How Do You Prevent Too Many Orders If You Work Alone?

[Tallbald]

I'm currently receiving as many orders as I can handle from one advertising source. That could wind down though and I've been encouraged to start having a website but fear that too many orders for me to keep up could result. I work alone and have to continue doing so, but how do you address your limits if potential customers want more of your artwork than you can supply? Contrary to some opinions, I feel it is not a "good problem to have". I refuse to sacrifice my high quality standards and "cut corners" to save time as some other areas of commerce historically have done.Thanks. Don.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Tallbald

[RStevenson]

Raise your prices

[25b]

.....exactly what Ryan said...that's what I do...

[cgleathercraft]

+1 to raise prices.

Set lead times based on current orders and keep it updated.If people are ok with waiting 2 or 3 months (or longer) for your product then it shouldn't be as much of a hassle.

[ChuckBurrows]

Having been in the same situation (at one time I as 5 years back ordered) raising prices and limiting your offereingscan help, but what I and most of my colleagues in the same boat do is make a list of customer requests. Let them know approximate start/finish time and if they choose to be on the list then when their name comes up you make contact. If they choose to order I took (no longer taking orders due to health reasons) a small down payment once I started. If for whatever reason they could not order when their name came up I either offer to put them at the bottom of the list or if they choose to remove their names.

[Tallbald]

I hadn't thought about raising prices. Early on though, I did decide that I would not try to be "everything to everyone" while agreeing to craft any request that was made. I stick to heavy, laminated and sewn belts, with a cap and ball revolver holster made during slower periods. Over the weekend I received orders for six belts, and my time this week will be fully spent on them. At some point I will have met the needs of all at the one site, and things shall slow down to a trickle. Thus my perceived need for a website, as well as my wanting to make ordering easy for future possible customers. I appreciate the answers and food for thought. Don.

[Studio-N]

I would just love to have that problem!

[Tallbald]

Please understand everyone I am so very grateful for the orders. My wife and I use our hobbies to help supplement our fixed income, pay bills, etc. But along with happiness for the business, I worry that my thus good reputation could be marred should I accept orders I cannot fill. I want to avoid getting into such a situation. I do like the suggestion of a waiting list arrangement. Don

[simontuntelder]

Ever heard of the philosophy of Lean?

Analyze you work process. See if there's something that could be done quicker or more efficiently.

Lean is sometime associated with stress, but actually it was implemented to reduce stress among workers.

For me it's been streamlining as much as of the offerings as possible by sticking to fixed designs or letting the customer pay for being picky (unless it's something simple like thread colourk) and buying fewer types of leather from fewer tanneries.

And lastly, invest your money in tools. Good tools. The best tools. I've found that using good tools makes your life a lot easier. Less maintenance, fewer corrections and it's simply quicker with a good knife - and more pleasurable.

But your easiest option would be to hike your prices...

[Tallbald]

I actually have a training history as a production machinist in a large shipyard, making multiples of 100 parts for ships. I have, for 35 years applied the philosophy to some aspects of my works. I understand the general admonitions. In my personal leather art, I can cut multiples of straps, laminate them and have them cured and on hand to immediately begin crafting a belt when the check (payment) arrives, gaining at least 24 hours in the process.

Come 2016 I will have to raise my prices a bit because of escalating material costs I understand are coming. I might lose some customer base, but I cannot afford to lose money in my sold projects, or I will be essentially trading money dollar for dollar on what I sell. And my art is not some social program. I must profit or there is no motivation for me.

A recurring theme in the responses I see is that I do need to raise my prices. I am thinking that the reason is that raising prices will help separate the wheat from the chafe, identifying those willing to pay a premium for true custom, handcrafted belts rather than lesser monies for "factory" made items of less quality.....Don

[johnv474]

Prices is the number one thing. A waiting list is the second. A friend had a small business in a specialized type of work done for antique cars. Curiously, the longer the waitlist, and the higher the price, the more demand he had. I think people associated those two with higher quality. The business later closed, but for personal reasons outside of demand.

[kevinp]

A waiting list is the best idea once you have your prices correct, there is one leatherworker in canada who's waiting list is one year and his books are full. Think about the orders you have how long would they take to do.... what if you were ill for a couple of days, what supplies were late or maybe you have to order special leather fittings etc add this into your waiting list.

Its much better to have a waiting list than to tell a customer that their order will be late.

[johnv474]

Also, if people are told from the start that you will start th project, say, eight weeks from the date you receive their deposit/payment... and then the project is finished earlier than that they will be happy. You will have exceeded their expectations. Promising three weeks and shipping in six weeks would give the opposite effect.

[Bonecross]

I'm astonished by the responses in here...

If you are serious about this as a business, expand!

[Tallbald]

Thank you all for the comments and opinions. Just yesterday I told a customer who had asked to meet with me at our visit it would be a week before I could begin his order as I have five ahead of him (custom belts in both cases). That was a first for me. He said he understood and that my work was well worth waiting for, as he had looked for a long time to find belts of the construction and quality of mine.

I don't want to expand because I have owned two successful small businesses in my life and there's too much demand on me physically at my age to get bigger again. I have a spinal injury that limits me to few hours in the hobby room, but I truly enjoy the leather art I craft. I don't want to give away the work. It's good for me.

I have chosen the waiting list approach for now. Costs for my materials have risen and starting in 2016 I will likely have to raise my prices accordingly.

Thanks so much. Don

[aaronmcoleman]

Overpromising is the worst thing in the world for customers. Waitlist, being choosy about projects, and raising prices all help control demand.

In my day job I'm a contractor. We often have to tell customers we can't start a job for 4 weeks or more. If your stuff is good they'll wait, and that's the key.

The stress of too much work is far better than the stress of not enough!

[TinkerTailor]

I would use it as an excuse to buy tools and machines to maximize your time as well as looking into ways to be more efficient without a sacrifice in quality.

Start thinking ahead, and if you are already cutting a belt, cut 2 more, you will use them. Setup and cleanup for a given task can take alot of time, and can be reduced by performing more repetitions of the task when all is setup for it . Making 3 belts at the same time is faster than one at a time. You edge dye them all at once, cut them all at once etc. Saves minutes here and there. Those minutes turn into a few more belts a month.

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Like some here have said, I too work alone. In an attempt to not let my leather work stop me from doing anything else, I employ two ideas, one, I have raised my prices to what the market will bear, and two I have a waiting list. If you want one of my saddles, you will have to put down a non refundable deposit, that gets you on the list, and our material including tree ordered. When your time comes up, I will notify you that it is time to start, and what the approximate finish time will be, also finalize any requirements. My waiting list currently is about one year out. For smaller items, like repairs I fit them in while there is wait time in the saddle making process (like the leather casing of a fork cover drying and so on) . I only make one saddle at a time, that is how I do it and it works for me.

Bob

[JLSleather]

I always temper that "wait time" with some common sense -- no matter I'm buying or selling. If I need a one-color NOT tooled belt, and I want it in the best H.O. leather available (for example), with a nice buckle and some good looking stitching.... I'd likely give that about MAXIMUM 3 weeks. If a guy can't do it in that time frame -- no worries, nothing personal, but there are 10,000 other guys who can make that very simple project.

Tooling or other customization may legitimately take longer, that's to be expected. But cutting it off the right length and stamping my name in it don't equal "custom" -- a belt that fits is assumed. But even genuinely custom, it's still just a belt -- so if you'd like me to wait MONTHS, then it better come signed "A. Stohlman"

I generally have a pretty good handle on how long an order is going to take. Beyond that, the key is simple communication - let 'em know where you're at (early, on time, late).

[Tesla Ranger]

Prices are the appropriate tool to reduce the likelyhood of this scenario. It goes back to supply and demand. If the demand is outpacing the supply then the price should rise until the two are at equilibrium.

That's difficult to do in the crunch of the moment though. My shop tends to be feast & famine most of the year. I'll go a week or two with one or two orders and then get five or six in a few days. The only thing I can do is take that into consideration when I give delivery estimates. If I have a bunch of orders on the docket I'll give an estimate that's at least a week longer than it would be otherwise. I can only work on so many orders at a time so the natural consequence is that orders wind up shipping later.

[Saxnn]

I'm astonished by the responses in here...

If you are serious about this as a business, expand!

Right that was my thought! Maybe find another up and coming leatherworker on here and sub-contract a few jobs out. Have the items come to you first so you can make sure the quality control is good!

[cdthayer]

I'm astonished by the responses in here...

If you are serious about this as a business, expand!

Expanding a small 1-horse operation is not always the best thing to do. I’ve seen small businesses go under trying to add another horse to their hitch. Some of the reasons to stay small could be:

- Keeping stress at a manageable level. Expanding can bring additional stress.

- Some folks are great crafters, but not good people managers.

- Expanding when times are good can mean trouble if/when things slow down again.

- Some folks need to keep their income at a low level for various reasons.

CD in Oklahoma

[nrk]

Expanding a small 1-horse operation is not always the best thing to do. I’ve seen small businesses go under trying to add another horse to their hitch. Some of the reasons to stay small could be:

- Keeping stress at a manageable level. Expanding can bring additional stress.

- Some folks are great crafters, but not good people managers.

- Expanding when times are good can mean trouble if/when things slow down again.

- Some folks need to keep their income at a low level for various reasons.

CD in Oklahoma

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