BUSINESS PLAN

• What are your goals for this business?  The answers to the following questions will determine how you set up your business.  The answers need to be written down on paper or in the computer so you can review them periodically and change/modify as needed. 2.What is the description of your business? ie: "I sell hand dyed hand spun yarn"  "I sell the tools and materials for knitters, weavers and fiber artists to create hand crafted items."  3.  Is this a full time or part time business ?   4.How many shows do you want to do this 1st year?  Be realistic.  You need to consider time off from your "real job", responsibilities at home, travel/show time.  It takes me 7 days to do the SAFF show.  2 days to travel there/set up, 3 days for the show, and 2 days to travel back home (with a bit of shopping on the way home).  5.  How much time can you devote to the business ?   Decide on the number of hours your can realistically spent on administrative duties and on producing product/packaging etc  Setting up the business is a good part of your 1st year goals but include the # of shows you want to do, $ sales goal, goals of products to produce and goals of products to buy/develop/add.  Where do you want the business to be in 5 years?  6.  How are you going to finance the business?  Out of pocket until sales can off set money going out or do you need to borrow money and if so from whom (family/friends/bank)?. 7.  At the show what forms of payment are you going to accept?  Cash only. cash/checks. cash/credit cards. cash/checks/credit cards   You can start out with one form and change/add as you are comfortable/able.  8.  Are you going to do the accounting/bookwork and file tax forms yourself or do you want to have an accountant.  I keep the books and whatever other info my accountant wants and he files the tax forms.  I figure that is his business and he stays up to date on all the tax law changes so for me it is worth the money  to have him do it.  You may be more adept at this than I am but the time to decide is not the week before taxes are due to be filed.  In michigan business taxes are due the end of Feb.  9.  You need to get a state sales tax licence to sell retail and to buy wholesale.  You can go online for your state (generally  State.gov ) and find the sales tax page,etc.  You will also need a federal id number (as a single owner of your business that is generally you soc.sec.number.  10.  Product development-List your current products you want to sell and are making or have bought  ie: buttons, handdyed yarn, etc. include everything.  Next list the items you want to buy to sell or new items to make/develop ie: knitting bags in 2 sizes, felted hats, nuno felted scarfs.  11.  Marketing/Sales - When you first start out you don't have a customer base.  As you do a show for a number of years you will have repeat customers.  Do you want to send them an email to remind them of the show?  If so set out a book so they can write their email address down for you for your mailing list.  Snail mail is fine for those that don't have email . Are you interested in having a web site or blog, being on facebook and/or twitter?  How about selling online at a site like etsy or artfire?  Do you want to sell wholesale to a yarn shop, boutique, gallery?  12.  Personnel- Do you need help at the shows or can you do them alone.  If you want/need help can friends/family help out for free/small payment (with you paying for motel/gas/and their food) or do you need to hire someone and where can you find that person. ( they have to be honest as they will be handling money, and they need to be someone you can spend hours with in a car).  One possible source is a high school/college student intested in fiberart.  13.  Do you want to teach- at shows, in your hone/studio. at local yarn shop, at local community ed program?   14 Do you want to join any local/state/national fiber groups?           If you answer these questions you will have a good idea of what where you want your business to be.   Some of your answers will be in your 5 year goals/future goals rather than 1 year goals.        I had wanted to put this in list order but I seem to be having trouble doing that (ie 1-2-3 down the left side of page with writing after).  Sorry, I am working on my computer skills but the operative word is Working .                                                   

Being a Vender is Hard Work

Before we go any further let me say that being a vender is hard work.  You drive long distances-set up in the cold/rain/heat and tear down in same, have slow show days/times. Loading and unloading ,depending on the amount of display/inventory you have takes time and  is work especially if you are doing it alone. You also have the expense of travel-gas/food/lodging.  You won't get paid for all the time you put in ( you also don't get paid to drive to your regular job and I know some of the nurses who work with me in er drive 45-60 min one way). After you get home you have to unload unless everything stays in a trailer until the next show but you still have to restock at the least. But if you are passionate about your product/business it can also be very rewarding.   It is wonderful to get possitive feedback from customers/people even if they don't buy then, give them a business card to remember you and they may buy later. I often will write on the back of the card what item they were interested in or let them write on the card so they will not only have my business name but a written reminder of the item they especially liked.  Meeting people and other venders is good for exchanging ideas and getting your creative juices flowing.  It is wonderful to notice the things people are wearing that they haave made and you might get a new idea for combining colors that you might not thought of, etc.  You can also share your knowledge with  attendees, and they will remember that you were helpful and are more likely to buy from you, even if it is next year.   You will have good and very good shows if you get the right product mix, the right shows   but it may take time to get there.  You will also have shows that are not worth going back to.  It is hard to know what  shows to do and sometimes it takes a few years for it to be profitable. If at the end of the day you ask yourself "why am I doing this?" and you asnswer because "I love it and I can't not do it and be fulfilled" you will find that it is worth it.   

Life getting back on track

Sorry it has been so long since I posted-I meant to post in Oct. Spent last part of Sept and beginning of Oct sutdying and taking what should be my last recertification for my er nursing career.  SAFF was last weekend of Oct.  Got to Asheville and it was in the 70's then Sandy came along and it was in the 40's but we got out of the mountains mon am before snow hit, did run into some wind and a bit of rain on the way home,but not too bad.  Worked one day and was dressing to go to a natural dyeing class, bent over to put my sock on and felt a pull in my back.  Gave it some time and realized I wasn't going to be able to do the class so went in to ER and the dr. gave me some  muscle relaxer and pain med.  Needed a walker to get around at home, saw my dr wed and changed meds.  By Mon I couldn't move due to the pain, called a friend and she helped me out of bed and took me to er where I was admitted for 4 days.  MRI showed a large bulging disc( lumbar 5) that was pressiung on nerves.  So conservative treatment, physical therapy and let the disc go back in.  I am off till Jan 12. which is my projected return to work date.  So I will now blog at least 2-3 times/week.