[Nfb-krafters-korner] Starting a Business in Crafts

Annette Carr amcarr1 at verizon.net
Sun Oct 3 12:59:28 UTC 2010 

Good point Cindy.  A friend of mine learned how to make glass bracelets.
She was pumped with the possibilities of making and selling them as a
business.  After putting the money into buying supplies to make a fare
amount of bracelets, she determined that the time it was taking her to
produce each bracelet was not worth it.  People were not going to pay the
price she felt that she should get for the time she put in, and the quality
looked like a beginner made them.  

Not all was lost, she has since found a supplier for the glass bracelets,
and is using her skills and supplies to accessorize the bracelets she is
putting together.  However last time I talked to her, she was considering
giving up the accessorizing aspect and selling the massed produced bracelets
in sets of three.  

Oh, and by the way, my friend is sighted.  She does not have to deal with
SSI or SSDI.  She had the money to put into buying supplies.  She has a
fulltime job and it was her dream to be able to quit her day job and just
make bracelets.  Of course, maybe someday she will be able to do her craft
business as her sole income.  I've shared this story because I think it is a
great example of the persistence and flexibility you will need to have.

Annette
-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of slery
Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2010 2:25 AM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Starting a Business in Crafts

Eleni,

There is one thing I have noticed in your round of questions, you do not
seem to have any experience making the items you want to sell. You must be
prepared to try making some of these things first to see if you will be able
to make any of a quality to sell. Please do not take this as a criticism. If
they give you the money to buy supplies to make 32 items, then they expect
you to sell 32 items. And if it takes you 31 completed items to learn how to
produce a sellable item you will not be able to earn enough to buy supplies
for the next batch. Most people will not be able to make something
perfect/sellable the very first time they try something; it takes practice.
Also, once you try making the item, you may discover that you absolutely
hate working with that material and can't see yourself making the amount of
quantities needed to maintain a business.

This is just something you should probably consider before talking to your
VR representative.

Cindy S.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eleni 
> Vamvakari
> Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2010 8:59 PM
> To: List for blind crafters and artists
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Starting a Business in Crafts
> 
> 
> Hi Greg,
> 
> I know that my family is willing to help me as far as sending things 
> to the post office so that won't be a problem.  On the off chance that 
> they're unavailable, I could ask a trusted friend.  As far as craft 
> shows, I would need to work on that in advance.  I might have my 
> boyfriend, a family member or a friend take me.  I'm actually planning 
> on starting this business with a friend.  The reason why I didn't 
> mention this is because I'm sure it will create even more of a 
> headache come tax time and I wanted the basics answered first.  She's 
> visually-impaired, not totally blind like me, so could help with some 
> of the more challenging aspects of creating these things until I feel 
> more comfortable.  She's on SSD, so I'm not sure if she qualifies for 
> the PASS or if it's only for those on SSI, if we could make a plan 
> together or if I would be better off applying as an individual and 
> listing her as an employee.  I don't want to do anything that might 
> cause trouble in the longrun.  At any rate, I'm sure that we could put 
> our heads together when it comes to some of the calculations.  There 
> is also software that can help us keep track of purchases, costs of 
> shipping and materials, income earned etc.  But I think that when it 
> really comes time to crunch the numbers, we'll go to an accountant. 
> You're absolutely right about yard sales and the like, which is why I 
> would always attend one with someone sighted who has a good eye for 
> catching these crooks.  I don't consider this discouragement at all. 
> In fact, I'm very greatful that you're taking the time to explain all 
> of this to me.  The more I learn the better.  I sincerely hope that 
> this isn't going too offtopic, but perhaps the advice that I get and 
> the questions that I ask could help someone else who's interested in 
> starting a business in crafts.
> 
> Thanks,
> Eleni
> 
> On 10/2/10, NCBootman <ncbootman at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I never discourage anybody who wants to work. But, the fact is that 
> > one of the biggest factors in failure of a blind person's work 
> > experience is due to transportation. This is an area that you will 
> > need to have a rock solid plan of how you will deal with
> the issue of
> > transportation. Employers Will ask and if you seek funding for a 
> > business, they will ask. So, spend a lot of time with this and have 
> > alternatives. Alternatives are necessary because what
> happens when you
> > have a deadline for delivery or a show or just a scheduled
> day and the
> > main transportation fails. Drivers have surgery, get mad, aren't in 
> > the mood, ...
> >
> > Another important area is if you are in a selling business, you'd 
> > better love math or hire somebody to do it. There's the
> actual adding
> > up of a sale, calculating sales tax, figuring item cost,
> paying bills,
> > reporting income taxes, reporting to Social Security, and
> just doing
> > the day to day accounting. If you have a yard sale or go to
> the flea
> > market and have no backers of any kind, you've still got to
> deal with
> > that crook who wants ten $5 items for $25. They'll work so fast you 
> > won't even know what happened if you aren't on your toes.
> >
> > Again, this is not discouragement. This is work related
> facts and must
> > be considered as a part of beginning work or any business. 
> I'm happy
> > to answer any questions and do anything I can to help.
> >
> >
> > Greg
> > Greg
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------
> > From: "Eleni Vamvakari" <magkisa83 at gmail.com>
> > Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2010 5:14 PM
> > To: "List for blind crafters and artists" 
> > <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
> > Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Starting a Business in Crafts
> >
> >> Thanks Annette and Joyce.  I haven't gone to any crafts
> shows, since
> >> I don't know where any are located in my area and have no
> one to take
> >> me.  That said, my boyfriend might be able to if it's during the 
> >> weekend.  I'm terrible with mathematics so all of this would just 
> >> give me a headache if I tried it on my own.  That said, I've saved 
> >> your questions and will attempt to work on them, if only
> for myself.  
> >> Your strategy for estimating is very logical.  But I will
> still seek
> >> help in actually writing these things out.  I didn't know that you 
> >> needed permits or a business license just to sell on Ebay and/or 
> >> Craigslist or on your own site.  I doubt that I could use
> my income
> >> in the beginning to cover my monthly living expenses but they'll 
> >> probably lower my SSI payments etc. if I go this route
> anyway.  I'll
> >> check into these resources if I don't hear back from my counselor 
> >> etc.  I'm not really sure how much The Comission would be
> willing to
> >> help me, since they already paid for a part of my college
> education
> >> and for an independence centre experience.  Still, it's
> worth trying.  
> >> But I'm really interested in this online course.  It sounds doable 
> >> and I don't need to worry about transportation at all.
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Eleni
> >>
> >> On 10/2/10, Blindhands at aol.com <Blindhands at aol.com> wrote:
> >>> Greg is right.  My state agency for the blind actually
> drove me  to
> >>> a couple of classes that the small business  was giving.
> >>>
> >>> Joyce  Kane
> >>> www.KraftersKorner.org  (http://www.krafterskorner.org/) 
> >>> Blindhands at AOL.com _______________________________________________
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>>>
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