marketing ideas

[figthnbullrider]

hey what did yall do for marketing when you were first starting out. i know it gets easier to get buisness when you have a reputation but what about when you dont. im not trying to make holsters full time but i would like to take some orders. any ideas will help thanks.

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

In all honesty, I would not take orders. If I were you I would build some holsters that I enjoyed and offer them up for sale (on the classifieds of specific pistol forums, after you establish yourself with some legitimate posts, of course). If somebody asked for something you could build it at you leasure and let them know when it was available, but taking orders gets really taxing on you when you are operating out of pocket. It's your call, but that's the best advice I can give you.

[$$hobby]

well it would depend on the holster youre going to make.

if youre going to make some western style, you could probably go to a local SASS shoot and setup a table. there maybe a charge, but i would have some of your handywork there so the people can see your work.

if youre going to do it for modern style guns and/or CC, i would again make some and for some COMMON guns and take them to some local shops to sell on consignment or if they would buy them outright. ALso, i would make sure you have some type of info on the holster so they know who made it and any contact info.

[Srigs]

In all honesty, I would not take orders. If I were you I would build some holsters that I enjoyed and offer them up for sale (on the classifieds of specific pistol forums, after you establish yourself with some legitimate posts, of course). If somebody asked for something you could build it at you leasure and let them know when it was available, but taking orders gets really taxing on you when you are operating out of pocket. It's your call, but that's the best advice I can give you.

Good advise. This is how I started out with. I have about 5 forums that I'm very active on and drives a lot of business. Many forums allow you to put a www link in your signature which helps get your site noticied and free advertising.

Hope this helps.

[SmokinP]

Find some gun shows in your area and get a table space. Have some work laid out that shows your style. Have some that you think might sell pretty well and a few that have a limited market but have people saying "wow that's cool".

Make sure your table is loaded with advertising. Business cards, flyers, pictures, etc.

From your name on here it sounds like you have the addiction of trying to ride cattle for an 8 second eternity. Use that as a draw and a way to remember you. It's one thing to be known as a holster maker but you'll stand out more being known as "the" bull riding holster maker".

One thing I used when I was seeling guns and equipment was to set up a small TV with a video tape playing. We used coyote hunting videos since that was our little market. You could maybe have a video of you made working in the shop showing how you create your holsters or out using them or something along those lines.

Folks going through a gun show see a lot of similar stuff. You want your table to make them stop and take a look. Then fill them up with your advertising stuff.

Don't get caught up in the haggling that goes on. Set a fair price and stick with it. I've found that by cutting your price through wheeling and dealing gives you more a reputation as a salesman rather than a craftsmen. Salesman make a sale, craftsmen make a clientele.