Making this into a businesse.
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For what it is worth, apart from your skills as a craftsman, you’ll need good business acumen as well.
I have a friend who is very good at what he does, but isn’t a great businessman so really struggles all the time to make ends meet and often doesn’t have enough to pay the rent. That’s not a small living let alone a decent one.
I’m thinking I may set up a business one day (but maybe not as a cabinet maker, although who knows…), and if I ever go down that route, my plan will be to build a reputation, before quitting my job so that I have decent solid client base when I get going and don’t have months and months trying to drum up trade.
Debt collecting is the main challenge of fledgling businesses, and many young companies go to the wall, not because they’re not profitable, but because of cash flow problems and having underestimated their debt collection time-scales they become insolvent.
Unfortunately you can be profitable, and still go bankrupt.5 February 2014 at 11:40 pm #27308sorry i can’t help either i love building things and making things, even as a gardener as i was for years i never made a great living more often than not i was out of pocket at the moment i make pieces for practice and to build skill when i am good enough to charge i hope to make a living from working wood
6 February 2014 at 4:05 am #27320Frank, have you seen this article:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/31149/going-pro-a-common-dream-but-a-difficult-realityAlso, Paul has mentioned a few of his former students who have gone on to establish themselves or who are on the cusp of doing so:
Caleb Pendleton
http://calebpendleton.wix.com/homeand Joe Sleight:
http://www.joesleightwoodworker.co.uk(I apologise if I have left out anyone, these are only the two that I remember off the top of my head Paul mentioning in his blog post a few days ago).
Perhaps it might be worthwhile to contact one of these craftsman to see how they are launching themselves. Just a thought.
13 February 2014 at 1:04 pm #27806Frank,
Over on his blog Paul has a series on starting out on your own. Here’s a link ot the first article:
http://paulsellers.com/2013/07/starting-out-on-your-own/
John
I would be a disaster with the business aspect. Just ask my spouse. Fortunately she is great with people and money, so if we ever attempted to start any type of business, she would be an integral part.
The Dunbar article has great advice. I especially like the part about selling where your potential customers are, and also the recommendation that the workshop does not become a hangout for those who love to sit and chat.
I would only envision starting a business for myself organically. I would keep my day job while spending evenings/weekends making small, impulse-purchase items for sale. These are things I could sell at craft fairs, through Etsy, or some other venue. Paul’s spoons, canes, and small boxes are great examples of impulse products. Perhaps once in a while I would make a real show product, like a small side table, jewelry box, or stool to exhibit my skills. I would make sure I made a modest profit on each of these small sales, tucking money away to invest back into the business.
With any success at that small scale, I might be more successful at convincing my family of a potential future. Expanding the business slowly, working part time at a day job, might be my next step. Without testing the waters like this, I would not feel comfortable making a larger investment or even suggesting a major life change for my family.
Diving in over my head all at once with a large portion of my lifesavings would be a poor gamble.
Hi Frank, sorry I know this is a late reply. I don’t often check this section of the forum.
I’ve been slowly setting up my busyness over the last maybe 9 months. So first of I’ll say I’m not making any money and I’m no expert. Everything I tell you is what I’ve been taught and have not put into real practice myself yet. At the moment my focus has been stashing cash for proper machinery and a kickstart when I’m ready to give it 100% which will be this time next year.
At uni I studied Contemprary Applied Arts, which is basicaly a practical arts and crafts course aimed at getting people out selling and making work. It had a great emphesies on profeshional practice so I think I’ve got usefull knowledge on that kind of thing.
There are some things that I think are pretty important to start with. You need some very good photos of your work, and I mean very good. Galleries won’t consider your work if you have bad photos. Pay someone to take them if you must, it would be well worth the money. Get together a proper portfolio before you do anything, a hard copy and a website. Theres are tones of free websites, I use moonfruit and a decent portfolio book is about £20 to £30, I got mine of ebay and I would say it needs to be A3. 6×4 inch post cards with a strong image of your work is fairly standard in the craft world, but having standard business cards is usefull as well. You also need a well thought through artist statement. Perhaps 300 words explaning what inspires your work, this is where if your capable of writing like it you have to get romantic and poetic about it. But it needs to be clear and focused.
Having all this helps you get into galleries, crafts fairs and craft societys/organizatins which Is going to be key to getting customer base. In the Uk at least there are a lot of craft organizations that help you find galleries, give you networking opurtunities, and business help. The crafts council have a tone of info on there website. I’ve just started rewriting my business plan now because i haven’t looked at it in a while.
Interesting to read these comments. Particularly at a time when I too have considered (am considering) a change of direction from my current work. Having spent 15 years in the same unappreciable and uncreative role, the road has suddenly presented itself as a predictable and pre-determined route. A mid-life crisis perhaps? Well, if by that I mean a realisation that time moves swiftly and not sezing opportunity could turn out to be folly, then yes, perhaps. I digress.
I have decided to give it a year, and if the desire to make this change is still there, then I will make plans to do that. In the meantime, practice will be top of the agenda, with a view to training to build some confidence at a latter time.
It seems that in some sectors and industry, the process to gaining a job is vague at best, and completely undefined at the other end of that.
Sometimes you have to create your own role, and (excuse the expression), carve out a path for yourself.
(A slightly rambling and long-winded way of saying that I’m thinking of going down this route too one day).
1 May 2014 at 2:21 pm #56657I’m wondering how to make this work as well, especially as even at the end of my apprenticeship in Germany I’m not officially allowed to work as a self employed ‘carpenter’: in order to be licensed for that I need to become a ‘Master carpenter’ which would take 2 years, about 15000 euro and a brain like an engineer, none of which I have.
I’m also thinking of starting small, working part time as a ‘normal’ carpenter and doing my work on the side and being a ‘artist’ officially so I can do what I want and hopefully build up a customer base.
I’m wondering if there’s a way I could join up with other people in a sort oc cooperative setup but I don’t know of any examples in Germany in this industry.
Long way of saying , I’m with you frankpro. Let’s try and figure out what we can do…
My research has led me to a number of courses, which are around a year in length, and quite expensive as well. It seems to be fairly common-place to either already have plans for where you might do your work after the course i.e a workshop, or to stay on renting a bench-space from the course provider, or close-by. Some students end up joining forces to make the step into business financially easier.
I recently met with a cabinet-maker locally who has been working self-employed for a number of years after doing exactly this. He has helped me consider the business side of things and also how the whole career-change thing might happen.
The point is, although this is by no means easy, and will likely require very careful budgeting and possibly many sacrifices along the way, it is possible. People are doing it; making that change into something new whatever it may be.
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