Where is the money in leatherwork?

[pacopoe]

I make a living from leatherwork but I have to say the key to doing so is that you have to love business more than you love your hobby. I mentioned it in another thread but there's a book called "The E-Myth" that is really good at explaining the different hats one must wear when creating a business. If you solely love leatherworking but don't like business planning, marketing, or bookkeeping then you're probably better off working for someone else. If you do love all those things, however, then it can be a truly rewarding experience. I've had my business for 9 years now and it's been my primary source of income for 7 (though I should also mention that I'm perpetually broke ).

Pricing is a biggie if you're going to stay competitive. We sell wholesale and retail so our model is

Cost of Goods Sold (materials + labor + % of expenses [internet bill, rent, etc]) x 2 = wholesale price

Wholesale price x 2 = retail price

Of course, you have to balance that out with what customers are willing to spend but if you start higher then you have room to bargain down, versus starting low and having people walk away with product for next to nothing.

Growth is something that you have to account for from Day 1. If the business is to be you and you alone, then it can only grow as large as you can handle. At some point you will need to scale back (if things are going well, that is). I love delegation (my bf calls me Tom Sawyer ala the whitewash fence) but if you don't then you need to calculate how much time you have to spend on your business daily (x amount of hours leatherworking, x amount of hours emailing/calling, x amount of hours shipping, etc) and make sure to charge for your time accordingly. Remember, if you weren't doing that emailing and shipping yourself then you'd be paying someone else to do it, so the price of that time needs to be factored into the price of your product as well.

In our case, we've taken one product (dog collars) and streamlined the process. We do every step by hand, choosing to have skilled labor over a machine. I've met a few companies who have made large machine purchases to increase volume but are simply spending all their earnings paying back loans, which is not good business (and then one of those companies started mass replicating one of our designs... also not good business lol!). By keeping the offering down to one product that can be customized we've been able to target marketing and keep our customers happy.

Just because you *can* do something does not mean that it's profitable for you to do so. We also regularly turn down jobs that are beyond our means. For instance, right now we don't have a leather sewing machine so it would all have to be by hand, it takes someone about three times the time to produce a stitched collar so we'd either have to charge accordingly (which the customer doesn't want to pay) or just pass, so we pass. Right now we're doing a line of hand-tooled collars which I have to personally make (and I love doing them) and while I think we're charging a fair price, my employees are arguing that we should charge more since I could be making 4-5 regular collars in the time it takes me to do one carved collar, but we only charge about twice as much for a tooled collar. It's a delicate balance.

Ebay is a terrible platform for selling, people are just in it for the bargain, and Etsy isn't much better. Word of mouth is the best kind of advertisement, but you still need a steady influx of customers. We dabble in a wide variety of advertising but have found the two most profitable avenues by far are in-person trade shows and Facebook. Since we don't have a huge advertising budget, it's key that we ask customers for feedback about how they heard about us so we can concentrate our efforts there, and those two places are our far and away winners. Our one magazine advertisement is also a steady producer (we've tried several publications over the years but only one pays off so we pulled back on the others and sunk more $ into the winner).

They say the key to business is risk-taking but I'd have to amend that to "educated" risk-taking. I know of new businesses who put all their eggs into one basket just to see it flop. Since my company has always been self-funded from our profits, I've never had the luxury of making big ticket mistakes. Instead, it's all about sending little feelers out in many different directions, seeing what hits, seeing what doesn't, and then concentrating efforts in the winning area while retreating from the dead ends. You won't know if it works unless you try it, but no sense sticking your whole neck out on the line.

[mike59]

I make a living from leatherwork but I have to say the key to doing so is that you have to love business more than you love your hobby. I mentioned it in another thread but there's a book called "The E-Myth" that is really good at explaining the different hats one must wear when creating a business. If you solely love leatherworking but don't like business planning, marketing, or bookkeeping then you're probably better off working for someone else. If you do love all those things, however, then it can be a truly rewarding experience. I've had my business for 9 years now and it's been my primary source of income for 7 (though I should also mention that I'm perpetually broke ).

Pricing is a biggie if you're going to stay competitive. We sell wholesale and retail so our model is

Cost of Goods Sold (materials + labor + % of expenses [internet bill, rent, etc]) x 2 = wholesale price

Wholesale price x 2 = retail price

Of course, you have to balance that out with what customers are willing to spend but if you start higher then you have room to bargain down, versus starting low and having people walk away with product for next to nothing.

Growth is something that you have to account for from Day 1. If the business is to be you and you alone, then it can only grow as large as you can handle. At some point you will need to scale back (if things are going well, that is). I love delegation (my bf calls me Tom Sawyer ala the whitewash fence) but if you don't then you need to calculate how much time you have to spend on your business daily (x amount of hours leatherworking, x amount of hours emailing/calling, x amount of hours shipping, etc) and make sure to charge for your time accordingly. Remember, if you weren't doing that emailing and shipping yourself then you'd be paying someone else to do it, so the price of that time needs to be factored into the price of your product as well.

In our case, we've taken one product (dog collars) and streamlined the process. We do every step by hand, choosing to have skilled labor over a machine. I've met a few companies who have made large machine purchases to increase volume but are simply spending all their earnings paying back loans, which is not good business (and then one of those companies started mass replicating one of our designs... also not good business lol!). By keeping the offering down to one product that can be customized we've been able to target marketing and keep our customers happy.

Just because you *can* do something does not mean that it's profitable for you to do so. We also regularly turn down jobs that are beyond our means. For instance, right now we don't have a leather sewing machine so it would all have to be by hand, it takes someone about three times the time to produce a stitched collar so we'd either have to charge accordingly (which the customer doesn't want to pay) or just pass, so we pass. Right now we're doing a line of hand-tooled collars which I have to personally make (and I love doing them) and while I think we're charging a fair price, my employees are arguing that we should charge more since I could be making 4-5 regular collars in the time it takes me to do one carved collar, but we only charge about twice as much for a tooled collar. It's a delicate balance.

Ebay is a terrible platform for selling, people are just in it for the bargain, and Etsy isn't much better. Word of mouth is the best kind of advertisement, but you still need a steady influx of customers. We dabble in a wide variety of advertising but have found the two most profitable avenues by far are in-person trade shows and Facebook. Since we don't have a huge advertising budget, it's key that we ask customers for feedback about how they heard about us so we can concentrate our efforts there, and those two places are our far and away winners. Our one magazine advertisement is also a steady producer (we've tried several publications over the years but only one pays off so we pulled back on the others and sunk more $ into the winner).

They say the key to business is risk-taking but I'd have to amend that to "educated" risk-taking. I know of new businesses who put all their eggs into one basket just to see it flop. Since my company has always been self-funded from our profits, I've never had the luxury of making big ticket mistakes. Instead, it's all about sending little feelers out in many different directions, seeing what hits, seeing what doesn't, and then concentrating efforts in the winning area while retreating from the dead ends. You won't know if it works unless you try it, but no sense sticking your whole neck out on the line.

This is by far the best information yet on the topic! Thank you for taking the time to post it.

Mike

[belliott]

A friend of mine has a very successful saddle business. He employs his brother and has a few guys that drift in and work part time as well. He builds custom saddles. The majority of saddles that leave his shop are award or trophy saddles for rodeos,barrell racing and roping competitions. His brother builds 3 of the troghy saddles a week. The owner works on the custom saddles when he is not answering the phone, ordering materials, dealing with sales reps or dealing with crazy customers.

I think there will always be a market for what I call "cowboy art" products. Saddles,purses,walletts,chaps,rope bags and etc. I always believe this is the most competitive market along with the biker industry. I am working on my own niche as we speak. I'm not ready to reveal what it is and you will see why in a moment.

I think purses and boots are a good market. I think alot of crafts-folk over produce their goods. I say build a purse and make it a perfect 1 of a kind or maybe a run of 10. Try to build a product that can be appreciated for what it is, a piece of art. I believe in this age of the internet, where you can learn anything in forums or Youtube, items get copied. If you start producing a popular line of purses at craft shows or for ebay, within a month someone will be producing your design or using your marketing ideas.

I say keep production runs small and build your name. Produce an item and move on to the next design, keep innovating and building quality products. Stay out of debt, be frugal and the money will come.

[BenB]

I make a living from leatherwork but I have to say the key to doing so is that you have to love business more than you love your hobby. I mentioned it in another thread but there's a book called "The E-Myth" that is really good at explaining the different hats one must wear when creating a business.

I agree that "The E-Myth" is a must-read for anyone wanting to run a business to support themselves, regardless of the trade.

The information in this thread has been enlightening. Thank you to all the contributors.

[Hell Bent 4 Leather]

If you're getting into leather work to make a living, you should stick with dog training. Leather work is an expensive hobby, and that's the way it usually starts out, doing it because it's something you enjoy. After a while of practicing and getting better, you may start seeing a little money from it. To start out with, I'd start with something to compliment your current business, custom personalized dog collars, and anything pet related that you can think of. As your projects get bigger, and more people want your leather goods, you may be able to make the transition that way. I've been doing this for about six years now, and I'm just now starting to see a little money come in occasionally from it. It would be great to do it for a living, but it's just not realistic for me to think that is a possibility right now.

Hello all

I have three wholesale customers for my sheepskin pet toys and leather leashes, but small ones. This is not my primary source of income. I am a dog trainer and work at a pet store (and at Starbucks part time for the insurance benefits...). Needless to say, I have a lot on my plate.

I am in the process of deciding where to put my time, business wise.

I have a lot of questions about the leatherworking business. I hope I am not being impolite, since I've been told that people don't always like talking about money... at least their own:>))

Here goes.

Where is the money in leatherwork? Who is making a very good living and why? My guess is that small goods made quickly and easily as well as high end artisan driven projects are the two areas of greatest success. And I am asking about the individual craftsperson, not the Weaver Leathers of the world.

How many people who are doing a decent business start to farm out work and what kind and why? When does it become a factory and not a hand made art?

What can a decent craftsman make in a year if he has a shop, or a website, or does fairs? Are there other venues for sales?

Where is the cost in leatherwork? What does it require as an investment for tools and materials? I'm interested in all fields, from bootmaking and saddlery to tooled items and of course dog and horse tack.

I know these are big questions and I'm trying to get a sense of the entire field, but this is a fairly occult field compared to say, accounting, and the information is mostly passed, like the craft, from master to apprentice. Or are there sources for business information out there that someone can point me towards.

Thanks in advance

LA Pat

[Massive]

"Right now we're doing a line of hand-tooled collars which I have to personally make (and I love doing them) and while I think we're charging a fair price, my employees are arguing that we should charge more since I could be making 4-5 regular collars in the time it takes me to do one carved collar, but we only charge about twice as much for a tooled collar. It's a delicate balance."

My rule is that if I am making money, and have only myself to please, then I can afford not to be too aware of what the specific costs are. This carries on until I go through a process of being ticked at the fact that maybe only I value the "extra", and should start charging for it.

There are often ideas in a craft that don't really bear examination, create a lot of work, and don't really lead to a lot of dollars, but they amount to what the customer understands the value to be. If customers come to believe that hand sewing is better, notwithstanding that some modern machine sewable threads are now stronger than steel, and very abrasion resistant, sometimes one needs to just get out of the way, and hand sew the stuff. Or hand sew enough that they have confidence in buying your machine made stuff.

[Sylvia]

It is true that a small business owner must wear a lot of hats in order to be successful. I find that many people focus only on the cost of making an item and not the cost of marketing or promoting the item. As a case in point: Packaging of smaller goods can run a pretty penny. Online websites need someone to keep it up to date... and that costs time if the owner is capable in the medium. Even something as simple as packing things up and driving to a trade show, an event... or even a flea market, all must factor into the "cost of good sold"

If you hate the particulars of accounting and Marketing your goods, then it would be an easy thing to hire a part time helper to come in 2x a week (or month) via a temp agency to tend to the bookkeeping and website. That too would need to be factored into the "cost of goods sold" but then it also frees the Leather worker to do what he or she does best.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

[lonerider]

I've been making Cowboy Leather for 9 years so far. I have a website and advertise in the SASS Chronicle. Word of mouth is the best thing you can get! I'm about to stop all advertising, I'm hemorrhaging money that way!! Cowboy Leather has slowed down to a slow crawl lately so I'm starting a "Carry Holster" line and have already set-up a few Gun Stores to sell those. Not as much profit margin in them but it only takes about an hour to make a Leather backed Kydex holster!! Compared to a week for a complete Gunrig, belt and two holsters! The main thing is to make a quality product and be flexible to your customers need and wants! I started out making rigs cheaper than anyone else but now I'm almost up there on prices with the Big Boys and I will customize it how the customer wants.

[Kcinnick]

I've been making Cowboy Leather for 9 years so far. I have a website and advertise in the SASS Chronicle. Word of mouth is the best thing you can get! I'm about to stop all advertising, I'm hemorrhaging money that way!! Cowboy Leather has slowed down to a slow crawl lately so I'm starting a "Carry Holster" line and have already set-up a few Gun Stores to sell those. Not as much profit margin in them but it only takes about an hour to make a Leather backed Kydex holster!! Compared to a week for a complete Gunrig, belt and two holsters! The main thing is to make a quality product and be flexible to your customers need and wants! I started out making rigs cheaper than anyone else but now I'm almost up there on prices with the Big Boys and I will customize it how the customer wants.

Sounds like I am executing your strategy, just starting with concealment leather and casual gun belts. I haven't even started marketing and I had 6 orders for gun belts last week just from word of mouth.

[WScott]

This is a really interesting topic and does speak to the changes in society and it's value (or lack thereof) of craftsmanship.

My woodworking site has had similar threads questioning how to make $ with similar pattern of comments.

I am a hobbyist in both leather and woodworking, taking pleasure from hobbies to get away from stress of my profession.

I don't envy those of you slugging it out for a living

This is a really interesting topic and does speak to the changes in society and it's value of craftsmanship (or lack thereof).

My woodworking site has had similar threads questioning how to make $ with similar pattern of comments.

I am a hobbyist in both leather and woodworking, taking pleasure from hobbies to get away from stress of my profession.

I don't envy those of you slugging it out for a living

[JohnBarton]

I say keep production runs small and build your name. Produce an item and move on to the next design, keep innovating and building quality products. Stay out of debt, be frugal and the money will come.

This is where the money is. NEVER EVER EVER EVER run debt in your business and keep turning every scrap of leather into something to sell and you will do ok. But as soon as you start thinking it's ok to buy this $3000 machine and can't pass up that $800 worth of leather, and what's a couple hundred on the credit card for a new knife.......then you dig a hole that it very hard to climb out of.

A friend of mine in the cue making business built himself a nice life one piece of machinery and wood at a time. He never went into debt and only bought more machines or wood stock when he had cash to do it. As a result he owns four corvettes, house free and clear, travels the world and was even elected mayor of his little town.

I wish I had followed his example.

DEBT sucks. In a major way.

Another promising talent I know flamed out because he jumped in offering custom leather cue cases for $250. Sorry but I can't even get out of bed and think about making a real custom leather case for $250. So I knew he was headed for a wreck and sure enough he got a ton of orders from customers who wanted all sorts of custom works done on their cases. Well folks as you know part of the process is thinking about what you need to do and the other part is doing it. Facing a mountain of orders where each one is very different than the last one and knowing you are going to put 20-30 hours into it on top of the cost of materials will burn you out quick. And that's just what happened with him leaving many order unfilled. I picked up the slack on three of the orders and so I ended up being owed 3 cases that I will probably never see.

On the other end of the spectrum is Jack Justis. Jack retired early and started making cue cases out of his house in 1989. He has a very limited set of choices and one style of case that he sticks to. His laundry room is the workroom and so I'd bet that he was profitable not long after he started. Jack says he makes about 100 cases a year. At an average price of say $600 a case that's $60,000 income. Y'all can look at the case and figure the costs and see that this is a nice little profit for a home based business. Jack's secret is that he keeps the case simple to make, only what he can handle by himself. Within the framework he established there is a lot of room for customers to have fairly unique designs but the basic construction and patterns remain the same from case to case. So there is a very good example of how to make money in leather work. Find a niche, specialize and be consistent. Also Jack gives away cases to prominent players which helps to market his wares. I figure he does about ten or so of these a year. I think that he has some sort of arrangement where they don't actually own the cases, he makes them a new one each year and takes the old one back and sells it - if that's right then it's even smarter as he certainly gets full retail or more for the used case being as how it belonged to a well known pro player. You can take a lesson from Jack and if you have the ability to structure your business like this then you should do ok.

[JME1979]

I do leather work for a living. It has taken me 6 years to get where I am now and I'm averaging at around 30,000 a year in sales not profit. But I have to go out and get it. Only $5,000 in sales and year come in through my site from random customers. Everything else I have to hunt down for. I mostly do costume pieces and join many costume forums. I look for pieces that are in need by many, create one, and offer them. I do runs of around 10 at a time. Then move onto another item at another forum giving time before I come back and do the same item so that the item will gain interest with new members who will need it. I have mostly been charging the cost x 4 plus shipping. Each sale is anywhere from $10 - $200. So in one run I make around $100-$2000. Which can take me up to 2 weeks to complete.

I am still hoping to find some shops locally or wherever for consignment stuff but haven't found any yet.

[Leather Girl]

I concur with pretty much everyone has said here. The problem in business and I speak as a person who has been in business since 1996, I have to order most things from other countries and that means using my poor abused credit card. Unfortunately I cannot get around it because of my businesses. I don't just run one business, I run many mixed into one and have never made a huge profit. Many companies have little rules like a $500 to $1000 minimum and then the shipping practically equals that. I cry every time I have to order from the US because the shipping charges cost me more than bringing things from India.

All of this being said I just don't do leather, I do statuary, jewellery, fine art, and many other things so I don't have to bring in the items just the supplies. As was said if you know how to do animal, equine, fetish and reenactment, holsters, etc then you have a great start. If you are good at clothing that is a big step up too.

The worst in any business that you make your own items is that most people don't understand what it costs and takes to make the items. I have started putting cards printed with the time etc., that it takes to do an item, they don't even understand that you may have to draw up your own pattern which takes time.

I used to work two jobs so that I could do this. I was forced to quit because I became very ill, so now I am retired from public jobs and work my own. Where I live you need to be a millionaire or have 5 partners to own a storefront business, as this is a horribly expensive place. I do not have a million dollars and I will never have partners.

I do have return clients all the time but it is not enough. So this is something you really have to work at and I am busier now then when I worked the two public sector jobs.

Randi-Lee

[SpringyCL45]

Bump! This is a great thread with TONS of information. I will say, motivation is key.

[billymac814]

This is a great thread, I recall reading this a few years ago after I joined LW.net. It was discouraging at the time seeing that only 1-3% are able to make a living doing this but that wasn't my intentions at the time.

What I've learned since starting. NEVER comprimise quality because its the only way to get real money. People can get mediocre stuff cheaper than you can buy the materials for so you can't sell half good stuff for a profit.

The name of my business is McCabes Custom Leather although I rarely do really custom stuff anymore, why? Because all the time that goes into designing the item is very hard to get back, the average joe isn't willing to spend 80-90 dollars an hour for something that takes 20-30 hours or more. However I can design one item and make it a hundred times, sell it for a reasonable cost for me and the customer, they get a custom quality product and I'm able to average the 80-90/hr it takes to stay in business, i can get by with a little less but i have overhead that needs paid too. For me it was easier to get 100.00 dollars from 10 people than it is to get 1000.00 from one.

Find a niche market, especially in the beginning. This allowed me to get my name out there and word spread very quickly.

Don't be the undercutter. Even before I had overhead I charged the same price even though I could have got by with a lot less. I did that out of respect for those that do have overhead and people then thought of me as a legit business and a lot of people equate dollars to quality anyway and I wasn't trying to build up clientele of cheap people. I wanted good customers who wanted to spend good money and get good products and good service.

Try to avoid debt. I bought everything with cash and got by with less than I needed for a long time, I made tools when possible and when I had money I prioritized and got what was most important. I did have to get a loan when I went full time to buy my shop and I have accounts with suppliers but those get paid in full every month.

When I opened my shop we decided to do repairs and this has been probably the number one reason that I have a profitable business. My local customers are mainly repair customers and my holsters are almost all online sales but they do mix a bit. Repairs do require more machines to do different things but a lot of it is quick easy money and the people are thrilled to have somewhere to go and it gives me insight to how other things are made. Sometimes its just setting a rivet, shortening a belt or a purse strap stitching a seam on a shoe or purse etc. it all puts money in the drawer. Repairs in a slow to bad economy are good, people are looking to save money where they can and if times are good they'll spend money on new stuff, hopefully from me since they know what I make after being in here for repairs.

You must be knowledgeable in what you're doing. I crammed and crammed for several years, if I wasn't working on something I was reading about something else. I'm still far from an expert in many areas but I know enough not to make myself look too dumb, sometimes I need to research things after the fact to learn about it and at times I even admit to not knowing something.

The last and most important part is you have to love what you're doing. I'm the obsessive type and tend to go way overboard on things. When I first got into leatherwork it really took over my life and I'd spend every free minute working on something or reading about how to do it and its still that way today. I put in a ridiculous amount of hours and it doesn't even phase me because I love it. I always heard the saying" find something you love doing and you'll never have to work a day in your life" that always sounded like a pipe dream to me, especially when I was punching a clock doing something I didn't like but its reality now.

I suppose my parting words will be Take a chance! I made the decision to open my shop in a matter of about a two week span, we had a brand new baby and my wife was very supportive. She actually quit her job first to run the shop during the day with a brand new baby, I'd go to work 9-5 come right to the shop and stay till 1:00 or 2:00 am. That lasted about 2 months and work kept piling up and I decided it was time to quit my job. That was a big decision and luckily it has worked out.

Ok one last thing, talk with an accountant first, you'd be surprised at how many people will get a slice of your pie, there's things that will get overlooked and its important to know them ahead of time. There's all kinds of taxes and fees and maintenance and insurance and more taxes and fees and fire extinguisher certifications, phones, internets, domain names, web hostings, healthcare, workmans comp and the list goes on and on and suddenly the 80-90/ hr makes more sense. I read a lot on this forum where people would be happy for 10.00/ hour and most get much less and that's simply not near enough to run a business and make money.

I know my plan is not feasible for everyone, nor should it be. That was simply my account of how I got from A to B. I'm not stopping at B either, I'd like to get to at least G or maybe K before I'm done. I'm realizing now that I can only do so much, I've slimmed down production times with newer better machines, got dies made and refined my workflow but I'm about maxed out, the next phase is employees, I'm currently attempting to train someone but that's a whole other discussion.

Sorry for the long post, this is why I don't have twitter.

[daleoffshore]

Right now i just work as a hobby.I also have too many hobbies.I want to do several things,leather ,and also after 40 yrs Hand Saws[sharpening]and branch into crosscut saws.As a welder,I also have an interest in repair of Cast Iron;I just want to keep the old arts alive.

Be it carving Leather,at the Forge,or filers bench;to be good in fields like these require craftsman in their own right.For now I just hope not to lose money,make things for Relay for Life or other fund raisers [gets your name out there],and reduce stress.Wife notices difference when I'm working on a leather project. So... I'm in the 97% bracket,but I do have a dedicated leather room;all of 6ftx11ft.

This has been an interesting topic,worth the time.

[Chit]

appreciate all these informative lessons gleaned from years of experience!

[St8LineGunsmith]

if you want to make a living in leather work go to work for a saddle shop

[Doc Reaper]

Kman, like what ya got in print! Law officers are told to buy so everything is uniform. Most folks looking at leather items have no clue what a "quality item" is, but they know Walmart has leather belts for $12. Not knowing it is just a very thin strip (toilet paper thin) wrapped around A cheap medium like plastic.

Don't give your hard work away to the jerk that says it should cost some figure he guesses is fair to him or her, not looking at quality or material costs! Labor for auto repair is (right now) over $100 dollars, the labor you put into an item isn't even thought of. Thanks again to Walmart!

Charge what you have to charge, tooled bike bags will beat out china trash every time! I belong to the 3% or less group that has grinned and smiled at the instant gratification idiots more often than I care to give thought too!

Quality sells itself! Don't believe me? Put a pair of Walmart high heeled shoes up against a pair of well made pair of Italian spikes, watch which ones draw more interest! People KNOW quality!

Smart buyers seek quality knowing it will last much longer! Ignorance only looks at price! Folks going cheap want an item to show others that they have something that looks nice (for a short period). People that purchase quality items don't have to point it out, it will draw its own attention!

Don't get discouraged about what others say it should cost, you know what you have in that item! Ignorant beings will usually offer less than what the material cost, knowledgable ones will come close, quality seekers won't batt an eye!

So go to that bench and drip sweat, get string burns and cuts, dye your finger tips black; brown; and red! To hell with Walmart prices and cheapskates! Cut, glue, sew, stain, and polish that leather! It will sell and word of mouth will point customers in your direction!

[Cyberthrasher]

So go to that bench and drip sweat, get string burns and cuts, dye your finger tips black; brown; and red! To hell with Walmart prices and cheapskates! Cut, glue, sew, stain, and polish that leather! It will sell and word of mouth will point customers in your direction!

WORDS TO LIVE BY!!!!

[paprhangr]

So go to that bench and drip sweat, get string burns and cuts, dye your finger tips black; brown; and red! To hell with Walmart prices and cheapskates! Cut, glue, sew, stain, and polish that leather! It will sell and word of mouth will point customers in your direction!

where the rubber meets the road

[Gang Warily Leatherworks]

This thread has been very helpful!

I am a year into starting my own leather crafting business with my husband.

We am still very new at this, but, what we've learned and what is working for us is doing everything we can to get our name out there. Social media has been integral to our success. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google +, Pinterest and Instagram, to name a few place we hang out to gather and engage customers. We also get ourselves out there and participate in little fairs and local shows to get the local community familiar with us and our products.

We are still learning and growing everyday, but the best advice I have for anyone wanting to make a living doing leatherwork is to work hard, figure out your market, and don't give up when things get tight. AND most importantly, and can't be said enough, is don't sell yourself short by offering a lower priced products!

Good luck future leatherworkers!

[Chit]

Went to your webpage and love the variety you have there!

Im new, trying to work hard and learning each day too.

Cheers

J

[raysouth]

This topic was very interesting to read and feel that everyone has provided good information for all to read.

I believe that every situation is different and will require different tactics/methods for a small business, based on nature of items produced, market desired, and how your promotion of products are handled.

Opening a small business can be a costly venture, for anyone, as most have learned that have made the attempt but again, each situation is unique. Some may have to invest large amounts of capitol, while others may eke by with a very small investment.

I have experienced both spectrums and am aware of the difficulty of each but some constants always remain the same, to be a success.

Customer treatment, quality of product produced, and fairness of price.

Many other factors come into play but if you produce a quality product at a fair price and take care of your customers, they will return and bring new business your way.

The picture you see is what was once a very busy small business and is located away from view of any traffic but yet it worked and was a success.

To build this business a unique plan was developed, implemented and soon became more than I could handle.

It now has fallen to become my leather shop, where I no longer expect to become a revolving door business but word of mouth keeps me fairly busy with small projects.

I could go on and on, boring all of you with my endeavors but just wanted to inject a bit of my own feelings about making small business something to put food on the table, and more, hopefully.

Be prepared to work hard at what you do, develop a unique plan of attack, take care of your customers, produce quality products and expect a return for your efforts.

As time marches on and age takes its toll, we look back and wonder what we could have done to make things better.

Take pride in what you have done and now is the time to do it.

I have a saying/cliche that I remind myself and others of, as follows. Remember, there is one thing in your life that you cannot replace, your time. Use it wisely and have fun.

God Bless you all.

Ray

[NicoleAlaine]

I am a stay at home mom with a very small leather business I have been nursing along for about 3 years. First quarter 2013 I finally paid myself my first salary, and it was not a big one, but it was a definite milestone. I have done some local wholesale but most of my business has come from an Etsy store. I have now put together my own e-commerce site to give me a venue that doesn't depend on anyone else's policies, etc but have only had a dozen or so sales on that site so far.

I started out as a specialty store selling pet collars, but am beginning to branch out to other markets very slowly as I can. I make mostly the same thing over and over to specific measurments and don't build until ordered. I am finding that the more different types of products I have available the better my sales are becoming, but that may be only because leather pet collars are a pretty saturated market already. I would imagine there are some niche markets that a person would be able to specialize in and make a good amount.

My goal is to slowly build my catalog and my business, maybe branching out into wholesale at some point. I am hoping that by the time the kids are older and I would normally be thinking about going back to work I will have nice established business and can just bump up the number of hours I am working (thought they will probably build by themselves as I add more products to my catalog).

I have been happy with Etsy so far, and consider it a great starting point for building my business since I can get full retail price and have a built in audience so I don't have to do as much self-promotion.

As far as competition with mass produced crap, I would have to agree with everyone else who has said you just have to work hard to produce a great product and it will speak for itself. Even among the Walmart generation (which I am on the cusp of being a part of) there are MANY who will see the value of buying something once and knowing it will be a great product as opposed to buying one $16 wallet a year for life. I also think that as the young generation sees how much money they are throwing away on cheap crap they will wise up and start to look for better products.

Hope my little story can give someone something to think about. I know this thread has been really interesting for me as a newcomer to the leather business. I have so much to learn still!