Lets talk about sales (or lack thereof)

[Samalan]

11 minutes ago, Handstitched said:

I wish I could charge by the hour, if I did , I would be quite wealthy by now.  So instead, I charge what I think is a fair price

So charge by the hour and be wealthy. When you charge what you think is a fair price who is it fair to. who are you Santa Claus.

[toxo]

I think the reason we try to sell our items is a combination of all of the above. A big one that no one has mentioned yet is we like the idea of other people liking and appreciating what we do. Of course friends and family always "like what we do" but someone liking it enough to buy it is a whole different thing.

In one way I'm fortunate enough to be retired but that's made me lazy and I haven't sold much at all thus far but lately I've had a kick up the arse via a sewing/craft shop local to me. She offered to put a few of my bits in the shop and some bags on the wall for very little rent but that's not the best bit. She runs a few small classes teaching sewing/crochet, that kind of thing and I mentioned that I wouldn't be averse to doing a basic leather craft workshop, this Saturday will be my first one. It's only 4 hrs and it's not been up long but I have 3 clients thus far which pays the rent for the day and puts about £80 in my pocket which is not a lot but it can only get better and I get to do something I like, teaching and it's giving me some enthusiasm back.

[Spyros]

3 hours ago, Samalan said:

It's true as long as what you love is building a business, and except all  of the life changing  aspects of that. Business building can be good and bad it's a lot of very hard work and long hours. You get to find out who you are or aren't .  blaming others for your own short cummings is not a good idea, bottom line it's up to you.              don't get angry try to be that successful businessman, find out for yourself .   Its an experience like no other.

No I don't think it's up to you.  Of the (lets say) 10 things required to succeed in business you're lucky if you can control 4 or 5, and there's always a few on top that nobody can possibly even predict, like COVID, or a 2008 financial crisis, or skyrocketing fuel prices because of a war somewhere.  But the main factor is luck, even if you don't realise it.

There's stats about new businesses, it's a statistical fact that 2/3 of them fail.  We just never hear about them because nobody wants to hear a story about a failed business, a success story sells a lot better.  I did hear about them unfortunately because liquidating failed businesses was one of my first jobs out of Uni at an accounting firm.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Spyros

[Spyros]

4 hours ago, chrisash said:

Whilst I was browsing this morning I came across a post of some leather dogs collars tooled with animals and lined with a nice green lining, now the general market for such will be tiny and a hard sell to most of us after all they soon get dirty , greasy and look worn, but I assume a few dog or pet owners showing their dogs at dog shows would pay the earth for a dog collar that really stood out, with quite a good size market for them.. many hobbyists will make their plain wallet and advertise with thousand's of others on Esty or similar sites and expect to make sales with no effort and no real marketing

You need a niche market you can exploit to the full rather than compete with thousands of other hopeful's selling the same basic items, make something different that stands out. there are millions of artists in this world few ever sell their goods at a profit that recovers the hours invested in the painting or drawing, same with writer's and many other hobbies

yeah a niche market might work but sometimes keeping it simple also works. Because you might be competing with thousands but sometimes your potential customers can be billions, I mean I never met anyone who doesn't want another belt.

[Samalan]

1 hour ago, Spyros said:

No I don't think it's up to you.  Of the (lets say) 10 things required to succeed in business you're lucky if you can control 4 or 5, and there's always a few on top that nobody can possibly even predict, like COVID, or a 2008 financial crisis, or skyrocketing fuel prices because of a war somewhere.  But the main factor is luck, even if you don't realise it.

There's stats about new businesses, it's a statistical fact that 2/3 of them fail.  We just never hear about them because nobody wants to hear a story about a failed business, a success story sells a lot better.  I did hear about them unfortunately because liquidating failed businesses was one of my first jobs out of Uni at an accounting firm.

Yes you are right the world is a crazy place . You said the main factor is luck even if you don't Realize it, meaning me LOL you have know idea what I realize or don't realize. To be honest it sounds like your not so sure of yourself ,after all how many things can one control,, 4 or 5, or a war, or maybe a financial crisis, or skyrocketing fuel cost, and COVID who could know , a brain tumor, a fall down the stairs, cancer , a car accident, and the big one DIVORCE wholly shit, and what if I'm just not lucky, Wow I know I'll read my horoscope every day. Just get out and do something before it becomes a real problem for you, that's what I hear in what you wrote. but that's just me.

[Samalan]

Business is one of the greatest Crapshoots of life.

Samalan

[ButtonLady]

8 hours ago, chrisash said:

You need a niche market you can exploit to the full rather than compete with thousands of other hopeful's selling the same basic items, make something different that stands out...

I dabbled once with a few retail products, mostly custom magnets and pins made with brass or nickel rims.  My big draw was that I could make them on the spot because I dragged my equipment to shows.

I learned pretty quickly that (potential) customers really only care about products that represent a specific interest.

For example... at a juried arts fair, the woman next to me was crazy-busy selling metal hair clips.  Nothing special, I thought.  She told me she bought barrette blanks from China and spot-tacked? —glued?  metal charms to them that represented things like nursing, teaching, cats, etc.  People came by asking, "Do you have anything for _____?" and she usually did.  The vast majority were purchased for gifts.  She also said she advertised nurse-themed clips in a nursing publication and sold a LOT that way.

You're not necessarily going to sell something just because it's made from leather; leather is almost secondary.  People seek out things that appeal to their hobbies or personalities or professions, etc. —leather might just be a bonus.

If I ever attempt this again, I will cater specifically to interest-themed events (car shows, or  marching band competitions, or... whatever) and only have products that appeal specifically to that.

Your mileage may vary.

Edited April 5, 2022 by ButtonLady
Someday I will learn to spell...

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Samalan said:

Yes you are right the world is a crazy place . You said the main factor is luck even if you don't Realize it, meaning me LOL you have know idea what I realize or don't realize. To be honest it sounds like your not so sure of yourself ,after all how many things can one control,, 4 or 5, or a war, or maybe a financial crisis, or skyrocketing fuel cost, and COVID who could know , a brain tumor, a fall down the stairs, cancer , a car accident, and the big one DIVORCE wholly shit, and what if I'm just not lucky, Wow I know I'll read my horoscope every day. Just get out and do something before it becomes a real problem for you, that's what I hear in what you wrote. but that's just me.

yea i agree sucessful business require hard work and patience. patience to allow the business to grow at its own rate and the patience to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hard work is the catalyst. Ive read a thousand success stories pretty much the dominate theme is 16 hour days! If you plan to borrow a ton o money to buy a ton of cool tools because you have no patience to save and expect to quit every day at five,go on a couple of vacations a year right from the start then you probably will fail. But then success is a personal thing that means diferent things to diferent people me i'm happy with a hot meal and a cold beer at the end of the day some want caviar and champagne.

Working for yourself is a full time job. 

[Samalan]

21 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

Working for yourself is a full time job.

Yep it sure is and more often than that more than full time I remember sleeping on the saw table then get up in the middle of the night and start all over those were the days.

[chrisash]

1 hour ago, ButtonLady said:

I dabbled once with a few retail products, mostly custom magnets and pins made with brass or nickel rims.  My big draw was that I could make them on the spot because I dragged my equipment to shows.

I learned pretty quickly that (potential) customers really only care about products that represent a specific interest.

For example... at a juried arts fair, the woman next to me was crazy-busy selling metal hair clips.  Nothing special, I thought.  She told me she bought barrette blanks from China and spot-tacked? —glued?  metal charms to them that represented things like nursing, teaching, cats, etc.  People came by asking, "Do you have anything for _____?" and she usually did.  The vast majority were purchased for gifts.  She also said she advertised nurse-themed clips in a nursing publication and sold a LOT that way.

You're not necessarily going to sell something just because it's made from leather; leather is almost secondary.  People seek out things that appeal to their hobbies or personalities or professions, etc. —leather might just be a bonus.

If I ever attempt this again, I will cater specifically to interest-themed events (car shows, or  marching band competitions, or... whatever) and only have products that appeal specifically to that.

Your mileage may vary.

To True, you have hit it on the head