What have i done?

[wickedinhere]

I quit my regular job and i am gonna do this full time. My wife finished nursing school a few months back and told me to quit
and just do metalwork.

[kb3gun]

Congrats and good luck in your endeavor!

[wickedinhere]

It's been pretty good the last few years and i will be able to do more now that i can just do metal work.

[icmplasma85]

I would love to do that but I can't seem to find a steady flow of work. Most fab shops around my area have CNC equipment. Do you have any advice on finding work in certain areas I may not be thinking about?

[wickedinhere]

I have had real good luck on Facebook. I try to gear stuff i make toward women because they make up 90% of my customer base. Farmers markets are ok sellers but you can get your product seen and people will start to talk about you and that's good. I also do powder coating and that helps sell your stuff because its all pretty and women like that. LOL

[icmplasma85]

I'm glad someone is having luck with Facebook. I definitely have gotten some sales from there, but lately things have slowed to a halt. Some have told me I should get a website made, but I don't have the $ for that right now because of lack of work, and I don't know if its something I can tackle on my own. I have tons of fabrication experience, and I work for a steel fabricator as my day job so I get metal dirt cheap, I think this winter I'm just going to have to start making a ton of products and see what happens come spring time. I've tried a few shows/festivals, some were great money makers and some not so much. While I don't really want to quit my day job because quite honestly I love what I do (and I like getting metal at cost), I would like to see this side gig turn into a little more of a profitable venture.

[wickedinhere]

You will have slow times i have been slow lately also. My busiest time is from November till March. Summer is slow but steady because of people going on vacation it also slows down when football starts up. Sometimes i can't keep up then all i hear are crickets it comes and goes just like most thing.

[icmplasma85]

Glad to know I'm not the only one hearing those crickets

[CNCCAJUN]

I'm thinking that perhaps a product. Something that people could use, simple to make & I could sell for a reasonable price.

Maybe something along the lines of a boot/shoe scraper. Anything that would be useful that needs to be durable that they can not get from the Chinese Super Store (aka WALMART).

Just thinking . . .
Steve

[wickedinhere]

I'm thinking that perhaps a product. Something that people could use, simple to make & I could sell for a reasonable price.

Maybe something along the lines of a boot/shoe scraper. Anything that would be useful that needs to be durable that they can not get from the Chinese Super Store (aka WALMART).

Just thinking . . .
Steve

YES! the key is to have something they can't get at wal-mart and make is nice and shiny so the ladies like it. If it has an actual function its even better.

[redduke]

My metal business is my only, full time job. I have ups and downs during the year in sales but I try to work ahead during the slow times for when I know my peak months are. I have had some luck off of Facebook. You can set up a simple website using wordpress - you may not be able to sell much from there but you can at least get a free sit up and going for business cards and exposure when people ask. Make sure you are updating your Facebook page with new products that fit the season and that are for sale. I do craft shows (large & small) but my number one best piece of advice on shows is GARDEN shows! and not just the big ones, find smaller local ones, I have had my best sales at garden shows in small towns (less than 5,000 people in town) and continue to get repeat business off of those people. Garden people will pay for unique pieces and custom pieces. My other recent source is selling online. It's a slow start that way but once people see your out there it will grow. I was a graphic designer for over 10 years before I got laid off and moved back to my hometown with my husband and took a leap of faith and started my business. I have marketing and social media experience which helps me get my product out there. We live in a small town of 1,000 people and this holiday season alone (just December) I've done over 70 custom signs (most over $100, nothing under $50) and this does not include online sales (have shipped to over 7 states this month) and product I've made and sold at shows. It's all about finding a niche and running with it. If people are asking you to lower your prices, say no! I've had people offer me less and I say no all the time because I know I can sell it at the next show easily. I've actually had people say that my prices are too low and I do not skimp on pricing. Get your name out as much as you can - that's how you will build business. I am doing a very large boat, sports, and camping show in January to try to drum up business in my slow season. If you ever have questions please feel free to email me. Best wishes & Happy Holidays!
Amanda
-owner-
Main Street Custom Metal - Pender, Nebraska

[VSAW]

Take a look at all the items up on Etsy.com and see if there is any market there for your items. It's a site that sells hand made and vintage items. Listings cost 20 cents each so it's very affordable.

[DreamWerks Designs]

Hey lcmplasma85 and wickedinhere, I'm new to the forum but have been self employed for the past 10 yrs and figured that I would add my 2 cents in an attempt to help. I personally wouldn't go the product route @ first, here's why. When just starting a full-time business cash-flow is king; developing a product will require significant design time (if it is truly something new, regardless of how simple the product is), several prototypes (eats up material, even on small parts), some form of testing of each prototype (requires time, time is money), and will require a significant investment in stock for rapid shipment (more material outlay before being paid). In addition to all of these points, making a living off of a product requires traffic (foot or internet) and as a new(er) business this part can be very tough... It is hard to sustain enough traffic to generate a living off of a $20 retail item if you have any sort of overhead costs. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying that your odds of success are increased if you go a different route and you will likely have a much less stress as well... And the best part is that you won't have to lay out all of that $$ up front.

If I was starting out with a new shop in this day and age, I would use this approach:

Start by searching etsy, google, amazon handmade, free .dxf forums, google trends, etc. with your niche term (southwest metal wall art, metal birdbath, mission style metal mirror, etc.) and see what listings come up. Find highly reviewed products and popular items, and come up with a way to put your own twist on that item. You can try layering various metals, having cut-outs set off for a 3-d look, mixing wood/stone/composite with metal, or anything else for that matter. Typically, I ask women for their opinion on items or improvements as well because they control most home decor buying decisions... So their input can give valuable insight into your target market/buyer. That's not to say men won't be a customer, i'm just talking averages/odds. Then repeat this a few times and you will have a good basic start. Next, look at various finishing methods and, again, try to find something unique or put a twist on it (anodizing, various chemical solutions, heat treating, etc.)- stick with a few. At this point in your business, or at any time really, you don't want to be everything to everybody. Try to find a good mix of $15-$30 items, $50-$125 items, $175-$300 items, and then an item or two in the $500-$1,000 range. Keeping it niche/selective will reduce your stress, workload, and productivity (you won't be overwhelmed) but will also increase your profit margins and project turnaround time.

I too have found that garden items work incredibly well, along with lamps and mirrors- because not every Tom/DIck/Harry makes them. Keep in mind that i'm not bashing $20 products, you have to have them because they are easy to sell/ship online, they make great gifts, and they drive up the average transaction amount. Just make sure to put your own twist on the items, it will really increase your profits. I also use mixed materials and some unique finishing styles on my products to increase their perceived value, which allows me to increase the sale price. I use Shopify for my web store due to it's ease of use, flexibility, and excellent customer service. 14 day free trial, plans start @ like $20/mo, and you can buy your domain name from them as well to make it easy. I take my own product pictures in my basement using drop cloths and an iphone mounted to a tripod, there are several free apps for touching up pics and giving that professional look- I use Camera 360, Pixlr by Autodesk, and Snapseed by Google for my on phone editing. I would also recommend Etsy, as some others have said. It is easy to use, very affordable, and will give you some exposure out of the gate. Set up a Facebook page for your business, post your product pics at the right times (see pinterest for a list of most active times on each social media platform), and spend $10-$20 to boost a product picture/info post with a link to your website every once or twice a week (shopify even integrates a store directly into your facebook page). Trust me- this expense will eventually come back to you 10x. I don't do any shows any more, but i had a lot of success @ the Oasis Gift Show in Phoenix, Az (happens twice a year in Jan. and Sept.). It's a wholesale only market and you aren't allowed to sell cash and carry unless you are in a certain area (which I never wanted to be in, too much work with the number of people that are attending). I found ALL of my national accounts @ this show- Six Flaggs Theme Parks, CBR Inc. (they run airport retail stores), Out-West Catalog (now defunct) and they all placed massive orders. Each show generated apprx. $10-$20k in on the spot orders + $50k-$200k per account per year in re-orders. Total out the door cost on that show was around $1,500 for a 10x10 booth if I remember right. It's obviously very tough to do those kinds of numbers at a retail show, but starting small I would try some of the local garden shows to get some experience with how a show operates, talking to buyers, and log a some sales. Be very careful on how much you produce and what you sell. You don't want to go to a show in a run down neighborhood and try to sell $1k bird baths, obviously.

Those that say they can't afford to advertise can't afford it because they won't spend a little bit up front to get some traction, feel me? lol it's a vicious cycle. But if you are serious about getting started, spend money on marketing and not on product development. You can have the best product in the world but if nobody knows about it, how will it sell? Ask yourself, can I afford NOT to advertise.

IF you're still awake after reading that much, I'll continue ... Some here may disagree with me; that's fine because there's more than 1 way to skin a cat and my method may not be the best for you folks, I'm just giving you the basic formula that all of my businesses are based on. Perhaps I over-stepped proper etiquette with such a long winded and direct first post, but helping small business owners is something that I am deeply passionate about because I am one myself. Sorry in advance if I offended anyone here by interjecting.

If anyone needs any further info, feel free to reach out to me. Happy selling and good luck!!

TB

[grindergary]

Thanks for your informative post. Well worth the read.

Thanks

Gary

[beefy]

IF you're still awake after reading that much, I'll continue ... Some here may disagree with me; that's fine because there's more than 1 way to skin a cat and my method may not be the best for you folks, I'm just giving you the basic formula that all of my businesses are based on. Perhaps I over-stepped proper etiquette with such a long winded and direct first post, but helping small business owners is something that I am deeply passionate about because I am one myself. Sorry in advance if I offended anyone here by interjecting.

TB

Myself I much appreciate your input and I'm definitely still awake. Can't get enough of this type of business advice, I'm very technically oriented but can be a bit dumb on the business side of things and being "streetwise". You could hammer me till the cows come home with this type of stuff and I'll still listen because I know how valuable it is.

So thanks very much.

Keith.

[DreamWerks Designs]

My pleasure Gary and Keith... Glad you both were able to get something out of it. Another member reached out to me via PM and requested some clarification/other general business advice with regards to some similar hurdles, so I elaborated directly to them on a lot of what I posted about here. I thought that you guys may find that info helpful too, so just posted much of what I discussed with him into a new thread on this forum... Check it out if you have the time.

-TB

[KC19]

Thank you so much for the information, I soon will putting some of your suggestions to work.

[mrbuildit]

thank you for the great posts. I too am working towards this as a fulltime. I also try to add in a good selection of sculpture items into what I do when setting up and doing farmers markets and shows.