Are your finish carpentry skills as good or better than the skills of those currently doing that type of work in your area?
You say you're in a rural area. Is there enough work to support another finish carpenter in your area? Are you willing to travel or relocate to a more populated area?
How will you get work? It's easy to get sub contract work but it's tough to get ahead financially doing so.
It's more difficult to contract the work yourself, but you can make more money doing so.
There's a big difference between excelling at a craft, and excelling as a business person.
Before you start your own business I'd recommend hiring on with an older contractor that has a good reputation and is willing to teach you the business.
Before you start your own business you should talk to your accountant, lawyer, and insurance agent.
Then go talk to the material suppliers about pricing and terms.
Also talk to the building department director in each jurisdiction you plan on working in to find out what you need as far as licenses, bonds, insurance requirements, work hours allowed, etc, etc.
If you're going to do remodeling you'll need to get your EPA RRP certification and license.
It's feast or famine in the new construction business. SAVE as much money as you can when times are good!!!! I can't begin to list all of the contractors that make some quick money then went belly up when business got lean because they got used to living the good life.
Remodeling is less of a roller coaster than new construction, but it's still closely tied to unemployment and the economy in general. Keep in mind that when times are lean there will be more people working for cash that a legitimate contractor can't compete with on pricing.
Look around at the guys working construction. Even the ones doing trim have lots of back, knee and shoulder problems. Are you sure that's the route you want to take?
If you decide to start your own contracting business do as others have suggested...
Return calls. Be on time for appointments. Start and finish projects when you say you will. Don't charge more than you quote. Don't employ undesirable people, or sub contractors. Don't leave a mess. Basically under promise and over deliver. Always, always always pay your suppliers promptly!
Figure on working onsite 8-10 hours a day, plus 2-4 hours a day for ordering materials, meeting with customers, doing estimates, paying bills, and a hundred other things required to keep a business going.
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Today's Featured Article - Third Brush Generators - by Chris Pratt. While I love straightening sheet metal, cleaning, and painting old tractors, I use every excuse to avoid working on the on the electrics. I find the whole process sheer mystery. I have picked up and attempted to read every auto and farm electrics book with no improvement in the situation. They all seem to start with a chapter entitled "Theory of Electricity". After a few paragraphs I usually close the book and go back to banging out dents. A good friend and I were recently discussing our tractor electrical systems when he stated "I figure it all comes back to applying Ohms Law". At this point
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