Mikhail Zernin traded a comfortable office for a carpentry workshop - and does not regret it

Fatigue from unloved work and professional burnout are one of the most common reasons for 30-40-year-old office workers to leave their own business. And recently, more and more often, such entrepreneurs choose those areas of activity in which they can do something with their own hands. One of these is the Ural master entrepreneur Mikhail Zernin, who left a successful career as a business coach for his own carpentry workshop.

34 years old, master entrepreneur from Yekaterinburg, founder of the brand (manufacturing of cutting boards). Education: Ural State Forest Engineering University (specialty "mechanical engineer"). Prior to founding his own carpentry workshop, he worked as a corporate business coach.

Until mid-2016, Mikhail and his wife worked in the field of HR - they were engaged in corporate training. For about four years they lived in Moscow - their wife was offered a good position, and Mikhail got a good job in the capital. However, they immediately decided that they were living in Moscow temporarily in order to earn money for an apartment.

“When I returned to Yekaterinburg in 2014, I found a job similar to the one in Moscow. But somehow it quickly came to the realization that I was no longer interested. Moreover, I got into a company that worked according to the old principles. As a result, I quit,” Mikhail recalls.

For a while, Mikhail simply did not know what to do, one might say - he was in search of himself. But it was necessary to earn something, and therefore, in the freelance format, I conducted trainings once or twice a month. And the rest of the time was free.

“My brother makes wooden stairs in his workshop in Sukhoi Log. And I saw a bunch of wood enhancers on the Internet - various business card holders, phone holders - and decided to try to make them, ”says Mikhail.

Mikhail's workshop is located in the basement of the Yekaterinburg Art Fund - there is a carpentry co-working space where people can come to work with their hands.

February 2016 was a turning point for Mikhail. One of his friends sent him a link to a video on how to make end cutting boards. And he asked me to make one for him.

How end boards are made

The main difference between an end cutting board and a standard cutting board is durability. The wood fibers are located perpendicular to the cut surface, and the blade of the knife, as it were, pushes the fibers apart. When using a regular board, the knife simply cuts the fibers and because of this quickly becomes dull.

“When I made some boards, I posted the photos on Facebook. As a business coach, I'm used to receiving feedback. As a result, I received a lot of “Wow!” comments, and some asked me to make the same board for them. It inspired me, I decided to continue,” Mikhail explains.

Mikhail made the first board for sale in March 2016. Its cost was determined quite simply - the cost of materials plus logistics costs plus an extra charge of 20-30% (although in carpentry it often amounts to hundreds of percent). As a result, 6900 rubles came out for a large board of American walnut and ash.

The cost of end boards from Zernin is from 1990 rubles to 6990 rubles

For comparison: one of the leaders in the market of end boards is the manufacturer from Izhevsk MTM Wood - they have the cost of some models reaches 22 thousand rubles.

Such a high price is associated not only with a large amount of manual labor and the duration of the manufacturing process, but also with the cost of materials - rare wood species cost up to 400 thousand rubles per cubic meter.

The hobby could not yet feed the family, and Mikhail continued to train. “I spent the last trainings without much pleasure. Although before I was lit by the work. At some point, I realized that it was time to finish - and in the summer of 2016 I conducted the last training, ”recalls Mikhail.

Sold the car, bought the machines

By that time, the business was gradually gaining momentum - the master made five to seven boards a month. But with an average check of 4-5 thousand rubles, the income was not very large. And Mikhail decided to take a radical step - he sold his Renault for 500 thousand rubles.

Part of the money was immediately invested in the purchase of machine tools: a drum grinder (about 50 thousand), a band saw (also for 50 thousand), a CNC milling machine (150 thousand). Plus, he uses the equipment that is in the carpentry coworking.

Mikhail also has a special "trick". “My two-year-old daughter fastens one leg to each board. He also necessarily participates in the packaging of the parcel, which is why some recipients sometimes rack their brains, not understanding why some piece of cardboard is stuck here, ”says Mikhail.

In order to sell boards, Mikhail created a shop on the hand-made marketplace "Fair of Masters", but sales did not go there. Therefore, Mikhail attracts most of the Russian clients through his Facebook.

Where sales are going better on the American site Etsy. The first board was sold there only seven months later, but now customers come from there regularly.

Approximately 70% of sales come from Russian buyers, the remaining 30% - from foreign, mainly from the United States. Prices are somewhat different: for example, for Russians, a board costs 6,500 rubles, and for foreigners - $ 150. The difference is explained by the commissions of the Internet site where the goods are displayed, as well as the cost of delivery.

In such a production, word of mouth is important for promotion - people like Mikhail's boards, they write about it on social networks, tell their friends, and, as a result, new customers appear. By the way, Mikhail came up with the name of his brand thanks to Facebook.

“Initially, it was Handcraftedgift, which means “handmade gifts”. But at one of the exhibitions, the presenter simply could not pronounce it. Then I decided to announce a contest on my page,” says Mikhail. And so the brand was born. Zernin Handcrafted. That is, with his last name, Mikhail guarantees quality.

Mikhail does not regret radical changes in his life. “Every day I have the feeling that it was not for nothing that I changed the scope of my activity so drastically. Especially when I look at the world map, where I mark the cities where my boards were bought from. So far, there are 58 such points, - says Mikhail. “Now the boards feed me and my family quite well.”

If we talk about income, then a decent profit appeared only in November 2016. And in December, for the first time, they managed to sell more than 20 boards - Mikhail says that this is just the level to normally provide for his family. But even in this case, the income will be less than, for example, it was in Moscow. Michael takes it easy.

Now the master makes 15 models of boards. And in the near future he plans to expand the assortment line - for example, he plans to try to make a table using the end technology, to launch the production of chess boards (several pieces have already been made).

Mikhail expects that income will grow and that he will be able to engage in carpentry for many years to come.