Test the Market

Have a new idea but not sure about the market? Create a few prototypes (samples) in what ever variety can be offered. If it can come in different colors, sample those colors. If it can come in different sizes, create a couple different sizes.

Shop around and find the store you think your product might find it’s best opportunity. Now the good part.

You can get your foot in the door, so fast, by explaining to the shop owner, that you want to test the market on a new product. If they wouldn’t mind, giving it a trial run, you’d be willing to offer an exclusive, in thanks.

It goes like this. You leave the product, free gratis. Get a receipt, showing what products you left there, you can use your own receipt pad. Tell the owner, you’ll be back in a week, to see how it went. Go ahead and give the product a wholesale price, so that the owner will know how to price the items.

If the product sells, in that week, you then make out a receipt for the wholesale sale, and collect the money. If it does not, this is your opportunity to chat with the owner and get his/her input. What do they think will be the chances for this product. Is there a change, they see that might help.

If it’s just a no-go, there is still a huge opportunity. Find out what does sell. Would they like to work with you, in creating a new product. What have they been looking for, and can’t find. Who knows, you just might be able to fill the bill.

Remember always, especially on that first visit, never stand between the shop keeper and the customers. Know your place. Put yourself in the same position as the shop owner-main concern, keeping and eye on shoppers, being available. When a customer walks up to the cash register, you step aside immediately. This lets the shop keeper know, you know what the score is.

I met the music box shop owner, for the first time, by simply snooping around the shop. When I saw a nightlight much like one I made, I piped up and said, “I make one almost identical except for one thing…mine is much more realistic to style and has a little more color sparkle to it. AND I wholesale mine much less than this one, I’m sure”. Nabbed. On the spot. She wanted to see mine. Our friendship and business dealings lasted over 2 years, before she sold her shop.

Be gabby but not butting in on any dealings with customers. Make sure the shop owner is out of ear shot of customers. They don’t need customers, knowing where he/she buys their goods.

“You know…this looks almost identical to one I turn out for about $6. Is this made locally?” :) Believe me, it works.

Your Name in the Local Paper

Small towns and cities, all across the nation, have their own small newspapers. You usually find stories about local folks, especially historical and new stores opening, etc.

But did you know, the writers for those small papers are always digging for anything newsy? Sometimes those reporter/writers have to dig hard, to keep those pages filled with interesting stories.

You’re not imposing, when you suggest they do a write up on you or your product. It’s a helping hand. It’s also a great way to meet new friends.

Our local editor was thrilled to come out to the house and do a story on my new instructional e-books, a success online story and an interview with pictures of my most recent projects.

You’d be surprised at the newsy little ‘bit’ she did on me. It filled her pages and brought me at least 2 new restoration jobs from locals, reading the local paper.

Don’t discount your little local paper or those writers and editors, so hungry for more to fill those pages. And don’t discount the value it will bring back to you.

So you think that because all you do is crochet or knit that you don’t have anything to offer. Do you sometimes donate items you’ve made? Are you a wood worker, building toys for children? Are you about to launch a new website? Just about anything like this, is local newsworthy and you should give the editor a call and get on the ‘possibility’ list.

My Offical Blog Spot

I try to keep both blogs up to date but to make sure, you might want to venture off to my main spot, to see what's happening.
http://judysbookshop.com/blog

Don't Do It!

Just don't do it. Unless you just happen to love spending money and time on others, don't take special orders without up front money.

I'm good at preaching and so lousy, sometimes, at taking my own advice or even listening to my own instincts.

Not long ago, I received a special request. It had to do with specially designed drawer pulls. I decided this would be a good project for my grown daughter. If not for that thought, I would not have done this at all. I gave up, a long time ago, and went to writing instructions, instead of working my back off for nothing. I vowed never to put myself in the position of victim, again.

Well, obviously I did. Running on trust (this person sounded so desperate and earnest), I designed 3 separate drawer pulls, according to the pictures he/she sent me and the dimensions I was given.

Right off the bat, the paws weren't right. I was directed to other pictures, online, that looked nothing like the first I was sent.

I was already getting aggrivated, but went ahead and spent the time to redesign. In the meantime, I ordered in enough inserts that fit into the back, for a bolt through a drawer front. I paid almost $50, considering shipping. Then I also invested in the glazes, after this person selected the colors from an online catalog. Naturally, there were 12 colors. So, there was another $30 plus for glazes.

At his/her earnest pushing, I finished a dozen samples, which this person approved from pictures. So there was the consideration for electricity and wear and tear on the kiln, for 2 firings.

What do you suppose the outcome was? He/She vanished. No contact, not even a 'go to hell'. I've tried numerous times, to contact him/her by email, which seemed fine until now.

I'm out around $100 and performed designing work and mold making that would have amounted to a charge of $100 and the customer.....poof...gone...

I could get nasty, considering they even have a website online but I imagine, by now, the web host has also discovered the disappearing customer.

So it's time to preach to myself, all over again, decide what to do with unreturnable supplies and go on to better things.

So the upshot? Don't do it. Do as I say, don't do as I do.

I don't have a job, then why am I so busy?

The thought crossed my mind, the other day, "if I don't have a job, then how come I'm so busy?"

Right now, I don't know how I'd ever find the time to do the things I do, every day, and hold down a job, a the same time.

I guess I'm my own job. The pay hasn't been so bad and is actually about to get better. The only problem is.....benefits. Need to think about that one.

For the past few years, I've been doing just about nothing more than driving a truck across the 48 contiguous states. Out of necessity, of course.

Now I find myself at home, at retirement age, and can't find a single day of doing nothing.

I started taking on custom mold making jobs. That has turned into a full time job, all by itself.

Having retrieved all my ceramics equipment and supplies, out of storage and into a double garage, my thoughts turned to one of my heart's greatest desires-teaching. Now, I'm lined up to do hand building pottery classes and there seems to also be a desire to learn more about mold pouring.

When I list the things I could teach, I find there isn't enough of a lifetime left, to cover it all. I'll sure try.

All this reminds me of something my grandmother told me, many years ago. I was just a child, at the time. Grandmother had a little Christian Supply shop and craft supply store. She said, "Judy, if you ever want to go into business, the way to start is by teaching. You teach a technique that requires the supplies you have in your store, and sell your students those supplies. That's how to start."

From time to time, I think about her words. So today, I pass on that little bit of wisdom, to you.

If you find yourself pulling on those rope ends and not quite making it, from month to month - teach.

You don't have to have a special license to teach something you know. If you're willing to teach and you have students willing to pay you for them to learn, you have a class. Either have a good supply of the materials needed for the projects, or cover the costs of those materials in the tuition. Don't forget your knowledge is worth money. :)

I'm about to start teaching hand built pottery. Next, in the plans, is to get my equipment up and running, a supply of clay slip and start yet another class in pouring ceramic molds. I just may go on to teaching mold making.

I have a knitting machine, I haven't had time to touch since 1987 and boy, would I love to get back at it. Once upon a time, I was very good with the knitting machine, designing my own clothes and making custom fit. I'd have to spend some time alone, to remember all these things but then look at all the more classes, I could host.

I could teach sewing and knitting and crochet and all sorts of time honored crafts. Right now, I'm giving my own grandson lessons with the scroll saw and plan to graduate him into the whole aspect of wood working and furniture building. Even if I have to learn it myself, as we go along. :)

You, too, probably have a world of knowledge in you. Sit down and make a list. Then start asking around. "What would you think of me starting classes in ???" You might be surprised.

If you can't sell them your end product, maybe they want to learn how to make it themselves.

Look at this list of classes. You might be surprised.
Cooking
Baking
Running a household
Organizing your home
How to make money, cleaning out the garage
Canning
Gardening

and now for the crafts:
knitting
crochet
sewing
quilting
macrame
jewelry making
clay work
wood working

and a whole slew of simple projects like
embroidery
rug hooking
and more that you've already thought of.

Just because it's 'old shoe' to you, doesn't mean it is to others. You have to remember that not everybody has your talents and just might desire to learn.

Banding Together

That’s the way it works. That was the concept behind shopping centers. United into one unit, sharing a big parking lot, attracts more traffic to each individual shop. It works.

The meer size, carries with it, a physcological impression of superiority. Individual shops, that might have a hard time attracting the shoppers, would find themselves reaping the benefits by joining together with several others shops, in one spot. Have you ever wondered why a store would put out twice the rent, just to be included in a shopping center? There must be a good reason.

That is what Judy’s Corner is all about.

I’m familiar with the rail but the rail isn’t all that particular about who is linked, where. If you fit into a wide range called ‘art’, then you fit,in their opinion. The webring is much the same. Not only do they not care about specialized categories, they don’t control who your neighbor is.

Again, that’s what Judy’s Corner is all about. Not only is it important to me, that it be only hand made crafts, listing on our front page, I also care to keep the categories, within the category, separated in some way, so as not to provide ready made competition. The very least, I can do, is put two crafter’s alike, on oposite ends of the board. What’s more, I’m talking about tangible products, not website desiging. There is a huge difference.

The bigger the crowd, the better the traffic for all. I’m working on that but not getting much cooperation, as yet. Odd, considering I’m offering this for free, want to help out and I know there’s a massive world of crafter’s out there, needing more sales.

If anybody has any suggestions, I’d love to hear it.

Mixing Plaster

(excerpt)
How to mix Plaster:

1. Always weigh out the amount of plaster you need, then look up the water by weight percentage. For example USG # 1 Pottery for making molds uses 70% water to plaster. So 10 lb. of plaster requires 7 lb. of water. First weigh out the plaster you need, take that amount and multiply it by .7,(point 7), (7/10) this gives you how much water to use.

2. Generally speaking the larger the percentage of water the softer and more absorbent the plaster will be. The harder the plaster the less water used.

3. Hot water will speed up the set time and cold water will slow it down.

4. Place the water in a suitable sized container. Always add plaster to water. Pour the plaster into the water and let slake for one minute. Mix by hand or with a Jiffy Mixer, being careful not to suck air into the plaster. When the mixture is lump free it is ready to pour; don’t wait for it to start to thicken.
(end excerpt)

This is a note from a supplier. In all my packed boxes from the ceramics shop, I have the complete charts for every variety of plasters and cements. I promise, as I continue to unpack and arrange, when I run across these charts, I’ll be back with the information.

After studying the formulas, years ago, I devised a shortcut which I describe in the ebook. I’ve never had a problem using my little shortcut.

Just a couple notes:
Hot water truly does speed up the setting time. I prefer room temperature, as then my timed activities are right on.
I have, due to interruptions, left plaster sitting for up to an hour, without the chemical reaction starting, simply because I had not begun to mix.
Plaster is not panicky stuff. :)
Always, after shaking in the plaster, let it sit (untouched) for at least 5 minutes before mixing. This is called slaking. It gives ever particle an opportunity to come into contact with water.
Mix for 3 minutes steady (5 minutes for hydrastone). Let sit for 3 minutes. Mix again for 3 minutes and pour.

If using plaster or hydrastone to pour into rubber molds, tap the sides of the mold to release trapped air bubbles.

Tax Headaches

I’m still facing a mountain of receipts and math. Why? Well, I’m just full of excuses: a move from one state to another, retrieving all the ceramics equipment out of storage, pneumonia (dragging tail), and a whole slew of busy, busy.




What ever the reasons, I resorted to a box just to make sure I kept receipts all together. I can’t wait until this part is over, 2008 was tumultuous and I’m ready to settle down and get back into a routine.



Is it just me, or do crafter’s just always have a head full of ideas and lists of things to do? I’m never bored. My entire life seems to have been spent in shoving things to the back burner while I work on something else.



That other instruction book is almost ready, the one that discusses things like rubber molds, the variety of rubber and how to use them, the variety of mediums used in molds, all that. Pictures, were the hold back, and I’m just finishing a custom job involving both rubber and plaster molds.



If you’re like me, it’s not a matter of organization, it’s a matter of having way too much to do in just one life time. Do you think we’ll ever get a handle on it?

Tax Time

It’s rolling around again. So I thought I’d spend a little time and remind folks about those things that can save them taxes.
If you happen to hold down a job, as well as working your crafts, you can file 2 forms:your regular 1040 or 1040a as well as the schedule C for business. There is so much, you can deduct through the business, you might just as well see how it works out. Right? :)
If you’re working out of the home, and even if you don’t but you keep books at home, you have a deduction, right there, for the business portion of the home expenses.
Uncle Sam, specifies that the space you use for tax deductions, can’t be used for anything but the business. So quarter off a section that’s just for your crafting, measure that space and claim it for the business.
From outside, measure the house and get the square footage. Then determine the square footage of your workspace (claimed). Let’s say you have a home measuring 2000 square feet and you use a small room, measuring 12X12 = 144 Square feet. Divide the 144 by 2000 to get 7%. 7% of the total overhead, is used strictly for business.
Now let’s say you burn 2 lightbulbs for an average of 2 hours per day. This takes a lot of estimating. Estimate, what percentage of the total electricity, is being used by those 2 lightbulbs. If your 2 lightbulbs is only about 10% of the total light bulbs being used in the house, then determine what percentage your lights would be for the total electrical use. Let’s say you run the dishwasher once a day, the clothes washer and dryer once a day, the vacuum once a week, the TV and average of 4 hours a day and the computer and average of 2 hours a day. I’d say those 2 lightbulbs are running somewhere in the ballpark of 2% of the total electricity. I’d take that 2% of every electric bill and claim it as a deduction.
Keep receipts for everything you use in your crafts. Right down to the scotch tape, ball point pen, paper, computer use, the gas to go get these supplies, replacement light bulbs, cleaning supplies.
Now how much do you use your car for business? Break that down to wear and tear on the car, plus the gas. It takes some brain cells but it’s worth every penny.
Now how about that lamp you use. Are you using it for the household or strictly for your crafts? If you’re using a lamp strictly for your crafts (crafts you intend to sell in your business), sign it over to the business and then depreciate it on your taxes. The table? Has it been absorbed by the business? Turn it over to ownership by the business and depreciate it.
Every penny you spend, in the name of creating for profit, is a deduction. Postage stamps, postage,and every supply or material.
If you’ve had a bad year, and spent more than you made back, you have a huge tax deduction that will lower your taxes all the more, giving you a bigger refund.
If you give something away, in the name of advertising or promotion, it’s deductible for it’s full retail value.
Put on your thinking cap, before you approach the taxes. Make a list of every piece of equipment, that is used strictly for the business: table, chair, rug,computer,paper,lamps, clamps,bottles,jars (seriously) pens and pencils, any patterns or reading materials (used for education in your niche), webpage hosting, bandaids, magnifying glasses, every hand tool….if donated by you to the business, depreciate it on your taxes.
Did you put product in a shop, the shop went out of business and you lost out on your product or any money for it….it’s a loss…list the loss. A water leak ruined your velvet? It’s a loss, list it. You went to a show and somebody walked off with one of your products without paying for it? It’s a loss, list it. You provided a sales rep with samples and he flew the coop? It’s a loss. List the full retail price.
Are you a ceramist? Do you make your own molds? Those molds have value, even if you made it yourself. That mold is a tool. Depreciate it. Make your own master blocks? That master block is not only a tool, it’s a copyright. Depreciate it. Without it, you’d lose out on business.
The point is to think as a business, not a hobbiest. If you’re in the business of selling your crafts, you’re in business. Don’t miss out of saved money.

Do I have to have a business license to claim it on my taxes?

For the sake of taxes, you don’t have to have a business license but you do need some sort of claim to business.
The first order of business, should be a separate bank account, strictly for your business. It doesn’t have to be a business account, you can also have a personal account for your business, by listing your name along with ‘dba Your business name’.
Keeping careful books for the business, is important. If the IRS ever comes to visit, they will be looking for the ‘business books’.
You don’t have to be formal, to be considered a business.