Blender

Is there a compelling reason to use Dover? My Google search for Tennessee Saddle Company (for instance) doesn't find anything. That allows for a level of geographic placement without tying it too closely to one spot. At the same time, it indicates you are saddle-maker and not a distributor. It's another way to look at it, in addition to the previously mentioned ways.

In addition to what Johanna said, here are my observations. I was a little disconcerted when I arrived on your site, since there were no pictures and almost no text. I kept wondering if there were things that were supposed to be loading, but weren't. (May I suggest either some small pictures representative of your line or more text letting me know about the wonderful work you do... or both. Along with instructions to click the Products link to see detailed information about what you offer.) A picture of you and your shop (or bench) goes a long way toward making me (and the rest of the world) comfortable that you are a real person (and not some unreliable internet scammer.) I would suggest putting it on the front page. (Think of it as if you had a retail store and when someone walked in, you would look up from your bench and greet them. Let your home page and picture do that. It can be brief, but help me know I found the right place when I walk in, as it were.) Also, put the picture of you on your About Us page. (And as Johanna said, keep the file sizes small so they load fast.) The photos of the holsters are clear but fairly small. And as you shrink the file sizes, the clarity will suffer. You might consider making the photos clickable (as a link to another page) with a larger picture by itself on the page.... or the entire write-up also on the page with a larger photo (copy/paste makes that easy). That will let me study it to see if it fits what I have in mind. The wording on your Belts page could use more explanation as to why I need a gun belt instead of a Target special. You might even want to try to sell me a holster and a belt as a "system" or a combo. It appears from your photos and wording that the holsters only come in black. If other colors are an option, you might want to mention that they are available. (Down the road, photos showing off the different colors would be good... simply take a picture of them before you ship them.) In general, you need to periodically look at the website through the viewpoint of your "ideal customer". I realize that is very hard to do... but it is worth the effort. You might also ask for feedback from your site visitors and customers, themselves. A simple "Do you have suggestions on how I could make this site better for you? Email me at ..... I would love to hear from you." may get you additional ideas. You don't have to implement them, but at least consider them. I hope this helps. If you have trouble with the wording, I am a fair wordsmith and would be happy to suggest some specifics. John

Ray, That is a great guide (in fact, the whole series) to help market your products. Thanks for doing that. If/as you add more, be sure and let us know, please. Thanks, John

If I am understanding correctly, you are doing a lot of subcontracting repair work for them. And, as such, the customer mostly doesn't know that you are the one doing the work. And, occasionally, the shop owner tells someone to go to you for something he can't do (and doesn't want to do.) Then, he suggests that he gets a referral fee for these customers. Is this accurate? If the above is accurate, it kind of depends on the relationship you have with them (and want to have in the future.) It is not unusual in business to pay/offer a referral fee (sales commission) to someone who sends you a customer that actually buys from you... if you are looking for new customers. If you have all the work and customers you can handle, there's no point, is there? If they don't buy from you, no fee is warranted, either. It also depends on how the referral was handled. If it is in the line of "I can't do what you are asking. You need to go see DJ, he will take care of you and do it right." Then that is an endorsement that would probably cost a LOT of money to bring that customer in using advertising. On the other hand, something like, "I can't get to that right now. If you are really in a hurry, you could always check with DJ. He's in the business, too", doesn't do much more than an ad in the phonebook. He just saved the customer looking it up himself. If the referral ended up in an order that is a one-time sale, then a one-time "finder's fee" might be in order (but you still have to make a profit on it.) If they placed an order for a series of items to be delivered every month (or quarter or whatever) then a recurring fee might be justified (but still a small percentage of the price... you still need to make a profit overall.) If you do go with a referral fee, it is usually just a one-time thing and if the customer comes back to you (in a month or in two years) a referral fee isn't warranted because he already knew about you. One thing to keep in mind is "How much does it cost to get a new customer?" And once you have one, how much is a customer worth to you? (How much do you make off the average customer?) If the referral fee is less than the answer to the first question, it is worth it to pay the fee. (Would you trade me a $1 bill for a $5 bill? All day long, I expect.) Either way you decide to go, you should have a talk with the owner and set out an understanding for the future. That way, each of you will know what to expect when this situation comes up again. John

I want to thank all of you who have replied to my question. The information you have provided is useful and helpful. I am waiting on additional answers in another forum (not leatherworking) before I can complete the article. So, if anyone still wants to contribute, there is still time. (But not much.) As I mentioned, I will post the link to the article when it gets published. Thanks again for all your help and support. You are the greatest! John

That is a dilemma. I guess the bright side is that you have more work coming in than you can handle (at least with the time you have available.) It is tough trying to juggle one or two (or three) jobs. Been there. Done that. Earned the T-shirt. For the rest of you readers who have successfully made the transition from part-time to full-time, can you share how you did it? Or is there a thread we can look at (I didn't find one but I may have missed it). Or can you maybe start a thread specifically on transitioning from part-time to full-time (and surviving it.) John

Wow! You are right... those are good problems to have. I am glad to hear that things are doing well for you in that way. You are right about the help. Like some of the others in this thread, are you also doing the administrative side yourself? If not, how have you worked that out? John

I keep hearing that the best customer is one that has already bought from you. Do you get a lot of repeat business? Do you have a way to contact them to let them know about other things you have for sale that they might like? (I am thinking email addresses, mailing addresses for postcards, etc.) John

Thanks, Bruce. I appreciate you taking the time to share. I really like your idea of making a second one up alongside as a lower-cost way of keeping a stock without having to do full-blown production. John

Thanks for the prompt response. Just for my curiosity, what kind of advertising do you do and where? John

Hello all. I continue to be amazed at the quality of the responses here. I don't post a lot here but I have read a lot, and learned a lot, (and my belt edges are light years ahead of where they were before, LOL.) Now, I am asking for specific help from you (rather than just seconding all that I have read). I am writing an article concerning the top challenges for small, creative businesses (part-time or full-time) in 2010. For those of you trying to make money from your leatherworking could you share what your top challenge is? (If you have a couple that are equally challenging, then share both of them.) I am guessing that there will be a lot in common in the responses, but I could be wrong. The challenge can be leather specific, or one that applies to lots of businesses. The article isn't limited to leatherworking businesses but to many kinds of creative businesses. For the article I am writing, it doesn't really matter if you are doing your leatherwork as a sole means of support or as aside-business. Once the article is published, I will post a link to it. And to help each other out, if someone has found ways to address the challenges posted, I am sure we would all love to hear them (and benefit even more.) Many Thanks, John