Permanant sales shop (do you have your buisness locally?)

[Handstitched]

2 hours ago, fredk said:

This has been a deviation off the main subject so to get back on it

I agree .  I am quite comfortable with what I have worked so hard for, independence, being my own boss.   I am also glad I had the sense not to pursue  having a shop/shop front in town.  I reckon I'd be out of business a long time ago.  Its a blessing that I can work from home, I can even enjoy a beer with my lunch if I want to    

Getting back on track:  for anyone thinking of turning their hobby into a business, ' test the waters first' do some basic market research.  I know my town,  so I  just asked myself one simple question, " What does this town need  that it hasn't got ?"  as the business opportunities here are very limited,  I soon got the answers. 16 years later....?    

HS

[Ferg]

My story will be a little different than most of you, still relevant.

I began making leather product when in the Navy almost 70 years ago. Made a wallet for darned near every member of our squadron of helicopters. Did I make any money? I sure did and I paid the rent at Tandy in Miami. Figuratively. Sold my carved and laced wallets for $5. 

Jumping ahead a number of years, after being a successful building contractor, my wife and I decided to manufacture wooden toys and decorative items. I had a fairly complete wood shop of Sears woodworking machinery. We traveled the "Fairs" for several years making absolutely everything we could think of plus some others while hardly having enough money to live. Opened a store and advertised for one week on the local radio station. Our store didn't even face a traveled street. We had cars parking along the closest road. For about a week we had so many customers we had to lock the door. We made a little money and we could eat out once in awhile.

Visited a very large Arts and Crafts show. A gentleman and his wife were making personalized puzzles of wood sawing them with a jig saw. Told my wife we could do that!

I drew the letters and numbers on pieces of Birch Veneered medium density fiberboard, ground up wood chips and bark. We cut them out on one of my Sears bandsaws. Presented them to a number of mail order companies. Finally, we got a bite. One of the largest companies in the world wanted our puzzles for their catalog. We had a friend of ours and her daughter working for us. 

Fast forward to the present day. Come August APPLE VALLEY WOODCRAFTS will be no more. We some times worked all night on a project, seven days per week twelve months per year. Our company became the largest manufacturer of wooden name puzzles in the world. I worked on selling the business for awhile. Had one very interested party. Found that they had very little money and no idea what they would be getting into. We manufactured everything we made using computer driven machinery running programs that I eventually rewrote. Still have one of the original bandsaws from Sears.

Our insurance has become totally unreasonable. Try to guess how much it costs for two million dollars of Liability coverage. Wife and I built our Log Home 26 years ago with profits from our business. Would I try that with making leather? Nah!!! I am eighty six years old, tired, forgetful, no kids at home, just us and our two Sheltie dogs. I still enjoy life too much to give up so I make what ever I doggone well want to whether it be Stained Glass, Leather, Fabric, Computer Programing, growing our several thousand flowers and vegetables in our greenhouse,  loving my wife and kids, and making a Gatsby Hat for my Great Grandson.

Live your life so folks can say nice things about you and love your families AND work hard and enjoy what you are doing.Then. maybe you can have one of these.

 

Ferg

Edited March 1, 2020 by Ferg

[mikesc]

Raises glass, and with tear in eye..to you Ferg and to your wife .. :-)))

Edited March 1, 2020 by mikesc

[Handstitched]

That  lovely picture belongs on a post card. You could sell those too  

HS

[Bert51]

That lovely picture has a truly lovely story behind it and yes I also have a tear in my eyes.

You and your wife enjoy your life, you have both earned it.

Bert.

[Handstitched]

20 hours ago, Ferg said:

Live your life so folks can say nice things about you and love your families AND work hard and enjoy what you are doing.

I keep reading your post,  now I've gone all misty eyed . 

HS 

[HondoMan]

I have me own shop.  I am fortunate enough to have retired early (at 46) and was able to turn a hobby into full time employment. Been at it full time for about 5 years.  It's perhaps 40% repair and 60% new items.  I live in a rural area of southern Germany (Bavaria) at the foot of the alps.  Loads of knife sheaths to make and repair.  I turn down quite a bit, due to shite bags that are worth 20€ and no worth the time or money to repair.

I'm in the highstreet and me flat is above the shop (attached), which makes it affordable.  To be honest, I think this was pure luck on the shop-flat and the location.  This would never go in a large city.  Too expensive and too much competition.

[Double Daddy]

My workbenches and equipment are placed in my shop on my home property...no sign, etc to give the indication of a business. I pay the necessary fees as required to be at peace with "the man"...but...no unauthorized company allowed. I have learned that lesson from observing my father-in-law trying to put out work in his taxidermy studio/store front over the years...folks are BAD to want to drop by and watch him work, talk about the local GA deer hunting scene or just hang out...it's a MAJOR productivity killer.  

A story I heard once about ol’ Ben:

“What price the price of that book?” at length asked a man who had been dawdling for an hour in the front store of Benjamin Franklin’s newspaper establishment. “One dollar,” replied the clerk. “One dollar,” echoed the lounger; “can’t you take less than that?” “One dollar is the price,” was the answer.

The would-be purchaser looked over the books on sale a while longer, and then inquired: “Is Mr. Franklin in?” “Yes,” said the clerk, “he is very busy in the press-room.” “Well, I want to see him,” persisted the man. The proprietor was called, and the stranger asked: “What is the lowest, Mr. Franklin, that you can take for that book?” “One dollar and a quarter,” was the prompt rejoinder. “One dollar and a quarter! Why, your clerk asked me only a dollar just now.” “True,” said Franklin,” and I could have better afforded to take a dollar than to leave my work.”

The man seemed surprised; but, wishing to end a parley of his own seeking, he demanded: “Well, come now, tell me your lowest price for this book.” “One dollar and a half,” replied Franklin. “A dollar and a half! Why, you offered it yourself for a dollar and a quarter.” “Yes,” said Franklin coolly, “and I could better have taken that price then than a dollar and a half now.”

The man silently laid the money on the counter, took his book, and left the store, having received a salutary lesson from a master in the art of transmuting time, at will, into either wealth or wisdom. -From Pushing to the Front, 1911

[KDR]

On 1/26/2020 at 6:03 PM, Ragingstallion said:

A thought crossed my mind, as I am sure a lot of you have thought about setting up a shop and just doing nothing but work with leather and sell your products and living off your hobby. I was curious how many of you have an actual shop set up in your area that customers can come in and see your work?

besides for Tandy's, I have only seen two shops around, one only lasted for about four months, and the other, they seem to never really be open. But with getting some new land near a small town, was day dreaming of the possibility of starting up a small sales/workshop.

If you have done this, lets see those pictures of your area. if you have just thought about it, keep dreaming, maybe some of us will actually do it in our life.

but as for the rest, what do you think the pro's and cons are of doing this? I know, I know, the internet is where it is at. but I am one of those people that likes to feel and see in person things that im going to buy, so its a huge plus to have shops like this pop up.

Hello, Mr Stallion,, ever since I moved my workshop out of my home in 2000, I've had a 'shop' space that has been open to the general public.  What I've found has been that a regular retail experience does not work for us, at all.  What we have is really a factory, not a store.  We also tend to work when we feel like it, which is not really conducive to regular retail hours!  Part of the appeal of being self employed in this way is not to have to commit to fixed hours of being in a place in case someone decides to stop by.  But that could be just us! So when people want to come in, they'll email us first and we arrange a time.  We make sure they're not expecting a standard retail experience.  So they're not too shocked that we're not Victoria's Secret. 

Mostly we found people who appreciate artisanal workmanship appreciate being in a place where things are obviously being made, not just taken out of boxes.  And they appreciate if you can take the time to talk to them about what they're looking for.  We're all kink - or 'that stuff' I guess I should call it here -  and a lot of the people who come in want to discuss custom work.  So that works great.  It's the people who come in thinking we should be a regular store who leave sad and disappointed! 

We've had our shop space in small towns, big cities, on farms even.  We're in Canada.  Nobody has tried to sue us, and we've never had stuff nicked, or if we have, not enough to notice.  We were employing six people at one time, mostly friends and friends of friends.  They've all been fine.  The important thing for them to know, if you get to that point, or want to go that way, is that their work has to generate income.  That the only way anyone can get paid is if the business makes money.  If you can get that through an employee's head, you are literally in business.  If not, the employee has to go, and they have to understand that.  You mention kink stuff in your side bar.  I would strongly recommend not mixing straight goods with kink goods.  One or the other.  Kink folk will be happy to look at wallets and stuff, but the wallet people will be outraged at the sight of a ballstretcher! Guaranteed.  Pick your market and stick with it.

my two cents, and no doubt what it's worth, but you're welcome to it.

[Brianm77]

On 5/25/2020 at 11:23 PM, KristinaDRawlings said:

  You mention kink stuff in your side bar.  I would strongly recommend not mixing straight goods with kink goods.  One or the other.  Kink folk will be happy to look at wallets and stuff, but the wallet people will be outraged at the sight of a ballstretcher! Guaranteed.  

lol, yeah your right.  you could have a "VIP" room.  but for sure that would be a big turn off for some.   same goes for online sales, if you do both i would have separate IG/Facebook etc.