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Straight answers
The questions people ask most about starting and running a cabinetry and millwork business in Ontario. Answered straight, with links to the official sources.
It's a real leap from craftsperson to manufacturer. You learn the bench (in a shop or a college program), then the machines and software (CNC, Cabinet Vision/Mozaik), then ideally run someone else's shop to understand the operations — throughput, materials buying, scheduling, and finishing — before opening your own. The woodworking is necessary but not sufficient; the owners who succeed run a manufacturing business that happens to make cabinets.
It's the most capital-intensive carpentry business. A basic shop (table saw, edgebander, hand tools, a finishing setup) starts in the tens of thousands; a CNC router changes the economics entirely at six figures. The capital wall is real, which is why many bootstrap: start install-only (installing other shops' cabinets), or build doors/fronts on outsourced boxes, generating revenue before committing to a full manufacturing shop.
Custom residential (bespoke kitchens, built-ins) is design-collaborative, higher-margin, and portfolio-sold — you compete on craft and design, not price. Production/semi-custom competes on throughput and price against bigger players. Commercial millwork (AWMAC-standard casework) is contract work on schedules. Small shops usually win in custom, where the big manufacturers can't flex; trying to out-produce IKEA or the big semi-customs on price is a losing game.
You don't — you go where they can't. The big players win on price for standard sizes and finishes; your edge is everything they can't do: true custom sizes and configurations, premium materials and finishes, exact-fit built-ins, design collaboration, and the local craftsperson relationship. Compete on customization, quality, and service for clients who want more than a flat-pack — not on the price of a standard 30" base cabinet.
It's the classic bootstrap. Installing other shops' (or big-box) cabinets needs only tools and skill — no manufacturing capital — and gets you revenue, relationships, and an understanding of the market while you build toward your own shop. Many cabinet businesses start as install-only, add door/front building or outsourced boxes, then grow into full manufacturing once the work and the capital justify the machinery.
It can be strong — custom and commercial millwork carry good margins, and demand is steady — but it's a different game from site trades: you carry premises, machinery, work-in-progress, and the manufacturing-flow problem (throughput is everything). It rewards systems-minded people who can run a shop, buy materials well, and keep a backlog, more than pure woodworkers. Done right, it's a real manufacturing business with a sellable asset at the end.
No trade licence — cabinetmaking is voluntary. The real regulatory work is the shop itself: zoning for light industrial use, fire-code compliance for finishing/spray operations, dust collection, and WSIB. The barrier is capital, not licensing.
The most capital-intensive carpentry business: a table saw, edgebander, and basic machinery starts around tens of thousands, and a CNC changes the game at six figures. Many start as install-only (installing other shops' boxes) or outsource the boxes and build fronts, then grow into manufacturing.
Different model entirely: manufacturing economics (shop throughput, materials buying, backlog) instead of site labour. Margins are strong on custom work and commercial millwork, but you carry premises, machinery, and WIP. It rewards systems thinkers more than fast hands.
A sole proprietorship is cheaper and simpler to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts and claims. Incorporating creates a separate legal entity that limits personal liability, can reduce tax once you are profitable, and reads as more credible to larger clients. Most contractors incorporate once they have employees, real revenue, or work on others' property.
Yes — construction is a mandatory WSIB sector in Ontario. Even independent operators and partners with no employees generally must register, and clients and general contractors will require a valid WSIB clearance certificate before you can work on their site.
You must register for and charge HST once your revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive quarters. Many contractors register before that threshold so they can claim input tax credits on tools, materials, and vehicles from day one.
Ontario's Construction Act sets the rules: a 10% holdback on most contracts, prompt-payment timelines (you must be paid within set periods after a proper invoice), and an adjudication process for disputes. Understanding holdback, lien rights, and prompt payment is essential to protecting your cash flow.