Business coach says profit is key to crafting a successful business (News)

By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com


Profit isn't a dirty word.

That was the message to a group attending a day-long seminar here Wednesday sponsored by Enterprise Fredericton entitled Launching and Sustaining a Business in Fine Crafts.

"You should never apologize for making money," said business coach Debbie Lawrence of Abundant Living Inc., who led the seminar.

"You are not just an artist. You are a business person too."

There were about a dozen people specializing in arts and fine crafts ranging from photography, painting and card making to wood working, jewelry, fashion and home-made skin-care products.

Some of the artists and artisans have been in business for many years, some were just starting out and a few were planning to start a business.

The seminar taught them about how to figure out what it costs to produce their product and how set a price for it, the difference between fixed cost and variable costs, how to sell on concession, how to get feedback from potential customers, what to spend on advertising and how to create a vision statement as part of their marketing efforts.

Lawrence talked about the importance of a business having multiple entry points with different prices.

For example, a craftperson might make $3,000 quilts but not everyone can afford that, she said.

So that craftperson might also make $150 quilted pillows, $50 quilt samples or even just sell pictures of their quilts for a few dollars, Lawrence said.

That way, a consumer can spend what he or she can afford at the time and if in the future they save or receive an annually bonus or inheritance they may return to buy the more expensive item, she said.

"You give people many different ways to live with your work," she said.

Lawrence said many artists aren't interested in the business side of their pursuit.

As a result, many don't know what it costs to produce their art or fine crafts and are surprised when they aren't making a profit, she said.

"First and foremost, it is really important to understand there is an element of planning that goes into launching any kind of business and craft and arts business is no different," said Lawrence in an interview.

She said the seminar gives artists the basic tools to make good decisions at the beginning of their businesses so they have the best chance of being successfully in the long term.

Lawrence also said good business planning doesn't have to be complex or intimidating for newcomers.

"It is definitely not rocket science," she said.

"People have been launching businesses since the beginning of time."

Lawrence said male and female entrepreneurs often view the idea of making a profit completely differently.

Men have no problem with the idea of their businesses making money while many but not all women view it as a way to support their family or give back to the community rather than a profit-making venture, she said.

"There is no sense ever being in business if you are not going to make any money," said Lawrence.

"All too often I see people practically doing it for free."

Some women entrepreneurs may say that they have a part-time job or have a spouse with a good job so they don't have to charge a lot for what they make, she said.

But that goes away when a group of female entrepreneurs sit down in a business forum setting and talk honestly about profit, said Lawrence.

"It is (about) talking about it and giving them permission to give themselves permission to make money," she said.

"It is definitely the white elephant in the room. Everybody has it at the back of their mind."

All but one of the participants in the seminar Wednesday were women.

Lawrence said it's not unusual for female business people to price their products so low that their customers give them a $100 tip.

One audience member acknowledged that exact thing had happened to them.

"That is the marketplace screaming that your price is too low," said Lawrence.

Joelle Richard is a fashion designer and recent graduate from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design who has started her own clothing company called Romantica Nocturnis.

She's working on her business plan and said she came to the seminar to get information on pricing.

"It is building on what I have been learning because I have been studying entrepreneurship," she said.

"It is always better to hear as many different options as possible (on how to set pricing) and different strategies and ways to find out what really works."

Julia Cammack has been running Grain Effects Woodworking and Lumber Sales on the Wilsey Road for years, and she attended the business seminar to refresh her entrepreneurial skills.

"It was very useful," she said.

Cammack liked that the seminar specifically targeted fine crafts rather than business in general and said she would be reviewing her vision statement and may write a new one.

Bill Petley is a locksmith but that wasn't why he was at the seminar. He has a vision to start a company with a partner to make custom keys for high-end motorcycles and luxury automobiles.

"The seminar is very usefully especially the (section on) pricing your product," he said.

"You can't sell too cheap or you won't be in business very long and if you sell it for too much nobody will buy it.

"There is a balancing act I learned today."