A Third-Generation Carpenter on Pricing Work He’s Proud Of

Tom Whitaker is the owner of Whitaker Joinery in Hamilton, ON.

How It Started

My grandfather’s bench is still in the shop. I swept the floor here at eleven.

The Turning Point

I lost three jobs in a row to cheaper quotes, then won a kitchen by walking the client through how a dovetail is cut.

Advice For New Owners

Put your price in writing early. Nobody respects a number you mumble.

Sample story for the staging design only. Not a real business. Photo: Photo by Ali Mkumbwa on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/a-man-smiles-as-he-works-on-a-piece-of-wood-PxlKOcj0a3Q).