Before you begin
Bring your pilot offer, three clear photographs of work you made and a realistic service area.
What this lesson covers
- Match an offer to two plausible customer channels.
- Create a portfolio entry that answers buying questions.
- Qualify and record enquiries before investing in detailed estimates.
Recommended preparation
01 / Key concepts
How it works
Client finding starts with showing the right work to someone who has a reason to buy it. A portfolio of cutting boards does not prove you can install fitted cabinets. Choose a narrow offer, show actual work and make the next step easy. Keep a record of where enquiries come from so your limited marketing time follows evidence.
- Qualified enquiry
- A potential project with enough fit, scope, timing and budget information to decide the next step.
- Lead source
- The place or relationship through which a potential customer first found the business.
1. Choose two channels
For repeat gifts, investigate local businesses that already buy staff or client gifts. For custom furniture, consider introductions from designers whose projects fit your capability. For small ready-made products, test a suitable local market. Speak about a specific need and sample instead of sending an indiscriminate sales pitch. Customer research should guide the choice.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration — Plan your business
2. Make a useful portfolio entry
Show the whole finished item, one construction or finish detail and a scale reference. State material, dimensions, customization limits, delivery area and how to request a quote. Use your own work and obtain permission before publishing a client's room or name. Explain whether a pictured item is a sample or a completed customer project.
3. Check local discovery eligibility
An eligible business that meets customers in person can consider Google Business Profile. Follow Google's rules for real-world business names, service areas and addresses; an online-only seller is not automatically eligible. A service business that does not receive customers at its address should follow Google's address-hiding guidance rather than invent a storefront.
Source: Google Business Profile Help — Guidelines for representing your business on Google
4. Give every enquiry a next step
Ask what they need, approximate dimensions, intended use, location, timing and budget range. Try: Thanks for asking about a shelf. Could you share the wall dimensions, finish you like, delivery location and target date? Then confirm a call, measurement visit or scoped quote. Record the source, agreed follow-up date and current status. Respect a decline and avoid repeated unwanted follow-ups.
Key points
- Match an offer to two plausible customer channels.
- Create a portfolio entry that answers buying questions.
- Qualify and record enquiries before investing in detailed estimates.
02 / Worked example
A furniture maker qualifies three enquiries
Illustrative scenario: a maker offers freestanding side tables within a defined delivery area. The first response gathers enough detail to avoid promising the wrong work.
| Enquiry | Missing information | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| A table like your photo | Size, finish, location and timing | Send a short scope questionnaire |
| Twenty gifts next week | Capacity and repeat-product fit | Check feasibility before quoting |
| A fitted staircase | Outside the maker's capability | Decline clearly or suggest a qualified specialist |
03 / Business exercise
Apply the method
Use your own shop information or the illustrative scenario. Prepare drafts and check assumptions before making purchases, publishing posts or contacting customers.
- Write one portfolio entry answering the key buying questions.
- Choose two channels and explain why those buyers fit your offer.
- Prepare an enquiry reply that asks only the information needed for the next decision.
- Record five enquiries or practice scenarios with source, fit, next action and follow-up date.
Common mistakes
- Using other makers' photos as your portfolio.
- Quoting before understanding the intended use or dimensions.
- Treating every enquiry as work you must accept.
Take it further
After a month, compare your two channels by suitable enquiries, accepted work, time spent and contribution, then change one channel decision.
Business action checklist
Record your evidence and next decision as you work through each action.
- Write one portfolio entry answering the key buying questions.
- Choose two channels and explain why those buyers fit your offer.
- Prepare an enquiry reply that asks only the information needed for the next decision.
- Record five enquiries or practice scenarios with source, fit, next action and follow-up date.
04 / Review questions
Review the key decisions
Consider each question, then compare your answer with the explanation. Return to the worked example whenever you need it.
1. A distant enquiry has a large budget. Is it automatically qualified?
View hint
Budget is only one condition.
View explanation
No. Check scope, capability, delivery feasibility, timing and costs before accepting or estimating it.
2. Should an online-only shop create a fictitious public workshop address?
View hint
Read the eligibility and representation rules.
View explanation
No. Use accurate business information and only create a Business Profile if the business meets Google's current eligibility rules.
05 / Project notes
Notes for your next project
Check off the topics you have reviewed and record the evidence, assumptions and next actions for your business. This is your personal learning record.
Record: Offer, channel, portfolio permission, enquiry source, fit, next action and result.
No notes recorded. Use this space for your observations.
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Check each topic above to mark the lesson as reviewed. You can browse any lesson at any time.
Put the lesson to work
Use the relevant tools below with your own figures. Dashboard destinations require sign-in and may depend on your plan. External social accounts and publishing are managed in their own platforms.
Sources & further study
WoodWorkCalc writes the exercises and illustrative examples. Named historical cases are attributed separately. These sources support the principles identified in the lesson; their publishers do not endorse WoodWorkCalc. Guidance and platform features can change. Sources retain their own copyright and licensing terms.
- U.S. Small Business Administration — Plan your business (opens new tab)
Market research, startup-cost planning and the fixed-cost/contribution break-even formula. WoodWorkCalc supplies the original shop scenarios and calculations.
U.S. Small Business Administration. Plan your business. Accessed September 14, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help — Guidelines for representing your business on Google (opens new tab)
Official eligibility, business-name, address and service-area rules. A profile is not available to every business model.
Google Business Profile Help. Guidelines for representing your business on Google. Accessed September 14, 2026.