Making Money In This Hobby

[rugershooter]

Hilarious Sand Squid! Nothing beats "custom made," bullets, wine, and holsters. I would like to answer "Little Blue 12's" question.

When Sand Squid mentioned how much time he spent to craft an item he was correct in his analysis.

However, all "manufacturing companies," start the same, a table, ideas, drawings, tools and a mchine or two. Now, with the aforementioned in mind, I suggest you continually hone your craft, with production in mind. Like. . . how could I cut these patterns in batches, can I glue and press more efficiently, etc. Break down each step, and you will find that the leather crafting (manufacturing) business requires as many processess (steps) as the tanning business, twenty six.

Finally, if you are producing and shipping 5 pieces per day, which you sell for $200.00 each, but your material cost is say $150.00, your only labor worries at this point is to ramp up your personal production to the point where you have enough working capital to hire your first part time worker.

I can write volumes on this trade....But I hope you get the point, Oh one last things.....packaging, I have seen some holster manufacturers "hand craft" (can still be machine sewed and "hand crafted") dump a beautiful holster in a poly bag! Why insult your products and customers at the same time? Would Hermes do this? No, no, no! Invest some time in selecting nice tastful packaging, and see your profits soar even more!!

[St8LineGunsmith]

you have to look at as a hobby that has the potental to make at least enough money to get your inital investment back with but like others have said if you are making a profit it is no longer a hobby it is a job.

it is a talent within its self to be able to make a profit from items you market

I used to know a group of guys who would work 8 hours making saddles then go to a home work shop and make belts bill folds, guitar straps, holsters Bike leather along with other leather goods and and set up booths at flea markets, craft shows and swap meets etc. and make pretty good money on the weekends at least enough to reinvest in their little enterprize to keep it going and to make enough to buy new and better equipment.

they would spend the cold months making leather goods so they would have stock for sale during the summer.

but none of those guys considered what they were doing a hobby.

I would love to just make random things and package what I make then set up a booth when I got enough goods to fill up a couple of tables and see if anything sells

maybe put some stuff up for sale on ETSY or some other on line store.

[Double U Leather]

I'm gonna throw my 2 cents in here. For me, my leatherwork isn't always about the bottom line profit. If I lose focus on why I ever began dabbling in leather in the first place (it was fun), and start worrying about the profit only, I will become a slave to the leather business. And, I've never heard of too many slaves having fun. Don't get me wrong, I want to be able to make money doing what I do. I've invested alot of time in tools, learning the skills, etc. However, if money is my driving force for doing this, I lose the sense of freedom I've fought to maintain my whole life.

That brings me to my next point. I'm blessed? to have been able to be self employed almost my whole life. My "real" job is being a public address announcer at rodeos and horse shows. I've been doing that for 26 years. Prior to becoming an announcer, I rode bulls professionally for 5 years. I have always cherished the freedom to basically do what I want, when I want to do it. That's just the path I took as a young man. Many of my friends from high school took the "career" path, and have done very well for themselves.

I guess the bottom line for me is this...I could give two pinches about being rich. I just want to be able to pay the bills every month. Between my announcing and leather, I'm able to do that. Do I have a retirement plan or alot of stocks and bonds and investments? No. Does an ol' cowboy really need those things? In my opinion, no.

So, for me, the leather business is a source of cash flow when my announcing gigs slow down. I've been able to turn out enough nice products that people from all over the place are ordering from me on a regular basis. That keeps some money rolling through, and when I'm on the road announcing, I give leather customers my turn around time factoring the road into it. All in all, God has blessed me to chase my dreams my whole life.

I'd much rather be happy than rich. Wow...that was a long rant. Sorry folks...LOL

[Havamal]

_{It is very rare that someone can support themselves with the income generated from an artistic “hobby”. My wife is an artist and is considered moderately “successful” by other artists. We do several high end shows each year where there are 100+ artists & craftsmen participating, out of those artists less than 5% are able to make enough to support themselves. The rest either have day jobs or are supported by their spouse.For most people it is not about making money, but rather doing something you enjoy. (But a little extra cash does not hurt!)}

Edited November 6, 2012 by Havamal