Business

[rdb]

Let's take a break from showing pictures, and talking politics. How about we talk business. In particular, of course, the Leather Trade.

I know there's quite a few Saddle Makers, and such, who have been in business for years, and years. You guys rock! But there's a lot of us who are fairly new in these modern times. Some of us did this years ago, and put it aside, only to start it up again. Some of us are just starting out from scratch, after going through our friends and family...lol.

How are you doing?????

I'm sixty, and once again giving it a shot. I've got a good woman, and plenty of heart, and two good dogs to keep me on the straight and narrow. Who knows, maybe it works, we'll see. "Good Lord willing, the creek don't rise"

But how about you? Are you just plain lucky, and the flood of customers is coming in, or are you just pluggin' away at it.

I'm a firm believer in "Build it, and they will come", and so far, it is semi working for me. I'm bouncing around a lot, I don't have a niche like the western saddlers, or the "floggers". I find myself doing biker stuff one day, cowboy stuff the next, and in between other stuff like guitar straps, or portfolios. I don't have a local reputation enough to draw them into my home shop yet, so I go out to fairs and such to get the word out. I've tried a little etsy, web sites, etc, but the bread and butter is still networking, and word of mouth. There is nowhere near enough money coming in to branch out, or even take a wage yet, but it's steady, and possibly growing

How are you handling your startup?????

[azrider]

I am no where near good enough to have an actual business from my leatherwork, but here's my cent and a half. I have another hobby that got out of hand enough where I had to either scale it back or start a business: breeding and sales of freshwater ornamental aquarium fish. My brother and I started the business, and lost our targeted amount of money for two years. We both had day jobs, and did this because we loved it and the "business" paid for us to get large aquariums and very expensive and rare fish. The only reason we closed that business is that I moved to a different state.

Most of the tools and supplies I have gotten to really get started on leatherworking have come from sales of items left over from that business. So far I have had two paying custom jobs. One has been delivered already, and one is still in progress. The money paid for these will barley cover materials, and not pay for time. I am hoping I can get my leatherwork to the point where it can pay for supplies and new tools as I get them. It’s something I really enjoy doing and I will continue to do it, I am just hoping I can get it to pay for itself!

[rdb]

At your point, I would suggest a cookie jar. When you make something, and sell it, take all the money, and put it in the cookie jar. don't touch it. Use your personal cash for awhile to buy materials, consider it like dining out...a fun expense. Eventually your cookie jar will have enough sheckels in it to actually buy something. Figure out just what it is you sold, then go buy what you need to repeat that success. Good luck in your venture...Really!

I was hoping to see just where other people are in their startups, how they got there, and what they intend on doing to make it grow...

Even if you aren't to the point of startup, go right ahead and join in, though...it's all good.

[Ian]

Dave, honestly, I'm seriously thinking about getting out of this business for a while while I re-group and develop some skills to go in another direction. The work is still coming in, but not the artistic stuff I'd like to be doing - mostly seat re-covering, repairs and such. With such a slim profit margin, just about anything can upset it. For instance, I just got two hides of barely usable leather (junk) in today. Because of a deadline I had to use some, so can't return it. So, there's three hundred bucks lost again - add it to the rack of sides that I'll probably never use again.

Besides, when I see some of the really beautiful work posted here, I think "what the heck am I doing? I should be focusing on learning and improving rather than filling up my time taking in quantities of low paying work.

Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit discouraged lately. I think I made the same mistake as you in going in a million directions rather than focusing on one thing, which is what I plan to do when I re-invent myself in this biz.

[rdb]

Sounds like you need a pep talk Ian!

"One man shops" is a hard life. We can't all be famous for "one thing".

So far I don't think I've made a mistake by not specializing. I'ld love to be a saddlemaker, but the time frame to learn is an extreme luxury to me, plus I'm allergic to horses...lol.

I've actually used this time and varied projects to hone the skills.

You have less need to sharpen up, obviously. You have the skillset already to bypass the patch and repair route. It sounds like you just need some different commissions. A re-marketing campaign. You're captured by the local demands.

Some kind of new scene would open a new network. The only way to find that is to put yourself in the position to meet a new crowd. That's why I drive 45 minutes to Raleigh every week. I don't make much money there, but it's steady, and occasionally, I get a challenge commission. There are people there who look for me now.

Or you need a product development you can "mass market" in some small way, or sell to small industry. I've done that with the handles I make for the Amp company. I'm slowly building a base, between the small patch jobs, the local community commissions, the flea market, and the handles , for now, I have the time, you may not.

Don't let em get you down bro, beat em off.

[jbird]

Well I am pretty new put up against some of you but I have had hard road very hard and not much money at all but I am sticking with it and for better or worse

Josh

[bruce johnson]

I got into this deal being taught to do my own repairs and a little tooling by a family friend who had a saddle shop. When I had slack time I'd sit and watch them build saddles. I went along for a few years not doing much. Broke my pelvis one fall and took some Tandy classes and got a little better. I made my wife a handstitched belt and then she asked for a headstall. Did one and pretty soon I was doing 5 a week, one a day. We'd sell them off my saddlehorn at events we'd go to and pay fees and gas. I made at least 150 of them for sure. I did some little award deals - checkbooks, planners, and clocks mostly along with headstalls and breast collars. At some point in there I got a Boss for the sewing, and a business license to be able to buy what I needed at decent prices. When my wife kind of unexpectedly died, I was left a month later with $55K in medical debt the insurance wouldn't pay and the hospital wouldn't write off, and other bills. More than my annual salary which wasn't going to change, and I had a 16 year old son and living with an in-law. The leather business took on a new importance. I got hooked up with a small business advisor and some free courses. Somewhere along in there I got Brenner's book and applied the principles to my pricing. Through a friend I got hooked up with a mobile tack business that went to the NFR, rodeos, and horseshows. She wanted someone to do custom orders, and make some wholesale products for them. I learned more in those years than anything. Pricing took on a new importance, planning ahead and streamlining, and having to "just do it" gaves a guy focus. I bought a sewing machine for $2200 with no clear idea how I was going to pay for it. Thank you, Arizona WPRA for the order that night! (Went to Cowboy Church that night, came home and got an awards order with $2500 profit as I walked in the door to home, it was a God thing). The custom orders expanded my range of things I could make, and the award and wholesale stuff taught me to be production minded. I told my girlfriend that we were not getting serious until my debt was paid off. December 8th, 2003 at the NFR I picked up a check for some consignments that paid it off. That night she flew in and met me that the 8th round at Thomas and Mack, we got engaged right there.

The business has changed some since then. The major business I wholesaled to got sold, and I really haven't pursued the wholesale or award orders like I used to. We both have other incomes, but basically we are starting over with half your life gone. We need to pay this place off in about half the time it takes everyone else. I have bought some toys/splitters for the shop, as well as stuff that increases productivity. Also a few things that just plain make it more of pleasure to work in. I build a few saddles, along with a pretty wide range of things. The business varies, and I am not doing just one thing. I can slow down, charge more, and do some more intricate work (when I haven't got some lame injury to deal with). What I get orders for varies. If I was just doing limited things, I'd be slower. Last year after the shop remodel I did a lot of ropecans and ropebags late in the year. This year so far I did some little stuff, an awards deal, a really cool rope can, and the 4th saddle should be done this weekend. I am seeing an increase right now vs the last couple years in the total. I didn't have the website last year, but the local business and repeat distant customer business is up this year too. It didn't happen overnight and I know there are gonna be more ups and downs.

[electrathon]

Bruce,

Have you though of teaching? In reading your postings it seems to me that you have the personality/temperment for being able to do it. Chan Geer teaches classes and is rather booked. It is dificult to get a highly skilled leather worker to put on classes. It seems to me there is a large glut that someone could step into and while they may net get rich, would be able to make a very good living.

Aaron

[UKRay]

Just reading these stories makes me feel very fortunate as although I don't make a whole lot of money from leatherwork it is now becoming a useful part of my income.

I started out back in the 70s by opening a string of leather shops. I ran them successfully for several years but eventually, as the market slowed down, I found I could make a better living elsewhere. Eventually I packed all my tools in a box and put them under a bench and only pulled them out when I needed to make something for myself, friends or family. I always had some kind of project on the go but money was always easier to come by in other ways.

Now I think we are seeing something of a shift in values as the world eschews big business and is taking more interest in artisan made products. People seem to like having something 'special' that is 'custom made' and personalised in some way. Like you, Dave, much of my work comes from networking, but a substantial amount is now arriving online. People are finding all my 'marker post' blog sites, Knols, Google Base stuff etc etc and the technology is directing folk to my doorstep.

Before you think I'm doing too well, let me put this into perspective. I work at a 'grown-up' job three days a week and this pays my bills. The other four days, one way and another, I'm working at building the leather business. Sometimes it is rebuilding an old machine, sometimes it is working on my new e-commerce website or setting up some more signposts on the internet, sometimes it is making inventory but it never stops. Every day I'm adding to the business and finally it is starting to show some signs of success.

So how well am I doing? Right now, if I calculated the amount I actually earn per hour I probably wouldn't work for anyone else for that money. In fact, I know I wouldn't - but I enjoy what I do far too much to stop. That, IMHO, is the only way to make a leather business like mine work in the early stages because it takes time to buld a customer base. I am confident that, eventually, the online stuff will do well enough to replace the 'day job' and I will be able to choose where I want to live in the world. That is my ambition.

Today I've got a load of leather to cut, photographs to upload and... it goes on! I won't make much money but I will have had another good day and that is enough for now.

[rdb]

RECAP SO FAR:

Just jbird, Ian, and me seem to be depending on leather for any and all income. I know there should be many others, we'll have to wait and see who chimes in.

Bruce, and Ray, apparently, have some other income supplement.

We've got Ian with a plan to undiversify, and concentrate on one aspect. Jbird is just gonna plug on, no matter what (sorta like me), Bruce is doing less wholesale, allowing him to concentrate on more customization, and Ray is building the web aspect.

The ideal, i guess, is a combination of all these things, but that's hard for a one man shop. We have to be all things to all people.

I suppose a lot depends on your base of customers. Rural West seems to be the more advantageous in its use of leather for the Cowboy Arts, but it probably means more competition too. Out here in the Southeast, even the bigger cities are not very big. Population is spread out, and hard to target. But the customers you do get, become quite loyal.

The most successful maybe those that pick a niche, like tack, or motorcycle seats. The jack of all trades, master of none seems to be the toughest approach, even though the customer base would seem to be much larger. And LIFE always seems to get in the way.

What about You???