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 By regularly supplying gift and craft shops you can realistically expect to earn at least £300 a week. You will receive orders and payments by post. Most orders will be for over £100. You needn't have any face to face contact with your customers at all (unless you want it). Where many craftspeople go wrong is by trying to do the selling themselves. They may work at their craft all week only to spend every weekend selling it! The last thing you want to do is work weekends and Bank Holidays. One way to avoid this is to sell to craft and gift shops. Prove It To Yourself - have a look in any Craft or Gift shop. Then have a look in another anywhere in the UK. You will see the same small businesses are supplying them. People like: · Graham (Bedford) Ceramics. · Jolin (Gloucester) Wooden Toys · Jim (Ireland) Pressed Flowers · Trevor (Surrey) Woodturning · Michelle( W.Mids) Decoupage · Stef (Yorkshire) Animal Models · Hilary (Cheshire) Cards · Peter (Devon) Garden Sculpture These craftspeople all earn hundreds a week. They know the Secrets Of The Craft Business and have no fear of being out of work ever! Even a small craft shop may have to spend £1000 a week on goods, often with just a handful of suppliers. Shops are desperate for reliable suppliers, why not be one? So, how would you get orders from all over the country, what's the secret? There are several answers; one is to use an agent. Another is to exhibit at Trade Fairs. Agents work on commission and are paid at the end of the month following delivery, after you have been paid. It doesn't matter where you live. If you think your goods are suitable for the Lake District, London, Cornwall, Scotland, Wales then you employ an agent for that area. When you wish to expand you take on another agent in another area. If you only want to sell to a dozen shops then tell your agent. If you can cope with large quantities of orders then tell your agent and recruit more agents in different areas. It's obviously not worth anyone's time just acting as an agent for one craftsperson so an agent usually carries the non competing work of up to six small businesses. Like many craftspeople I started by making things at home and selling them at weekends. This went on for years, then I was introduced to an agent who explained to me that while I was spending all my spare (?) time looking for customers, the best customers of all, in the gift trade were looking for reliable suppliers. When I changed from selling to the public to selling to the trade, my turnover shot up to well over £100,000, I had much more free time and I earned a lot more! My business was so successful (I ended up supplying over 400 shops) that I sold it and started another. The business? Believe it or not it was pressed flowers! A large proportion of my sales came through agents others came through Trade Fairs. These are strictly trade only. Thousands of shopkeepers come to such Fairs, all of them expecting to spend large amounts. You can book your own space at such fairs, you can share stands, and even get subsidised space. What to sell - All sorts of things are in demand. It could be something as simple as a pencil with a name stamped on it, or as complex as an intricate sculpture. Here are a few top sellers -Animal Figures, Aprons, Candles, Cards, Chess Sets, Cottages, Decoupage, Fimo, Fretwork, Jewellery, Keyrings, Laptrays, Patchwork, Penholders Pictures, Pressed Flowers, Soft Toys, Stationery, Woodturning. The list is almost endless. However, it's no good you coming up with an idea if you don't know how the sales price is divided into retailer profit, agent's commission, wages, raw materials and most importantly your profit. For instance-Your profit and wages must be treated as two separate items. You may be happy just paying yourself a wage, but what would happen if you got a big order and couldn't cope? You'd take on staff and pay them your wage. You'd have a big order and no profit. So you see, just having a good idea is not enough. It is of equal importance to know how to sell your work efficiently and how to price it correctly. To enhance your profits you also need to be able to buy your raw materials at the lowest possible price. If you are currently buying items from craft shops you need to know where they buy them. In other words you need to locate the Prime Source of your materials. It's common knowledge that more than half of all new businesses fail within the first year. They may all have good ideas, but the other necessary skills are much more important. Things like: · How to find agents to sell your work and how much to pay them. · How to book space at Trade Fairs, where they are held, who organises them, how you can beat the waiting list, how you can get subsidised space. · How to get regular large orders from shops. · How to ensure you make a good profit and a good wage. These are just four of the topics included in my new book 'SECRETS OF THE CRAFT BUSINESS" an exclusive 15,000 word publication. Other sections include: 1) Worked Examples of sales and profitability. Simply substitute your own figures to ensure you're on the right track. 2) Reduce Manufacturing Costs - Dozens of actual examples. 3) Reduce Component Costs-How to ensure you always pay the absolute minimum 4) Guaranteed Good Ideas- How to identify ideas that can't fail. 5) Essential Contacts-Other Craftsmen, Trade Associations, Magazines, Importers, Manufacturers, Trade only Cash & Carries, Contract Framers, Laser Cutters, Exhibition Organisers etc etc. 6) Hard To Find Items At Trade Prices-such as Prints for Decoupage, Box Frames, Cellophane Bags, Doll Parts, Envelopes, Engraving Supplies, Embossing Powders, Metal Powders, Real Parchment, Waterslide Transfer Paper, Ultra Quick Setting Dental Rubbers, Cutting Blades for Decoupage, Picture Framing Machinery,, etc. 7) Dozens Of Shortcuts- Including how to remove air bubbles from resin, a varnish that sets in 30 seconds, make your own rubber stamps, in minutes, for 25p a sq.in, Foiling without an expensive machine, an inexpensive colour printer that prints on heavy weight card etc 8) Financial Matters - Many of which you won't read anywhere else, essential information on Banking, Overheads, VAT, SOR, Rent Rates etc. How any new business can earn an extra £40 a week. 9) Top Sellers - What actually sells and for how much and who makes it. See what your competitors charge. Check their trade prices. 10) Copyright Free Artwork- including Celtic Designs, Ornate Initials, Magic Words that you can use on jewellery, penholders, stationery, bookmarks, cards, keyrings, tea towels, aprons etc 11) Trade Suppliers For Raw Materials including-Framing Materials, Rubber Stamps, Parchment Craft, Silk Flowers, Dried Flowers, Recycled Glassware, Stickers, etc. Here are just a few examples of their prices: Cracker Snaps 2p, Embossing powder 31p an ounce, Resin £1 a lb., Silk Tassels 3p, Magnets 1p, Pens 4p, Picture Frames (10x8) £1.35, Clock Movements 80p, Real Gold Leaf 52p a sheet, Leather cord 20p a metre, Sterling Silver Ear Wires 10p a pair, Victorian Scraps 11p a sheet.
Readers' Comments "I am now able to buy my supplies at half the price I previously paid" D. Wake (B.A Hans) Ceramics. "I opened 15 new accounts within three weeks" R. Williams. "The information on pricing was just what I needed" K. Blakeney. "Much easier to work to a formula than guesswork" F. Watt. "suggestions 1 had not even dreamed of' B. Watson. "Excellent list of suppliers" M. Dando.
TWO SPECIAL OFFERS Order within 30 days of publication and you will receive: Offer 1) Exclusive 10% Discount Vouchers. Introductory discounts from major trade suppliers for: Frames (including those for 3D decoupage), Cards, Gemstones, Jewellery components, Picture Mounts, Pillbox Blanks, Sterling Silver Chains, Thimble Blanks, Rubber Stamping Supplies, Tools and much more. These discounts are off trade prices so for example leather thong, which retails at 60p a metre, can be yours for 18p. Instead of paying 5p to l0p for brooch backs you will pay lp. A pack of blank cards with envelopes that normally retails at £2.30 can be yours for 91p. Sterling Silver ear wires will cost you 9p, Keyrings 2.3p.
Offer 2) A free copy of NATURE'S MONEY SPINNERS This exclusive, definitive guide on how to make ornaments, paperweights, penholders etc containing such items as Dandelion clocks and even Spiders' Webs. You will learn exactly what items you need, where to buy them and the secret techniques involved. This could be a business on its own
The price for "SECRETS OF THE CRAFT BUSINESS" is just £25, a small price for what could be a Turning Point in your life; the free vouchers detailed above are worth far more than this. Why not see for yourself, send in the order form now to Turning Point, 2 Chapel Lane, Folly Gate, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 3AG
No Quibble Guarantee If for any reason, you are not satisfied, return "SECRETS OF THE CRAFT BUSINESS" in any condition within 30 days for a full no questions asked refund. Please rush me "SECRETS OF THE CRAFT BUSINESS"
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To enable us to help you as much as possible, please specify any particular craft in which you have an interest (if applicable) Please post to Turning Point (IHD), 2 Chapel Lane, Folly Gate, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 3AG
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