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David,

You wrote

Besides being a Parkie of 10 years, i am a rather serious woodworker. I

have been trying to think of a way to bring woodworking to a level that =
I

could retire from the Oregon Department of Revenue and concentrate on

woodoworking. What I am considering is a consignment store for =
woodworkers.

I think it would go in Salem. Salem has a population of about 100,000.=20

I had thought that I should respond to your posting with a private =
e-mail, but in view of the encouraging comments from other other list =
members I decided that it would appropriate to put a cautious note on =
the list, and if you want to e-mail me I shall be very pleased to =
comment in more detail.

I spent a number of years advising small business in the UK, =
particularly in the start-up phase, and a situation such as you describe =
always worries me. I don't suppose that our two countries differ much in =
this respect, and in the UK less than 1/3 of start-ups are still in =
business at the end of the third year. Also, you say that you are =
employed by the Inland Revenue, can you take early retirement with a =
pension that will give you enough to live on until the business becomes =
established, or have you got sufficient savings to tide you over this =
period, and finance the business?.

Selling craft work is always difficult, because the selling price =
required to give a reasonable living is generally more than most people =
are prepared to pay. If you are working from home, with very small =
overheads, in the way of rent, insurance, telephone, stationery, =
professional fees and so on, you might be able to exist on $16/hour. See =
how long it takes you to make whatever you are thing of selling, =
multiply the hours by 16, add on the material cost, and then consider if =
you have saleable product. Also bear in mind that a significant =
proportion of your time will be taken up by selling, administration =
etc., and that you only get paid for the time that you spend making =
things=20

If you are selling other peoples' products your overheads will =
significantly increase because of higher rent, light and power, possible =
local taxes, wages and so on. You need to decide the terms on which you =
are selling. I wouldn't expect these to be on anything other than on a =
commission basis, which will probably be in the range of 15% to 25%.. If =
we assume 20%, you will require to sell $5 to cover each $1 of =
overheads, including your own drawings. Work out what the total =
overheads will be and multiply by 5 to give the required sales. Does =
this seem an achievable number?. Before getting too far committed I =
suggest that you do a number of "back of an envelope" calculations on =
the above lines to see if the proposal makes sense.

The conventional advice is to go and talk it over with an Accountant, =
and before coming to final decision as to whether or not to go ahead, =
you will probably wise to do this. However, at your present state I =
don't think it worthwhile incurring professional fees until you have =
done a lot more work yourself to establish if what you are trying to do =
makes sense. In the UK there is a lot of free advice available from =
various Enterprise Agencies and so on, if there are similar bodies in =
Oregon, go and talk with them.

Also we have a number of craft fares held over here in Village Halls, =
and similar premises in various parts fo the country. They are mostly =
held at week-ends, and people in a similar position to you rent a stall =
and can do a trial marketing exercise. Have anything similar over =
there?.=20

A regular income from a salaried position takes a lot of replacing, and =
you must recognise that as PWP 10 years down the road you are unlikely =
to get any better, also that self employment generally requires many =
more hours of work than does salaried employment. Is it possible to do =
what you are proposing as a sideline, or paying hobby, before you give =
up your present job?.

Please send me a private e-mail if you think I can help in any way.

With best wishes,

Ray ([log in to unmask])=20


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<DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">
<P>David,</P>
<P>You wrote</P>
<P>Besides being a Parkie of 10 years, i am a rather serious woodworker. =
I</P>
<P>have been trying to think of a way to bring woodworking to a level =
that I</P>
<P>could retire from the Oregon Department of Revenue and concentrate =
on</P>
<P>woodoworking. What I am considering is a consignment store for=20
woodworkers.</P>
<P>I think it would go in Salem. Salem has a population of about =
100,000. </P>
<P>I had thought that I should respond to your posting with a private =
e-mail,=20
but in view of the encouraging comments from other other list members I =
decided=20
that it would appropriate to put a cautious note on the list, and if you =
want to=20
e-mail me I shall be very pleased to comment in more detail.</P>
<P>I spent a number of years advising small business in the UK, =
particularly in=20
the start-up phase, and a situation such as you describe always worries =
me. I=20
don't suppose that our two countries differ much in this respect, and in =
the UK=20
less than 1/3 of start-ups are still in business at the end of the third =
year.=20
Also, you say that you are employed by the Inland Revenue, can you take =
early=20
retirement with a pension that will give you enough to live on until the =

business becomes established, or have you got sufficient savings to tide =
you=20
over this period, and finance the business?.</P>
<P>Selling craft work is always difficult, because the selling price =
required to=20
give a reasonable living is generally more than most people are prepared =
to pay.=20
If you are working from home, with very small overheads, in the way of =
rent,=20
insurance, telephone, stationery, professional fees and so on, you might =
be able=20
to exist on $16/hour. See how long it takes you to make whatever you are =
thing=20
of selling, multiply the hours by 16, add on the material cost, and then =

consider if you have saleable product. Also bear in mind that a =
significant=20
proportion of your time will be taken up by selling, administration =
etc., and=20
that you only get paid for the time that you spend making things </P>
<P>If you are selling other peoples' products your overheads will =
significantly=20
increase because of higher rent, light and power, possible local taxes, =
wages=20
and so on. You need to decide the terms on which you are selling. I =
wouldn't=20
expect these to be on anything other than on a commission basis, which =
will=20
probably be in the range of 15% to 25%.. If we assume 20%, you will =
require to=20
sell $5 to cover each $1 of overheads, including your own drawings. Work =
out=20
what the total overheads will be and multiply by 5 to give the required =
sales.=20
Does this seem an achievable number?. Before getting too far committed I =
suggest=20
that you do a number of &quot;back of an envelope&quot; calculations on =
the=20
above lines to see if the proposal makes sense.</P>
<P>The conventional advice is to go and talk it over with an Accountant, =
and=20
before coming to final decision as to whether or not to go ahead, you =
will=20
probably wise to do this. However, at your present state I don't think =
it=20
worthwhile incurring professional fees until you have done a lot more =
work=20
yourself to establish if what you are trying to do makes sense. In the =
UK there=20
is a lot of free advice available from various Enterprise Agencies and =
so on, if=20
there are similar bodies in Oregon, go and talk with them.</P>
<P>Also we have a number of craft fares held over here in Village Halls, =
and=20
similar premises in various parts fo the country. They are mostly held =
at=20
week-ends, and people in a similar position to you rent a stall and can =
do a=20
trial marketing exercise. Have anything similar over there?. </P>
<P>A regular income from a salaried position takes a lot of replacing, =
and you=20
must recognise that as PWP 10 years down the road you are unlikely to =
get any=20
better, also that self employment generally requires many more hours of =
work=20
than does salaried employment. Is it possible to do what you are =
proposing as a=20
sideline, or paying hobby, before you give up your present job?.</P>
<P>Please send me a private e-mail if you think I can help in any =
way.</P>
<P>With best wishes,</P>
<P>Ray ([log in to unmask]) </P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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