[Nfb-krafters-korner] Want To Know Wednesday

blindhands at aol.com blindhands at aol.com
Wed May 17 22:11:59 UTC 2017


Ramona,

You missed a very interesting Monday Night Chat a few days ago.  The lady
does dog Collars, leashes and guide dog harnesses.  She works from home and
gets orders from her website, BlinMouse Mall[she has a store] and word of
mouth, etc.  She will be in the NFB exhibit hall in July.  She does have
merchandise that she purchases wholesale.

I did have a Yarn Shop and I ran a craft business making dolls and other
hand made items for over 8 years and then I ran a medical transcription
service for over 20 years and my husband was working with me on the
transcription business.  At one time I had 4 people working for us plus my
husband.  My oldest son transcribed for us while he was away at college.  At
the peak of our business we typed for 11 doctors and had 5 typists working.
I worked  worked outside the home 4 days a week as anE E G technician and my
husband worked at least between 45 and 50 hours in a factory.  We definitely
made money doing the transcription, but it all came to a screeching halt
when I went in for my coronary heart bypass surgery and woke up blind.  We
lost almost all  of the business due to if we couldn't do it and get it back
in a timely fashion, they got someone else that could.  I was the proofer
and printed out for the 3 typists we had, plus I did all of one of the doc's
work who was from India.  We went from 11 doctors down to 3 docs in 2 months
time.  Then I lost the doc I was typing for within one week's time that the
state blind agency installed JAWS for me.

John typed  for 1 doc and took on another doc and worked until he died.  It
was close to 30 years John transcribed for Dr. Nalle, a pediactic
neurologist.

Joyce

-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ramona Walhof via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 5:37 PM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists' <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Ramona Walhof <walhoframona at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Want To Know Wednesday

I owned and ran my own business for more than twenty years.  It was not a
crafting business, but a business.  In order to do this, you have to be
gutsy and willing to work a lot of hours.  You have to hire or do everything
that gets done.  Some people are cut out to do it, but many are not.  Often
you make little or no money for the first year or two, depending on the
business and the economic climate.  You need to do a lot of research and
planning if you want the business to prosper quickly.  Many people start a
part time business and continue to work a full time job while they learn the
ropes.  If you are working, it makes a lot of sense.  

I was fortunate to be sponsored by somebody.  He had me do some things that
did not work, but I figured out what changes needed to occur.  By the time
he figured out that it wasn't working (he took longer to do this than he
should have) I thought I knew what to do, and it worked. So he got out, and
I continued.   

For a crafter business, marketing is probably the biggest challenge.  You
will never make much money if you are making things by hand because you
cannot cover your labor costs.  If you have another source of income, then a
crafting business might be a good suppllimentary income. There are a lot
more stores selling materials for making crafts than selling the crafts
already made which tells you quite a bit.  Still, there are people making
money at selling hand-crafted items.  Often these are combined with
commercially-made items.  I have been fortunate to travel quite a bit, so I
have visited many of these in many different places.  On Kuai I found a
fabric shop that sold all kinds of hand-made and machine sewed items from
pot holders to bags to flower pots.  It was a wonderful place.  I look for
hand-made jewelry when I am outside the country.  

Perhaps we could have some Monday night chats on marketing crafts. I have a
cousin who owns and manages a quilting store.  Joyce ran a yarn store. I
believe becky has a crafting business in her home.   And I'll bet many of
you have contacts such as these.  
Ramona 

Ramona 

-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Nella Foster via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 2:11 PM
To: nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org
Cc: Nella Foster <jellybeanfarm at gmail.com>
Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Want To Know Wednesday

Happy Wednesday to everyone.  It is very warm and windy in my part of the
world.  I hope the rest of you are experiencing nice weather.

 

Some of you were at the chat on Monday and heard Julie Johnson's
presentation about starting her own business.  Often I think being
self-employed could be a good option for those of us who are blind and
visually impaired.  Barriers such as transportation and hiring
discrimination would probably be less of an issue.  There are the
disadvantages of managing all of one's own taxes and the like.  

 

Do any of you have your own business now or have you in the past?

 

If so what are some of the advantages and disadvantages?

 

Have you ever thought of starting your own business and if so what kind?

 

Anny and all discussion on this topic is welcome.

 

Nella

 

  

 

 

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