Efficient Ways To Take Orders?

[TACKyPaints]

Hello all!!

So I started my company, TACKyPaints, about 3 months ago and have had many orders. I make custom painted tack and I have noticed other companies that sell items like mine will post "booked through 2nd week of January!" Perhaps this is a stupid question, but how do they take orders in that way? Do they just figure out how long it takes them to make specific items? I would really like to figure out a more efficient way to take and book orders so I don't feel like a I'm constantly running around frantic! The past three months I have felt like all I do is eat, sleep, and paint! I never seem to have any time to do anything else!! I am very thankful for the business but I would really like to not feel so exhausted because right now it just seems like there are not enough hours in each day!

Anyone have any experience with this or suggestions? Please?

[particle]

I just make holsters, but I know about how many items I can complete in a month. If that's, for example, 10 items, and I have 40 orders, then I state on my website that I have a backorder of something like 12-16 weeks. Find a number that is comfortable for you, then artificially inflate your backorder if you wish. That'll help dial back new orders, and people that really want your work will not really care about the long lead time. You'll still be at your current workload for a while until you get rid of those old orders, but once those are clear, you'll be able to slow your pace down to maintain a production level you're happy with. I know one particular person on this site that built a custom order form that ties into a database that manages his orders. If you have just a ton of orders, you might consider something like that. I just do everything via forms on a website that the customer fills out. When they submit it, I get an email. We print out the emails and put them in a file in the order they were received. Not very sophisticated, but I don't get a ton of orders - right now I'm only able to fill about 100 orders per year on average because I still have a full time job and family responsibilities.

[McJeep]

Sounds like you're A) still getting a feel for how much you can produce in a given time, and trying too hard to please the customer with quick turnaround.

I'm in the same boat and discovering (painfully) that I need to really get a grip on appreciating the time it takes to put things out. Am finally starting to realize that the customers asking for custom gear are more interested in the quality than time frames that equal off the shelf purchases. Gonna have to not worry so much about those that are rushing - let them but the off the shelf stuff - they'll likely be back when they realize that it's not *exactly* what they wanted. If not, then they weren't that worried about the fit/finish after all and I'll spend my time pleasing the ones that value custom quality ;0)

Life's to short and ya can't please everyone every time ;0) <--- new mantra LOL

[TACKyPaints]

I just make holsters, but I know about how many items I can complete in a month. If that's, for example, 10 items, and I have 40 orders, then I state on my website that I have a backorder of something like 12-16 weeks. Find a number that is comfortable for you, then artificially inflate your backorder if you wish. That'll help dial back new orders, and people that really want your work will not really care about the long lead time. You'll still be at your current workload for a while until you get rid of those old orders, but once those are clear, you'll be able to slow your pace down to maintain a production level you're happy with. I know one particular person on this site that built a custom order form that ties into a database that manages his orders. If you have just a ton of orders, you might consider something like that. I just do everything via forms on a website that the customer fills out. When they submit it, I get an email. We print out the emails and put them in a file in the order they were received. Not very sophisticated, but I don't get a ton of orders - right now I'm only able to fill about 100 orders per year on average because I still have a full time job and family responsibilities.

That's great advice! Right now I am using the same system of simply printing out my invoices and filing them in the order I receive them! I tell my customers that I work on orders in the order I receive them but still seem to get quite a few customers asking how their item is coming along even though they just put their order in yesterday! Generally while I wait for one item to dry I grab the next one and put a coat on it, etc. I do my best to multitask to try and keep up! I think part of my issue is needing to find out how many items I can complete in such and such time frame! Thanks so much for the reply! I knew I would get some very helpful advice on here!

[TACKyPaints]

Sounds like you're A) still getting a feel for how much you can produce in a given time, and trying too hard to please the customer with quick turnaround.

I'm in the same boat and discovering (painfully) that I need to really get a grip on appreciating the time it takes to put things out. Am finally starting to realize that the customers asking for custom gear are more interested in the quality than time frames that equal off the shelf purchases. Gonna have to not worry so much about those that are rushing - let them but the off the shelf stuff - they'll likely be back when they realize that it's not *exactly* what they wanted. If not, then they weren't that worried about the fit/finish after all and I'll spend my time pleasing the ones that value custom quality ;0)

Life's to short and ya can't please everyone every time ;0) <--- new mantra LOL

I am definitely trying to get a feel for what I can produce in a given time. I think it would be easier if I only made one specific product but of course painting a saddle cross takes far less time than painting a complete tack set! And you are right, I am trying too hard to please customers with a quick turnaround! I let all my customers know that I work on orders in the order that I receive them but I still get the customers asking how their order is coming even though they just placed it yesterday! I really enjoy the work that I do but found that with people pressuring me to get it done in their requested time frame, well, it just wasn't fun anymore! I want to produce a *quality* product, not *quantity!* I guess I will just have to let customers know that if they are desiring a quality product that it will take me X amount of time to complete it, bottom line! Thanks so much for your advice! It was very helpful!

[McJeep]

No problem I forgot to mention that I've found customers are much more happy when ya tell them something's done early rather than that it's gonna take longer - I always tell em two weeks when I think it'll be one week, if the circumstances allow - that also gives ya a bit of leeway for those ones that DO need to be slipped in between already scheduled jobs ... if there's a really good reason for the job to get put to the front of the line ;0)

A little bit manipulative for sure, but helps me retain my sanity LOL

Good luck!

[cavsgt]

I am definitely trying to get a feel for what I can produce in a given time. I think it would be easier if I only made one specific product but of course painting a saddle cross takes far less time than painting a complete tack set! And you are right, I am trying too hard to please customers with a quick turnaround! I let all my customers know that I work on orders in the order that I receive them but I still get the customers asking how their order is coming even though they just placed it yesterday! I really enjoy the work that I do but found that with people pressuring me to get it done in their requested time frame, well, it just wasn't fun anymore! I want to produce a *quality* product, not *quantity!* I guess I will just have to let customers know that if they are desiring a quality product that it will take me X amount of time to complete it, bottom line! Thanks so much for your advice! It was very helpful!

I have worked in some area of the horse business for most of my life and finally figured out that most of the calls are not judgemental. Your customers have spent all day in the mundane world without their main intrest. Most will be looking for nothing more than a conversation about their favorite subject. That said it will be up to you to figure out how to handle them as it is possible to spend all day visiting and not get anything done. I* would love to share my secret but have not ever found a solution. You will also have to learn to deal with the dissatisfied customer as no matter how hard you try some are never pleased.

A whole lot of talk without an answer right. Sorry

[TACKyPaints]

I have worked in some area of the horse business for most of my life and finally figured out that most of the calls are not judgemental. Your customers have spent all day in the mundane world without their main intrest. Most will be looking for nothing more than a conversation about their favorite subject. That said it will be up to you to figure out how to handle them as it is possible to spend all day visiting and not get anything done. I* would love to share my secret but have not ever found a solution. You will also have to learn to deal with the dissatisfied customer as no matter how hard you try some are never pleased.

A whole lot of talk without an answer right. Sorry

Not at all! You are right about them looking for conversation! I have received an email asking about their order, and I hold my breath, expecting them to be upset, etc. But they weren't, they were just looking for somebody to chat with because "how's my order coming?" has often times turned into me learning their life story! haha! So far I haven't had any dissatisfied customers but I'm sure I will learn my lesson in regards to that at some point. Nobody is perfect and I'm sure at some point I will make a mistake, just human nature! If you ever find that solution, be sure to let me know!

[cavsgt]

I doubt that I will find a solution as the shop was first started in 1962 part time and became full time in 1981 when a distribution company for wholesale horse products went business went belly up. Most of what I do now is just with two long time wholesale customers and a few friends.

Leatherwork can be very rewarding and at the same time very frustating. The biggest problem is when dealing with horsemen remember that we are a cheap bunch. This is caused by the cost of having a 1000 lb. friend and is compounded if we have a family as that always required more big friends.

[TACKyPaints]

I doubt that I will find a solution as the shop was first started in 1962 part time and became full time in 1981 when a distribution company for wholesale horse products went business went belly up. Most of what I do now is just with two long time wholesale customers and a few friends.

Leatherwork can be very rewarding and at the same time very frustating. The biggest problem is when dealing with horsemen remember that we are a cheap bunch. This is caused by the cost of having a 1000 lb. friend and is compounded if we have a family as that always required more big friends.

haha! You are very right about that! Seems like we always want the best for our big friends but at the same time don't want to break the bank!

Wow! I hope my company lasts as long as yours has! I am a college graduate and can't find a job in or out of my field to save my life! So I decided to combine my horse hobby & painting together and see if I could make some money at it! I would love if I could turn it into my full time job because I enjoy doing this much more than the degree I have! LOL

[cavsgt]

haha! You are very right about that! Seems like we always want the best for our big friends but at the same time don't want to break the bank!

Wow! I hope my company lasts as long as yours has! I am a college graduate and can't find a job in or out of my field to save my life! So I decided to combine my horse hobby & painting together and see if I could make some money at it! I would love if I could turn it into my full time job because I enjoy doing this much more than the degree I have! LOL

Probably the two best pieces of advice I have is do not get all of your eggs in one basket diversify and let your business tell you where it wants to go. We have built everything from boot harness to movie props and saddles. Neither were where we initially headed but both made us fair money. I like to laugh that at one time we were the leading purveyor of bad taste as boot harness manufactures for the whole country. A salesman came in the shop one night and asked if we could make this boot harness, I said yes but why would I want to when he told me what he was paying for them we signed on.

My point is keep trying to come up with new ideas and do not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone

[TACKyPaints]

Probably the two best pieces of advice I have is do not get all of your eggs in one basket diversify and let your business tell you where it wants to go. We have built everything from boot harness to movie props and saddles. Neither were where we initially headed but both made us fair money. I like to laugh that at one time we were the leading purveyor of bad taste as boot harness manufactures for the whole country. A salesman came in the shop one night and asked if we could make this boot harness, I said yes but why would I want to when he told me what he was paying for them we signed on.

My point is keep trying to come up with new ideas and do not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone

That is great advice! Thank you so much! I will keep that in mind! That's incredible where your business has taken you!!!

I definitely would like to "expand my horizons" rather than stick to my comfort zone! I think after some time it would be a nice change of pace to take on something different than the norm! I've had a few people actually ask me to even paint cowboy boots which would be pretty neat! I'm seriously considering giving that try!

[Dwight]

Anyone have any experience with this or suggestions? Please?

Tacky: I do all my billing, . . . scheduling, . . . tax records, . . . on one little computer program: Microsoft Excel, . . . but I have about 20 years experience at it, . . . and judging from your picture, . . . you probably don't.

Be that as it may, . . . you can use Excel as a calendar, . . . and as you get orders, . . . put them into the calendar. Only load up say 6 hours a day, . . . that gives you the ability to do 2 things: one, you can have a "cushion" of time, . . . just in case stuff goes South, . . . and two, you can visually see where you actually are. It makes all the difference in the world when you are first trying to get stuff together.

You can also print it out in the morning, . . . make pencil changes during the day, . . . correct and re-print tomorrow if pencils work better for you than a keyboard.

I couldn't post an Excel sheet on here, . . . but I did a screen save/convert to *.jpg so you could at least see what one looks like. PM me if you want to look at something more elaborate, . . . I can help you there possibly.

"Organization is the KEY, to production, to profitability, and believe it or not, . . . to sanity". Not an old saying by any means, . . . but I live and believe every word of it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[TACKyPaints]

Tacky: I do all my billing, . . . scheduling, . . . tax records, . . . on one little computer program: Microsoft Excel, . . . but I have about 20 years experience at it, . . . and judging from your picture, . . . you probably don't.

Be that as it may, . . . you can use Excel as a calendar, . . . and as you get orders, . . . put them into the calendar. Only load up say 6 hours a day, . . . that gives you the ability to do 2 things: one, you can have a "cushion" of time, . . . just in case stuff goes South, . . . and two, you can visually see where you actually are. It makes all the difference in the world when you are first trying to get stuff together.

You can also print it out in the morning, . . . make pencil changes during the day, . . . correct and re-print tomorrow if pencils work better for you than a keyboard.

I couldn't post an Excel sheet on here, . . . but I did a screen save/convert to *.jpg so you could at least see what one looks like. PM me if you want to look at something more elaborate, . . . I can help you there possibly.

"Organization is the KEY, to production, to profitability, and believe it or not, . . . to sanity". Not an old saying by any means, . . . but I live and believe every word of it.

May God bless,

Dwight

Thanks for the great advice Dwight! I do have quite a bit of experience using Excel, but never thought of using it for organizing my orders!!! I will most likely end up printing them out each morning as I tend to like to have things in hand. It would probably be easier than simply having the invoices in front of me! Perhaps this will help with my organization and help me better prioritize my use of time! I do believe my organization is a big part of the problem! haha!

Thanks again for the great advice!!

[particle]

Like Dwight - we (my wife and I) also use Excel for my orders, though we use it in a different way. I built my website using the free Concrete 5 site builder. I'm currently using their form component to receive my new orders. Once we receive the order and print it out, we hand-write any updates to the order should the customer decide to make any changes. When I am in the shop (my garage), I have a set of stacking in/out paper trays. I place all my orders in the trays - one order per tray. That printed order form stays with the holster until it's ready to be shipped out. Meanwhile, my wife types the contents of the order form into Excel (one customer per row) as we receive the new orders. As an order is completed, she hilights the customer's row of information and shades the cells gray to indicate the order is complete. This gives us a quick reference for how many outstanding orders we have left to complete. It contains detailed information about what they ordered, as well as the customer's contact information and the total amount of the order. When it's time to file taxes, my wife prints out a nice and tidy spreadsheet that shows the entire year's orders and how much money the business has brought in and we hand this over to our tax guy.

You can also use Outlook to schedule your shop time. You can create a new appointment, they copy and paste the contents of the customer's order form into your appointment if you wanted so you don't have to go digging through old emails to find the order information. Theoretically, you could schedule all your existing orders out for the next X days or weeks, provided you're that organized with your time. I ask my wife "what's next" and she tells me what to work on.

A better method would be to tie the order form to a database so that once the customer's information is received, the data is automatically submitted to the database. Using a private back-end page, you could access the contents of the database on a per-order basis and have fields where you can add notes and such. You could have a method of marking the order as active so your customers could log into the website and see what ticket number you're working on so they'll know many orders are in front of their own. I'm not a big database guy, but would love to know how to do it. They're very powerful if they're setup correctly from the start.

Edited December 29, 2011 by particle

[Leatherimages]

Great discussion guys. Thank you.

I understand this for job scheduleing, and it is a problem even after 40 years in; shoe repair (it'll be ready on Tuesday), boot making (I'll be working on it next October), and general leatherwork (It'll be a week or two, I'll call when it's done.)

But howabout, are there suggetions for programs for Project Managment that show where you are in the time line of a job?

Paul

[particle]

Paul - Microsoft Project is a great program for scheduling your time out, but I think it's quite expensive. There may be cheaper alternatives, or even free versions. I haven't looked lately. Project will allow you to create parent objects, so if you wanted to itemize your production for a few projects, you could do something like....

Project A

Cut pieces

>Transfer Pattern Marks

>Dye Pieces

>Assemble Pieces

>Stitch Pieces

Project B

Blah blah blah

You get the idea. You tell the program how long you think each task will take. If cutting the pieces for all your orders will take 5 hours, you tell it 5 hours. If it happens to take 10 hours, the final date of completion will get bumped back 5 additional hours if you update the schedule. If you tell Project B that it can't begin until after Project A is complete, the start date of Project B will automatically shift out that same additional 5 hours. Pretty powerful scheduling tool. If you don't make any adjustments along the way, you can keep track of how far behind you're getting (or how far ahead), and you can adjust your working hours according to make up for lost time (or take a vacation!).

[McJeep]

There's a pretty darned useful client management software - more for managing repeat client info and scheduling your time than anything else - called maximizer.

Used it in the finance biz - works well - reasonable cost. I mostly just use outlook on my computer - schedules all my time and the reminders are invaluable. Very useful to have the computer bleep at me to wake me up when I get lost in a job.

There are lots of ways to manage time, schedule jobs, estimate jobs - but at what point are you spending more time scheduling then doing??

[TACKyPaints]

Like Dwight - we (my wife and I) also use Excel for my orders, though we use it in a different way. I built my website using the free Concrete 5 site builder. I'm currently using their form component to receive my new orders. Once we receive the order and print it out, we hand-write any updates to the order should the customer decide to make any changes. When I am in the shop (my garage), I have a set of stacking in/out paper trays. I place all my orders in the trays - one order per tray. That printed order form stays with the holster until it's ready to be shipped out. Meanwhile, my wife types the contents of the order form into Excel (one customer per row) as we receive the new orders. As an order is completed, she hilights the customer's row of information and shades the cells gray to indicate the order is complete. This gives us a quick reference for how many outstanding orders we have left to complete. It contains detailed information about what they ordered, as well as the customer's contact information and the total amount of the order. When it's time to file taxes, my wife prints out a nice and tidy spreadsheet that shows the entire year's orders and how much money the business has brought in and we hand this over to our tax guy.

You can also use Outlook to schedule your shop time. You can create a new appointment, they copy and paste the contents of the customer's order form into your appointment if you wanted so you don't have to go digging through old emails to find the order information. Theoretically, you could schedule all your existing orders out for the next X days or weeks, provided you're that organized with your time. I ask my wife "what's next" and she tells me what to work on.

A better method would be to tie the order form to a database so that once the customer's information is received, the data is automatically submitted to the database. Using a private back-end page, you could access the contents of the database on a per-order basis and have fields where you can add notes and such. You could have a method of marking the order as active so your customers could log into the website and see what ticket number you're working on so they'll know many orders are in front of their own. I'm not a big database guy, but would love to know how to do it. They're very powerful if they're setup correctly from the start.

Wow! Sounds like you have an EXCELLENT system going!! I will have to try and use some of the ways you go about organizing your orders! I have some paper trays here from when I was in school, perhaps I should give that a try as it would certainly keep me more organized with my coming & going orders! And using Outlook is a genius idea! I have a Blackberry that all my business emails go to but have often found myself searching through emails to make sure I add all the changes to the product that my customer requested! Making an appointment with all of the order information would certainly save me some time!!!

Thank you so much for such great advice!! Perhaps when my business gets a little larger (and therefore more hectic!) I will have to look into the database idea!!! Thanks again!!

[Dwight]

For anyone thinking about a data base, . . . let me just say that Microsoft Access is a keeper for a data base that YOU can manage, . . . YOU can make, . . . You can fix, etc.

I started working with it almost 20 years ago, . . . knew nothing at all about it, . . . took a 1 day class from a woman who didn't know much about it herself, . . . but it did get me started. I wound up peddling my ability into a full time job that kept be righteously employed for over 15 years, . . . when I could easily otherwise have been looking at disabiility retirement.

Two things to remember: 1) purchase the "Dummy" book, . . . Access (insert latest edition here) for Dummies. Read it, . . . follow the instructions, . . . set apart a 4 hour block sometime in the week, . . . do the next chapter each time AND 2) tables are the secret to Access. Queries give you info, . . . Reports tell you what you got, . . . but if it is not in the table, . . . the query cannot find it, . . . and the report won't print it. You almost cannot have too many tables.

Also, . . . make the tables simple, . . . too many people want to make one table have all the information, . . . and it becomes a nightmare trying to insert, edit, change, etc. Whereas if it is a simple table, . . . it is easier to mess with. As an example, . . . use a specific Customer ID number for each of your customers, . . . it can be fixed in Access to add it in for you, . . . making sure that there are never two who are the same. It is easy to get two Bill Smith's, . . . and sending the wrong Bill Smith the holster for a 1911 when he wanted a bridle for his Palomino will cause headaches.

We use Access for our church, . . . tithing, income, expenses, checking acct, bills, employees, virtually everything is in that one little data base, . . . and it was built one piece at a time, . . . took about an hour each, . . .

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited December 30, 2011 by Dwight

[WinterBear]

A comment on your "quality" over "quantity" desire and people who seem to be impatient: For all handmade goods and services, some customers might need a reminder that

They can have a good job cheap, but it won't be quick (i.e., meaning you'll work on it as time allows).

They can have a quick job cheap, but it won't be good (you'll slap it together, but the quality will most likely suffer).

They can have a good job quick, but it won't be cheap (you'll have to work overtime, and possibly turn down other orders, and will therefore charge accordingly).

I've seen caterers, florists, tailors, jewelers, leather workers, gunsmiths, portrait painters, quilters, hairstylists, and others have the sign with the points in their workshop/store/booth, etc. as a reminder to their customers and themselves. It's also a good reminder to the artisans not to sell themselves short either, as there will be some people who will demand the moon and want it now, and will try to pressure the artisan for a good quick cheap job--but once they get it, they are likely to demand it again and again (or they tell their friends, and the friends will demand it from you). Customer service is one thing, but not every customer will appreciate someone bending over backwards for them. Best to save your efforts for those who will, like a good customer who is in a bind.

As a friend of mine keeps telling me, "'No' is a complete sentence. Just 'No'. Not 'No problem', or 'No, but...'. It is ok to tell people 'No', especially when other commitments, obligations, or your own free time, family life, or sanity is involved."

I need to listen to that friend more.

[TACKyPaints]

A comment on your "quality" over "quantity" desire and people who seem to be impatient: For all handmade goods and services, some customers might need a reminder that

They can have a good job cheap, but it won't be quick (i.e., meaning you'll work on it as time allows).

They can have a quick job cheap, but it won't be good (you'll slap it together, but the quality will most likely suffer).

They can have a good job quick, but it won't be cheap (you'll have to work overtime, and possibly turn down other orders, and will therefore charge accordingly).

I've seen caterers, florists, tailors, jewelers, leather workers, gunsmiths, portrait painters, quilters, hairstylists, and others have the sign with the points in their workshop/store/booth, etc. as a reminder to their customers and themselves. It's also a good reminder to the artisans not to sell themselves short either, as there will be some people who will demand the moon and want it now, and will try to pressure the artisan for a good quick cheap job--but once they get it, they are likely to demand it again and again (or they tell their friends, and the friends will demand it from you). Customer service is one thing, but not every customer will appreciate someone bending over backwards for them. Best to save your efforts for those who will, like a good customer who is in a bind.

As a friend of mine keeps telling me, "'No' is a complete sentence. Just 'No'. Not 'No problem', or 'No, but...'. It is ok to tell people 'No', especially when other commitments, obligations, or your own free time, family life, or sanity is involved."

I need to listen to that friend more.

haha! That is GREAT advice WinterBear!! Thank you so much! I have seen with my own eyes those signs in shops before!! It's just a "gentle reminder" but makes one think twice! Perhaps I need a little sign on my website....just a "gentle reminder" sign!

I do need to start saying NO! Right before Christmas I had taken in so many orders that I was working 7 days a week! I'd start at 7am and sometimes not turn the light off in my studio until after midnight! Needless to say I was exhausted physically & mentally! Barely got to spend any time with my husband AND was beginning to hate painting! I don't ever want to begin hating to paint ever again!! haha!

Thanks again for the great advice!! That is something I will always keep in mind!!

[WinterBear]

You could always paint yourself a sign too.

Eeep, that's no way to go into the holidays. As for the advice, take it with a grain of salt?--I can't follow it either. Maybe I should make it a resolution or something. In any case, cheers, and here's to another year successful painting! I had a peek at your facebook, and the stuff is fabulous! I think I like the koi most.