never knew I loved the entrepreneurship game so much because I never tried it.

If you have an idea that you are passionate about, you feel unfulfilled or just want a change in your life, don’t be afraid to start a project. Who knows where it might take you!