help with starting business

[alucas]

im wanting to start selling pens online, but im not sure if there is a preferred website format for this. something customers can select frome a liat of various kits and blanks? or is it always a conversation to determine what they want. Also is etsy the best web format for this what is working best?

 

[wolf creek knives]

Hi Andrew. I don't use anything other than word of mouth and my web page. I know others use other web type tools, Etsy, Facebook etc. I'm being kept pretty busy using my site and I'm currently booked out until probably the end of the year, that's knives and pens combined. I also don't sell a lot at a retail level, more the wholesale (high end stores), you give up some profit but your orders are usually bigger so you make up the difference and, you don't sit on inventory. Working with shops you do the order the customer wants so you're not constantly doing one off's.
Others on this site do it different and I won't comment on how they do their selling, but some do it very well. Hope this helps.

 

[jttheclockman]

Andrew, welcome to the site. Hope you stick around. A couple things, would be nice for you to introduce yourself to the membership. Next would be nice to see some of your work. Because if you are just wanting info about starting a business then you will get too many ways things work for others. They are not you. Whatever you chose you will have to be dedicated and put time and effort into it. Coming here for shortcuts will not get it done. I am sure you will get suggestions like take good photos, be creative in your writeups, try to distinguish yourself from others by making different things, make fit and finish a top priority, and also have a good warrenty policy, have a price point that works for YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and stick with it and do not waver on different sites or it will come back to bite you, think about your own web site, be ready to ship overseas and deal with all the different rules, be able to accept money from different sources be able to have inventory, be able to handle taxes and keep records, and so forth. Just go to sites like FB, etsy, ebay and those other selling sites and start there by looking around and seeing what others are doing and check prices. These are just some questions and thoughts to have answers before you even think of opening any site. So coming here and asking what the best way to sell a few pens and a few it will be is not the right approach. If you tell us you put in the work to get to that point then that is a different story. But we do not know you. Hope you do succeed. There have been a few here that have gone to do quite well and actually made a living and a name for themselves but am sure they will tell you it took time and effort.

Starting a business is a whole lot different than selling a few pens now and then at shows or by word of mouth. A business is serious stuff.

One other thing that maybe of help, we have a Marketing forum here and some of these questions may have gotten asked there so you may want to check it out.

https://www.penturners.org/forums/marketing-shows.22/

 

[leehljp]

. . . something customers can select frome a list of various kits and blanks?

There is some good information above.

Your approach in the quote above "can" work, but it can cause a lot of headaches too. People want to see what you produce and how well you produce it. The quality counts. It is not a matter that you made a particular kit with a particular blank, it is how well you make it and the fit and finish - if you want to continue to sell.

IF you offer "choose your kit" and you will make if for them, there will be those that will look the kit up and then ask, Why are you asking $50 for a $7.95 kit and a $5 blank? You will be getting into a non-winnable argument, and then unwanted feedback comments. There are those that sell pens in flea markets and local craft shows for $10-$15 or so, but they will not get repeat customers. Don't base your selling price on those.

IN addition to what John asked - How do you make yours? How do you measure the sizing - by the bushing size, or by calipers? How do you finish them? A good coat of wax, or oil based finish (Tung Oil, BLO) or CA or Lacquer, or other? By and large, most people here will help you if show them what you can do. There have been quite a few that started simple, became good at it, and have advanced to own reputable businesses. The people here are very good with helping others advance in business and creativity. But there is a trust built through postings here.

Going into business is more than just offering a list of business decisions, it is about the planning, tools, product and production.

Product choice, production, web site sales, photography, tools, finishes, extraneous material, shipping, taxes, business license, - any one of these can take a full page or more to describe. We have seen it all here for 16+ years and it is more complicated than it appears on the surface.

Please take the time to let us help you. No, we do not want to steal your idea. It is not original with us.

Although there are a few new ideas that come our way each year in creativity, there are rarely new "business" models being developed. A couple of years ago, there was one guy that wanted to sell to pen turners so that we would not have to make our own. That was original, but it did not make sense. We would enjoy offering help, and as said earlier, there are pages written here on starting businesses. We do like to help, but more information would be helpful.