Is this the Crest of the Hill?

A successful musician to I know went through a long, dry period. His band would tour America, year after year, and routinely play to crowds of 20 people. Sometimes less. His records didn’t sell. Looking back, he calls this time “the Locust Years.” 

We all go through these dry times. My entire career in woodworking has been a financial heart attack; an utter, skin-of-my-teeth struggle to squeeze out enough money for the mortgage and the bills while working seven days a week and getting very little sleep. 

Professional furniture-making is a rough way to make a living. Clients can be…difficult. It’s easy to underestimate the time a job will take or make a bad cut and ruin expensive materials. Profit evaporates. Of course, there are big jobs and big paydays, but there are months of tiny jobs; stitching it together with a few little pieces or doing handy-man stuff for neighbors. And every job done means I need to hustle for more work. I give my card to everyone with a pulse. My wife and I recently had our first date in months. Before we left the restaurant, I tried to sell the owner a custom chalk-board. He didn’t go for it.

I love my work and I wouldn’t go back to teaching English, but the struggle can wear on you. 

Starting my YouTube channel has been a bright spot, but it’s hard to say if it was good business decision. For the first year, it made no money. Literally none. 

The next year was a bit better. When the checks started coming, they were small, but regular. I started my Patreon page and slowly, that too became a trickle of income. Things were still tight. There have been times when I couldn’t afford blades for a machine so I just wouldn’t use it for a few weeks. You adapt. You have to. 

About a year ago, my YouTube channel had a brief flash of success. A few videos hit big numbers and my subscriber count doubled and doubled again. It seemed like I was on the cusp of…something. 

But no. After a quick rush of growth and exposure, things settled into a depressing pattern: a video comes out, it get a few thousand views from my core audience, and then it dies a quick death and floats to the bottom of the internet dustbin. This went on, week after week, for almost a year. My channel grew and my Patrons stayed with me, but nothing was catching. Nothing was making an impression. 

But just recently, things have started to change. My book came out and with it came a bit more money. I got to go on a podcast and promote it. I got some sudden and profitable furniture jobs. 

And then I started the Woodwork for Humans series. Now, my videos are routinely getting at least ten thousand views. Sometimes a lot more. The book keeps selling. My Patreon has continued to grow. Suddenly, I have a little extra money to invest in my business. Last month, I bought some real filming lights. This month, I will buy a new camera. This morning, my Patreon income hit $500 a month. 

I don’t know what to say.

Sometimes, you hear that success breeds success. You get a little hit and then another. Your confidence grows. You do a little better. 

Right now, I have a feeling of momentum. I can’t explain it, but I feel like there’s a force behind me, pushing me on. The things I make are having an impact. This week, I hired a helper for a day. I had an actual employee. It was kind of amazing. 

When you’re in business for yourself, the future is always hazy. You just get vague impressions of what’s coming and you can never see far. What do I see in front of me now? I’m not sure, but I think it may be the crest of a hill. I think it might be the place where things level off and I’ll have the money to invest in my business. Maybe the videos can keep getting better. Maybe I’ll write another book. 

I’m coming to the top of something, but I can only call it a hill. I know the mountain is still in front of me and it’s so high that I can’t even see the top. 

But I’ll buy some new boots for the climb. 

Thank you all so much. 

--Rex