ACS Home & Work Blog

No wonder it took me so long to write this post. I have stopped and started this post so many times. Today I decided to finish it. I thought I would do a little more fact checking and bone up what I wanted to write about. There is a lot to write about, this is not going to be easy.

Basically I wanted to post my thoughts on Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz and there American Pickers show on the History Channel. I have heard “Oh yea that’s a great show” or “I like such and such better” and when I searched Google I found some really mean spirited blogs. As a small business owner I think the show has great value. Not only is it fun to watch but there is a lot to learn.

First of all these guys are “Buyers” not pickers. But the show would not sound as appealing “American Buyers”, and most business have trade words, in their business they probably are called “Pickers”

You have to separate TV and the business part of the show. The show is meant for entertainment not business education.

Making a living from this type of business is not easy, especially since they have a building, an employee and other business cost. This is called fixed and variable expense. That means they have to keep the money coming in. They have to have a solid game plan to keep the cash flow coming in.

Garage sales and road side flea markets will not cut it for the type of business they run. They know this, and what they do is they “buy” Meaning they have certain customers around the country and they know what they want. One time they mentioned a prop company in Nashville. That makes sense, college and local theater need props. Another might be a restaurant designer. High end antique stores or antique stores that want the one piece they can put in the window, that can get you to stop and come in. When they go into a house or barn they are looking for certain things. At first I thought if they drove that far how come they did not buy more stuff. They know what they are looking for and what their customers want.

One thing you will see is they buy motorcycle stuff and old bike stuff. I think this is from years of doing this and they know the market. Plus I think Mike and Frank like that side of the business. The funky lamps that puts food on the table.

Take some time and watch the American Pickers clips on History Channel dot com, this is a business, and if you watch and listen closely you will learn a lot from these guys.

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That is how the newspapers and TV commentators dispersed there opinion this week when a new book about Google came out. Scott Cleland book “Why You Can’t Trust Google Inc.”. In all fairness I have not read the book. I did see his interview on Fox morning show. The author did say he still used Google.I found that interesting, I think he is saying, use Google but understand they collect a lot of information. True but most websites do, that is the advantage of the web versus other media. That is where I think I can put my two cents in. Our company has an online store, soon it will be 10 years we have had an online marketing site. We have spent thousands of dollars on ad expense, research and development of Google and other web products.

First of all, every business has to deal with Google, if it’s Joe the Plumber or Donald Trump. It’s not just Google, which is my basic point. The search engines Yahoo, Google, Bing and any others are just too easy to use. And now most cell phones have internet access. A couple clicks and you can Google or Yahoo the weather, directions to a restaurant or any other info you might need. Do not forget Twitter and YouTube. Because technology is a huge capitalist success the products have become cheaper and better. Not only websites, web services, hardware and software you name it, all products in the technology arena are better and cheaper. Every person on the planet has benefited.

The last thing we want to do is get scared of Google and get the government involved. We do not need regulation of Google or any other internet search engine. And it’s not just Google that has information on your web searches or buying habits. So does YouTube, Yahoo and Bing, Amazon, and many more. Even your local grocery chain is trying to gather as much information about you as they can. Unless you live in a cave your information is out there. The US government has a ton of information about you. You are not going to get away from it. If anything with better technology and a free market somebody will market better products to protect your privacy. I think in the grand scheme there are more important things to worry about like your anniversary or your son’s soccer game on Saturday.

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I was watching the television show on the history channel called “Ice Road Truckers”. Hugh Rowland one of the veteran drivers was talking about how he has to watch the soft snow on the edge of the road. The reason is, the soft snow will pull the truck off the road into the deep snow. I was to thinking; this man has to watch that for hours on end, plus all the other things he has to keep track of while driving. The next time you watch the show; notice these men and women are driving only 40 or 50 kilometers a hour. Which is 25 or 30 miles an hour in the US. That is how fast or slow we drive in school zones. This is very slow. And these men and women do this for hours on end.

That got me to thinking about all the men and women that drive the big trucks on our highways. If you think about the transportation system we have in the US, it’s very efficient. How else are you going to feed and clothe millions of people? For example, the New York City, New Jersey metro area. There are millions of people living in that area. How are you going to get the goods the people need to survive to them? You cannot have a train pull up to their house and unload a box car. If you central plan or central locate all commerce, it would take people hours to get to one location to get the goods they need. In the US we have a mix of trains, trucks, airplanes and boats that transport commodities. If you think about it that is the best way, to use each system to the capabilities it is good at. The items people need, not everything can be made locally, it’s not practical and would make items too expense to purchase. Some items like refrigerators are made in Iowa and transported by train and truck to the northeast area. It’s cheaper to make a refrigerator in Iowa than New Jersey. Oranges and orange concentrate is hauled by train from Florida to New Jersey. Bananas are brought in by ship.

The men and women that handle the trains, trucks, boats and airplanes, my hat is off to them. Think about all the responsibility these people have. Not only the safe travel of the goods but the general public they have to operate this equipment with.  Think about all the responsibility the men and women that work on the airplanes, how vital their job is, and each part they fix has to be perfect.  Or the people who fly the airplanes and the responsibility they have. The long hours most of these people spend away from their home and family. Truck drivers spend days and sometimes weeks away from home. I know it’s a career choice. Every day I am thankful there is gas at the gas station so I can drive to the store,  airport and my job; the stores will be stocked with clothes, food and other items so I can live comfortable and not like in medieval times.

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Of all the decisions start-up business owners have to make, the decision of how to finance one’s business has to be the thorniest. Do you beg, borrow or steal the money? Who can afford to finance a business these days?

There’s no easy solution, especially in this economy. But the fact is, hundreds of thousands of people have started craft businesses and galleries, sometimes on the flimsiest of budgets. With care and planning, you can too.

Don’t quit your day job
This may seem self-evident, but those nasty, time-consuming, traffic-clogged, mind-numbing, I-hate-my-boss jobs have one big advantage your business doesn’t—a steady income. And, assumably, the occasional day off.

This mixture can be magic. Your day job provides the income to pay your regular bills. Your evenings and weekends provide the time to start turning your craft hobby into a craft business. So whatever you do, don’t quit your day job on the touching hope that your craft business will be an instant financial success. Because, in all likelihood, it won’t.

Obviously, if you’re already unemployed, now might be the time for a what-the-heck, let’s-give-it-a-try business launch. But I wouldn’t give up looking for steady outside work (at least part-time) in the meanwhile. In this economy, cling to whatever income you have or can get.

You’ve got what it takes
Now for the sterling silver advantage craftspeople have over other start-up businesses: Most people don’t just pluck a home craft business idea out of thin air. They start the business by expanding an existing hobby, talent, skill or trade. That means often they already have the basic tools or materials or knowledge necessary.

This is wonderful news because, although you may need to upgrade to more professional-quality tools later on, at least you have what you need to get started. Lots of small craftspeople (ourselves included) started their businesses using hobby-quality tools and machinery. So can you.

A different way of thinking about this is to make a craft product that is compatible with tools you already own. Tools such as a sewing machine or a band saw are versatile and easily adapted to any number of crafts. And, presumably, you own those tools because you’re already something of an expert in using them. Perhaps you’ve only been making Christmas presents for the grandkids up to this point, but nothing says you can’t use those same tools (and that same knowledge) to expand your repertoire into more sophisticated crafts that are marketable and have a wider appeal.

Penny wise, pound foolish
Sometimes a smart businessperson knows what not to spend money on. Kathy Pine of WorldWise Jewelry (www.worldwisejewelry.com) spent precious time and money trying to acquire skills she didn’t need to build her business—namely, learning how to build a website and how to properly photograph her pieces.“I assumed that it would be faster and more cost-effective to do things on my own, ”she notes.“I spent literally months designing my own website (when I had no website development experience to speak of), months trying to learn how to take high-quality photos of my jewelry (when I barely knew how to use my camera), and more months trying to learn how to use Photoshop (making myself crazy just trying to figure out how to resize a photo for the Web).”The results, she says, were mediocre at best.

She learned a valuable lesson: Not everything associated with running a business must be done personally by the business owner. “By using experts to help me with things I don’t know and don’t really have a desire to learn,” concludes Pine, “I’ve been able to spend much more of my time doing things that are within my area of expertise— making jewelry (and therefore making money!).”

Black-and-white
Nonetheless, starting a business will take money, and that’s a commodity that might be in short supply in your household. So it’s time to get real. Putting everything down on paper is a superb method for figuring out expenses. There’s nothing like seeing those stark black-and-white numbers that don’t lie.

“Really look at everything you expect to buy when it comes to running your business—website expenses, supplies (office, raw materials, equipment, etc.), insurance, canopies/booths, display furniture, advertising (business cards, banners, postcards), and gas and travel expenses,” advises Michelle Sholund of By the Bay Botanicals (www.bythebaybotanicals.com). “It should be outlined on paper to see it all in black-and-white to determine if you can afford to start your own business with what money you have—and more importantly, keep running it when times are tough. People must be honest with themselves financially, and not look at the new business with rose colored glasses. This way, the opportunity for success becomes greater. I know firsthand how miserable it is [to use] all your hard earned money to pay expenses that could have been avoided—like credit card debt, which is the first killer of start-up art or craft businesses. There is nothing wrong with taking some time to save extra money because you will, in the long run, save more money by not paying finance charges and other fees that comes with credit cards or loans.”

Debt is dumb
In the words of financial advisor Dave Ramsey, debt is dumb. In fact, it’s about the dumbest way you can finance your craft business. The harsh reality is, if your business fails, you’re still stuck with the debt.

Far better to adopt artist and teacher Susie Monday’s (www.susiemonday.com) philosophy of pay as you go. Sure, it’s not as quick, but it’s a far safer method. “The only feasible way for me to finance my work has been with a pay as- I-go approach, ”says Monday.“ I cash-flow my business with a really simple budget every two weeks—that’s a short turnaround, I know, but for now, that’s about as far out as I can go financially.”

Monday worked as a nanny for five years to some children who had lost their mother to cancer. This allowed her to work on her art while the children were in school.“After about five years, the kids were on their own driving,” she says. “I was out of nannyville, but I had the time, experience and had built a résumé as an artist during my off-hours. By that time, I was both selling enough and had teaching opportunities to finance my time in the studio. I occasionally have to rely on credit cards for travel, especially when I teach at a venue far from my home. Cash flow can be tricky. But I aim to pay off those cards as soon as the expense checks come in, and I have managed not to get too far into debt at any time.”

Credit card caveats
So is there ever a situation where the judicious use of debt can allow the small businessperson to get a business off the ground? Yes…but with caveats. Remember, if your business fails, you’re still saddled with whatever debt you incur. Therefore, you must approach your business like a business (a surprising number of people still treat a business like a hobby and make poor business decisions). It requires discipline and hard work.

Alicia Campbell, affectionately called “The Batty Lady” (www.battylady.com) is an example of how the careful use of credit cards enabled her to finance her start-up business. “Starting a business at the beginning of a slowing economy is probably not one of the smartest things to do,” she admits. “I started The Batty Lady (a quilt batting supply source) in February 2008. I was on my own for financing, through the use of my personal credit cards. I probably wouldn’t recommend it, unless you have the financial capability to pay back the cards out of other income if the business fails. I have a day job in addition to my little business. Since the business is home-based, I don’t have the rental expense of a brick-and mortar store, but there are regular monthly expenses that have to be met (credit cards, website, advertising). My initial expenses were inventory, about $8,000 worth of stock needed to be purchased to cover the website and the quilt shows that I would be attending within the first few months of business.”

Campbell concludes, “I am now working on paying off all the start-up costs so that I can be a pay-as-you-go business and eliminate any interest expenses.”Campbell’s case illustrates that, even when a business succeeds, debt still needs to be paid off.

A means toward an end
Finding the money for a start-up small business is not easy. It’s not supposed to be easy. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Like anything worth doing, financing a business usually requires a complete philosophical change from immediate gratification to deferred rewards.

How can you finance a business without going into debt? You use the principles of deferred rewards. Skip the restaurant dinner and apply those funds toward your business instead. If you have a favorite vice (smoking, shopping, etc.), you could give it up and apply those funds to the business.

But even if you’re as thrifty as can be and apply all your spare money toward funding the business, life can get in the way. A new baby or aging parents may mean you’ll have to defer your business dreams for a while. Be patient.

And nothing says you can’t run your business under less-than-ideal circumstances—a cramped garage instead of a shiny new shop building; a secondhand sewing machine on the kitchen table instead of the latest model in a dedicated sewing room. Dreams that are nurtured and built slowly over time often yield the strongest successes (think oak trees).

Some of the most successful craft entrepreneurs we know are a couple who started an oil-and-incense business on a card table in their spare bedroom. Fifteen years later, they employ five people, rent a large warehouse and supply stores all over the country.

Dream big, start small. Don’t do the opposite. Remember: Bill Gates started in his garage. You can too.

Jessica Nagel Franchuk, Editor

The Crafts Report and Teddy Bear Review

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This article is originally written by Patrice Lewis, who is a co-founder of Don Lewis Designs (donlewistankards.weebly.com) and author of the monthly “Beginning Business” column in The Crafts Report (www.craftsreport.com). This article originally appeared in the August 2010 issue of The Crafts Report.

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The term “Flour Sack Towel” comes from a towel made from fabric that is used as packaging to hold flour.

Majority of the US population lived outside the city before world war two. This meant they did not have the convenience of retail stores; cities had bakeries, meat markets, and general mercantile stores. Either you baked your own bread to save money or going to the store every few days was not a good option. Generally most flour mills sold the flour in larger quantity than the 5 and 10 pound sizes we see now in stores. The best packaging was a sacking cloth made of 100% cotton. A sacking cloth is different than a linen material with a fairly tight weave or a muslin with a more loose weave. Linen can tear, if you are tossing bags of flour around in the warehouse, in bags of linen you could spill your flour. And muslin does not hold the flour as well as the tight weave of a sacking material.
Flour sack material is made in a different process than other materials. Most people think flour sacks are made from bolts of fabric like you see at fabric stores.The problem is you will not get as tight of a weave if you make your flour sack bags this way. A true flour sack towel is cut and hemmed when the fabric is still in its raw state. After the raw material is cut and sewn it then goes on to be finished into a flour sacking material. Manufacturing the towel in this order produces a more uniform and tighter weave towel. You can tell a quality flour sack towel a couple ways. One is hold it up to a light or window, you should only see vague light and not much more through the towel. If you can see the outline of the window and more, you have a very thin flour sack towel. The other way, a true flour sack towel will not have a sheen or a finish to it. It should have a flat cotton look to it. A true flour sack will be off white, some have a yellow tinge to them. A quality flour sack towel will have some weight to it. Some flour sack towels have a uniform edge and some do not. Some are hemmed on four sides and some on two sides. The hemming should not be a issue if you are going to use the towel in the kitchen. If you plan on putting embroidery on the towel you might want to consider a towel with hems on four sides. There is one more advantage to a flour sack towel. You cannot find a more earth friendly product. Not only is the cotton 100% natural, if you do throw it away it will decompose. Flour sack towels are a inexpensive way to dry dishes, use as napkins, and many other uses. Next time you see flour sack towels at your grocery store or online pick some up and try them yourself.

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