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???

[Johanna]

Our custom leather shop survived and paid the bills because Jon could do anything, he was a jack-of-all-trades in leatherwork. We would go to biker events, rendezvous, buckskinning events, pow wows, SCA and LARP events, concerts (all musicians need leather!) and anywhere we could hustle some work. The trick was to get it into their hands and let them feel and smell it. There was no Internet then- we could have used it! Even taking out an ad in the phone book seemed like too much money. But word spread, "Go see that leather guy!" and we got the rent paid.

Marketing has completely changed with the advent of the Internet. No one has geographical limitations- UPS ships anywhere.

Jon used to fret about being limited to what his two hands could produce at the bench. That's how I wound up in the business- if i were lacing, dyeing, taking the phone calls, it freed him up to work. His greatest strength was that he could doodle anything- your dog or your truck or your girlfriend, then carve it on leather. He got paid well for his carving, but the fabrication, which took longer and took more skill, was never appreciated by most of the customers. They were willing to pay a few extra dollars to not have a plastic item, but they didn't understand why his was so much better, or why his item would last longer/work better/ be a better value. A lot of time was spent educating people before they would produce their checkbook.

In a one-man shop you have to wear all the hats. Most artists are not salespeople and vice versa. Time away from the bench costs money, but if you don't make the sales, why bother being at the bench? The eternal leatherworkers' dilemma.

Good thread, rdb- can't wait to hear what others have to say.

Johanna

[CitizenKate]

I guess I should weigh in here...

I started my business in early 2003, when I decided to make and sell leather game boards. My customers loved the boards, but I sucked at running a business, so I ended up having to take a day job about a year later. I worked in a very successful business, and learned as much as I could about how successful businesses are run, while continuing to work my own business part-time. I also got myself out of debt, and saved up enough money to pay the bills for several months.

In late March, I was laid-off. I'm especially grateful that I have been nurturing my business along all this time. I now am very happily dividing my time between leather work and freelance web development, two of my most favorite things in the world to do! As Bruce mentioned, doing a lot of custom work really forced me to expand my capabilities, and also the need to convert a growing mountain of perfectly good smaller pieces of leather into income. I'm still working up to a full income, but there is a great abundance of opportunity out there!

Don't believe all that crock about a "bad economy". Things are certainly changing, and for people who don't want to change, I guess that's bad. But some things are changing very much for the better. I've made it my job to see the "better" and be in a position to take advantage of it. One thing I see that is getting better for those of us trying to make a living with leather work, and Ray alluded to this briefly, is the resurgence of the consumer market's interest in hand crafted work. There is sort of a backlash to the Walmart generation starting to happen, as evidenced by the huge success of sites like Etsy and other similar sites, and new events and businesses springing up everywhere that offer things handcrafted. And at the same time big business is crumbling all around us, small businesses are starting to have a greater role in carrying the economy. That's YOU GUYS.

Kate

I refuse to participate in the recession!

[Janice]

I got in here sorta backwards, much of that due to timing. I didnt know squat about leatherwork, other than looking after the horse tack I owned for the last 20 years. My mother was a seamstress, and a darn good one too, though I hated sewing clothing, I am sure I picked up some knowledge there.

I bought it all at once. A complete harness buisness, that was run out of a basement, by an elderly gentleman. I took a chance, an invested some of my equity into all these tools and supplies. I dont know exactly how good of a deal I got, but I think I paid about 25% of the replacement value, now that I have reasearched more of the equipment.

I have a day job, and hubby works as well, we always have. I am teaching myself. Started out doing some custom work for people, and repairs. Used to do alot of horse blankets, but have weeded them out now. Too much work for no money, but it brought people in, that would want other stuff.

Tried doing some retail with it as well, but very little happened with that, too many tack stores around here.

I made some nice chinks, pillows, strap goods and other items, but didnt know how to tool, and hadnt gotten around to teaching myself that yet, so they were kinda plain. I am now into tooling, have made 5 items so far. Need continue with the education and practice. Dying and finishes are my next area, then lacing.

I have alot of horse connections, and friends who are bikers. I intend to continue to learn, and teach my hubby, but it will all stay small scale, as I plan to keep the security of my job, and its pension, for the next 18 years.

That is the plan, but who knows?

I would like to again say thank you for this site, and all of the people here, who are generous enough to share your knowledge.

[bruce johnson]

A few other suggestions here and points of interest. When your leatherwork is a business you get to do more paperwork, which also takes time away from the shop. On the upside, you get to deduct a lot of the stuff that as a hobby or hidden business "for cash or beer" under the IRS radar can't. Your tools don't cost you anymore, they reduce your income on the business. Your trips to Sheridan - mostly free. My trip to the guild show this fall (seeing my folks who live by Indy) - mostly free. Mileage to the post office, hardware store, visit the relatives 150 miles away and stop by TLF and get some NF oil - deduction.

When I seriously needed to pay bills I did almost my salary from the other job working nights and weekends for myself for two years. Other than a sewing machine, I didn't buy much in the way of tools or equipment in that time. Since things have changed, we were renting and I could afford to let the leather income slide relatively in favor of getting better tools and more productive equipment while that primary income is there to support us. Splurge on a drawdown stand, cool splitter, or draw gauge once in a while and it just reduced the tax I paid elsewhere. We bought the place a year ago, and so the income from the leather business is more important than upgrading it again. Other than a few stamps, I am satisfied that the equipment and setup I have will carry me for quite a while now.

One of my small business advisors was retired from running a gas station that had 3 service bays. There are a lot of similarities between it and the leather business. Inventory management, equipment and tools, etc. His advice for growing a business was to "improve tools and equipment when you can, make money when you have to, and plan so you don't have to do both at the same time".

[CitizenKate]

His advice for growing a business was to "improve tools and equipment when you can, make money when you have to, and plan so you don't have to do both at the same time".

There's a gem of wisdom, for sure.

Kate

[UKRay]

There's a gem of wisdom, for sure.

Kate

No argument there, Bruce and Kate. As long as you have good tools you will always be in a position to take on the work when it comes along. before I started selling I spent a lot of time, effort and money gathering machines together that would cut down the amount of 'bench-time' it took me to complete a job and they are just starting to earn their keep. In fact, I could produce a list of small machines I wouldn't want to be without simply because they give me 'extra time' in a day.

To take Dave's point ("We have to be all things to all people...") a bit further, as small business folk we are all striving to make the best of our situation but sometimes we simply can't do everything ourselves. I don't begrudge my accountant a penny of his bill each year because I'm numericaly dyslexic - I can't do maths. I wouldn't let anyone else cut my leather but he is welcome to play with the numbers. It frees up more of my time and I'm happier because of it. A 'no brainer'.

Until now I have been using the day job to fund my leather tool habit but I'm looking to cut down my paid work by another day sometime soon to give me more time in the workroom. Financially it will make me a little poorer but I have bought my tools and machines now and won't have the need for as much expenditure. I'd much rather be in my workroom than dealing with corporate clowns and if that means earning a little less money for a while I'm delighted to do it. There seems little point in being unhappy doing what I do...

The web side of the business is certainly my main focus at present but as soon as that is under control and building I'm planning to switch my attention to the show circuit. There are so many medieval and country fairs in the UK that I can be busy every weekend in the summer. I have just purchased an 18ft x 12ft x 12ft high tent (see www.past-tents.demon.co.uk ) ready for next season. It has had a single owner from new (and doubtless has a low mileage LOL) and cost me half the price of a new one. I'm happy to invest as long as I'm spending sensibly on developments for the future.

I don't know how successful I'll be as a show trader but one thing is for sure, I'll enjoy the experience and will meet lots more nice folk. I might even sell a bit of leather!

Ray

Edited May 29, 2009 by UKRay

[CitizenKate]

In a one-man shop you have to wear all the hats. Most artists are not salespeople and vice versa. Time away from the bench costs money, but if you don't make the sales, why bother being at the bench? The eternal leatherworkers' dilemma.

One of the lessons I learned the first time around, is that one way or another, in order to grow, you have to get other people involved. Not only do you need people you can delegate tasks to, in order to better leverage your own time, but you also need others who have a vested interest in your success.

This doesn't just have to be employees, either. There are vendors you can partner with, resellers, other skilled artisans that you can outsource the parts of your work you'd rather not have to do....

Kate

[rdb]

Well, there seems to be a little hope out there, at least from most of the people who have chimed in. But so far, the there's not much here from people who are actively trying to support themselves with just the leather trade alone.

One thing everyone agrees on, try and "outsource" as many tasks as you can, not necessarily employee wise, but, for the other things. I.E. web work, accounting, partnerships with other vendors or craftsman.

I have one example of that... There's a biker shop near me, that sells all the vests, and jackets etc. But they don't do repairs or odd requests. I did her some favors, and she has repaid me tenfold, by sending me those odd requests. From zipper repair to larger.longer belts, and even some seat recovers. In essence, she has become a marketing rep for me. Gawd love her, she's a wonderful woman, who keeps getting screwed over by other people, but her and me, work good together.

C'mon people, there's got to be more than a handful of us in this profession, trying it full time.

How 'Bout You?

[kevinhopkins]

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.

Hello Ian,

You need a different leather supplier if they let you get hung with leather, even if you were forced to use a little. Everyone will make a mistake now and again, and I've certainly had to replace leather on occasion. One customer completely stripped up a double shoulder before he realized that it didn't accept water thru a large swath of it. I paid to get the strips back, and shipped him another pc of leather right away, making sure it was a couple of feet bigger than he had paid for. That's just something that burns me..... Making a living with leather is hard enough without having to deal with that sort of service. Please forgive the rant!!!

Kevin

[kevinhopkins]

Hi... I guess it's already a given that you're not playing with a full deck.... I mean, trying to make a living in the leather world???? Just kidding, but I'm sure a lot of us can sympathize.

I think it's really hard to get something successful going without paying your fair share of dues. And it sounds like you're certainly doing your best to do that. You mention that you don't have a niche, but that you're having some success with word of mouth. My suggestion is to really be watchful for that niche, and don't stop talking. And I think that it's a good thing to give consideration to being balanced in your business approach. There's a book to be written about that, but there are 2 things that sort of come to my mind. One thing is that people will always pay for quality work. (so don't sell your self short) The other thing is this: More than likely, you're just as smart, (likely smarter) as a lot of the high powered corporate folks running big businesses today. So think things thru, and do your best to make good decisions. Business 101

Hope you make a zillion!

Kevin Hopkins

[Lobo]

For what it might be worth, I think that you have to have a market niche. I started making holsters, belts, and accessories as a young policeman on a limited salary raising two kids. Anything that I made was needed and appreciated.

My little hobby/business/sideline remained that way for many years. After I retired, I discovered the internet. I made and sold firearms-related items on several auction sites, started receiving follow-up orders and referals, built it up to a pretty fair part-time business. I also have a couple of sporting goods stores that display my products, take orders that I complete, and collect from the customer (for which they receive a reasonable percentage).

Mama put her foot down, told me she was tired of having supplies, materials, inventory, etc. underfoot all the time, and demanded that I get it out of the house. So, I leased a small space and set up shop. Next, I put up a webpage to display my products, and promoted the webpage in every way that I could.

Now, I am at the point of having to make a decision as to whether or not to take it "full-time", as the orders that I am receiving are eating into time that I ordinarily work at another business. I'm receiving e-mail inquiries at a rate that requires 1 to 2 hours per day to respond to, and I am making and shipping 20 to 30 orders per week, which requires 20-plus hours at the bench every week.

I have shipped to every state in the US, most Canadian provinces, and 5 other countries to date. Approximately 1 in 5 purchasers send in a second order, and quite a few have ordered several times.

I think that I have found my niche. I hope that you will find yours.

[CitizenKate]

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?????

C'mon people, there's got to be more than a handful of us in this profession, trying it full time.

Well, I gather that I'm not really qualified to respond, since I'm not yet one of the almighty few who have made it to the point where leather work provides for all of my income. But I'll share this anyway, since it took a lot of hard lessons for me to get to the point where it's bringing in 50% of it.

I do not believe at all in "build it and they will come". It may "semi-work", but it's not enough just to be good at leather work, no matter how talented you are. Some will come. Most will not even know you exist. If you really expect to make a living at it, you can't afford to just let the sales come to you. Find places to show your work where the right people are going to see it. That is, customers who not only will want what you make, but also have the money to afford it. Skip the flea markets and garage sales, stay away from the bargain hunters (unless you really don't care how much you make for your work - personally, I would rather sell nothing at all than to sell it cheap). Go instead to the more high-end craft markets, even juried if you're good enough. Learn how to explain to potential customers what value your items will have in their hands.

I also don't believe in "luck" per se, but a lot of opportunities will present themselves out of the blue. Sometimes these opportunities will take you on a course you didn't expect, so sometimes it's a challenge to learn to recognize them and be prepared to take advantage of them.

If you're going to run a one-person shop, you need to be good at everything: Marketing, selling, merchandising, IT, accounting, inventory management, production, customer service... until you master all (or at least most) aspects of your business, it will never be much more than a hobby that may or may not pay for itself. As I said before, eventually, you have to find ways to get other people involved, at any of a number of different levels. Employees, vendors, resellers, contractors, service providers, whatever. This will allow you to use more of your own time doing what you are best at: doing leather work.

To niche, or not to niche? If you can develop a specialty item that is unique from what the crowd is doing or very original in some way, that will give you a market you can have a very large share of. The more stuff you do that is the same as what everyone else does, like wallets, key fobs, belts, etc., the more other leather workers you have to share your market with. I've seen people be successful in either mode. I have a niche that has done very well for me, but I've also had to expand to do more "common" things you see done in leather, just so I can provide a more diverse offering (both function and price-wise), and has worked well, too, from a marketing/merchandising standpoint. I believe there is an infinite number of possible niches. Finding one just depends upon your own creativity.

I'll check back in when I've made it to that rarefied place of getting to leather work full-time, and let you know what more I have learned on the way. Meanwhile, I hope someone finds this helpful...

Kate