Book excerpt: Your Blueprint for Making Good Cabinetry and Good Money If you've ever dreamed of making an honest living with your hands, then let Jim Tolpin show you how to become a professional cabinetmaker without losing your shirt - or your sanity. Thirty years ago Tolpin almost destroyed his custom cabinetmaking business because he committed every easy-to-make but hard-to-avoid mistake. He fixed his shop, his woodworking techniques and his business model so that instead of them making him crazy, they would make him a comfortable living. With the help of Jim Tolpin's Guide to Becoming a Professional Cabinetmaker you can follow the same successful and detailed path as you set up your own woodworking business (or make your existing business run more smoothly). Here's what you'll learn: • Be as good at business as you are at woodworking. Structure your business correctly. Keep records that allow you to set accurate prices. Find new business and keep the old. • Configure your shop, buy your tools and build your jigs so they earn their keep. • Blend high-tech European cabinetry techniques with American furniture styles to make cabinets that are quick to build, easy to customize and a snap to sell to people in your market.