Busy? Not Busy??

[Ageorge]

After a month full of nothing but Patio cushions, exam tables, and more patio cushions...I feel like my phone has stopped ringing!! This is usually our busiest time of year...and now it is starting to feel like January. We don't do boats very often so I'm not busy with that. How are the rest of you doing??

[Mike]

why do you not do boats often george?
perhaps you need to branch out? I do boa  what do you primarily get?t and ive been busy with probably a month to two booked , always s goes just as im about caught up the phone rings again and im backed up.
what do you primarily get?

[kodydog]

Hi Ageorge,

One of the hardest parts of being a business owner are the slow periods. If you can tough it out the good times will return.

About two years ago we went through 3 slow periods in one year and decided, after 30 years in business, it would be best to work for someone else.  We kept our business line and now our phone is ringing off the hook and we are sending a lot of business to my new employer who is booked through 6 or seven weeks.

We still work for our selves on weekends and are booked out 3 months.

For the last 3 months we've been looking for a house in Gainesville and finding the real estate market is on fire. I believe the economy is turning around and see good times ahead.

We're in North Central Florida, what part of the country are you in?

When times are slow your advertising budget is slim but this is the time you must get the word out. Do you have a Web Page? We have gotten much success from ours. Many people are bypassing the Yellow Pages and newspapers and heading straight to the internet. I'm sure some of the folks on here can give you some more ideas on how to get some more customers.

Whenever we got slow my wife would go back to old estimates and call to see if the customer is still interested. Shes a good sales person and always managed to dig up a few jobs this way.

Don't get caught up in the cycle of lowering your prices only to find your low priced estimates come back to haunt you when times get good again.

Hang in there Ageorge your next big job is right around the corner.

[Mike]

Ill do that also kody. I have a notebook with names that i go give prices to if they dont contract right then i go over my old estimates and. All them back. Later. A cee go oh ues im glad you called.
Some say oh we went with a lower price or. Just cAnt  do it at this time.  

[Mojo]

I am just finishing up today a two week Coach rally and my expectations were wildly exceeded.
I am booked solid till the middle of July and that is sewing 7 days a week. I cannot believe the amount of money that flowed through these back to back rallys. All the vendors reported sales were up 30 - 50 % over last year.

Speaking of money flowing, 30 new coaches were sold by the dealers in attendance, the lowest priced Bus being $ 250 K. During talks with them they said their sales were up almost 50 % over last year.

I brought several products with me which helps pay all my expenses for attending the rallys. 303 products and small items I make at the shop such as windshield wiper covers, mirror covers, step carpet covers, etc. I am closing down my booth early today because I am sold out of everything. I sold out of 303 products twice and had to have MiamiMike drop ship several more cases of products and sold them out as well.

It appears, in my market segment anyways, that the retirees must have seen a boost in their 401k's because they are spending large amounts of money again. I am still dumbfounded over how good things were. I booked orders one after another and the vast majority were all pre-paid in full. It is the first time that has ever happened. I was really caught off guard because I thought I would be coming home with alot of unsold booth products based on last years sales. Boy was I wrong.

These rallys will provide ongoing orders for 6 months for me as many customers had scheduling problems and will be calling later in the summer or early fall to schedule their orders. I am happy as a pig in mud.

I hope this new spending fever reaches everyone else here.

Chris

[sofadoc]

This topic is a prime example of why I prefer a commercial location as opposed to working from your home. In over 30 years, I have never found it necessary to call up any customers in an effort  to drum up some business.

Sure...... there are slow times, when the backlog of work isn't as meaningful (profitable) as I would like. But I've always felt that as long as there's another job waiting when I finish one, I'm doing OK. The tough part for me, is finding enough profitable work to justify the added expense of a commercial building. But if you don't spend the money on a high-visibility location.......you'll end up spending it on advertising.

Kody's right.........don't lower your prices just because business is slow. Once you've let that  'cat' out of the bag, it's hard to get him back in.

For me, the first 4+ months this year have been great. And my in-store fabric sales have been at a 10 year high (total # of yards sold, as well as $).

[Ageorge]

I do mostly furniture...some boat seats but ot a lot. It just seems like I'm not getting the estimate calls or anything. I will go back and see about some old estmates...and am thinking af placing an ad. I do have a website but it needs some work which I may do now that are slowing down a bit. I'm in a commercial location and have been looking to move. Luckily we were super busy for awhile so we have some extra to tide us over. Maybe ill go back in Monday to lots of new voicemails!! :)

[Mike]

sofa I used to have a great commercial location for years in NH after I moved to FL in 04 ive only had one good visibility stop for about 2 years,  next door to a popular bait  shop I only attracted little cheap cusions job from cheapo little tralier boats  the first 4 year EVERBODY CALLED ME  and boat shows kept the name out there , the last 3 have been non commercial visible space  and no adv ertising whatsoever other then my website , im thinkijg of doing  the shows next winter

[sofadoc]

Speaking of high-visability. This is the old downtown movie theatre on the main street of my town:


It is currently undergoing a multi-million $ renovation to be transformed into an upscale dinner theatre.
It will have a huge parking lot on a side street (that just happens to be the street that my shop is on).

Mike: You're right. One downside to having a commercial location, is that you get a lot of people coming in off the street with piddly little 'nickel & dime' jobs. I just tell them that if they don't mind waiting, I'll "throw 'em on the pile", and get to them when I can.

[papasage]

haven't been  on here in a while  . my business has been doing OK  but  slower than  it was  some years ago . my health is fading some what and i don`t want to have a lot of back log . at 67 years 0ld and doing  upholstery for 48 years  i don`t need to be rushed . i would like to sell out  and let some one else  have the head ache . the market is wide open here but can`t do the work so i don`t advertise . a young  energetic  person could make a good business out of my shop  if they wanted to .i would be willing to let some one take it over and help part time if anyone is interested i would  finanse to the right person .


stricklanduph@yahoo.com
1 229 423 4821

[gene]

I'm pleasantly busy. Sometimes I'd like to be booked out for 3 months, but then I think that might feel too overwhelming. Work keeps coming in on a very consistent basis.

I'm not as old as papasage but I feel his aches and pains. I could certainly turn around a lot more work each year if I was a lot younger.

Ageorge: Two weeks ago I built a king sized headboard with tufted button and a queen sized headboard with a shaped top and decorative nails. I still get the occasional custom fit slipcovers. I also have learned how to 'refurbish' furniture feet. (Thanks again byhammerandhand.) I can make furniture feet look like they were 'gently cared for'. This has allowed me to do furniture that folks would not have otherwise wanted to do because they did not want to pay for refinishing the feet. I have also found that folks are wanting to take off the skirts on furniture and I can make the feet look great.

Like Mike said, what else can you offer? I am constantly looking for new ideas on things that I can do that are within the realm of my skills and tools - such as headboards and custom fit slipcovers.

SofaD mentioned in a previous post his "Foam Fridays". LOL. That is an awesome idea.

I mention SCORE occasionally on this forum because they were so helpful to me when I started. One thing they said often in their workshop was that you cannot grow a business by sitting and waiting for the phone to ring.

What exactly do you do? (A rhetorical question.) Mojo is a great example of someone who has carved out a niche for himself. I appreciate his example of how he knows exactly what he does and does not do.

Marketing: telling people you exist and what you do.

Sales: getting people to buy your services and products.

The business side of my business can be as much fun as the upholstery side of my business.

Thanks for the posts.

gene

[Mike]

Good to see you papa.
With my helth i also try to nit be rushed but they all to.
I belive you own your shop space also if you were to sell?
What is your location  btw. ?

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

As posted earlier, busy, busy busy.  I also "do" a lot of other stuff: custom machine embroidery, alterations, formal wear, etc.

I'm replacing a rag top this weekend and hoping to finish alterations on a formal wedding gown before that.  Have new cushions on a loveseat/couch and full replacement on a rocking chair thankfully almost complete.  That sucker was major sick (screws on right side sheared off) so I've spent way too much time on it but learned a lot so I'm cool with it.  Replaced the back rest on a HD that owner's dog chewed up and now have a full HD seat/back rest booked in as well.  Multiple pairs of pants to hem, zippers to replace and a ball cap that puppy chewed the adjustable strap off of.  I'm sure before I get much more of this done, some other projects will head my way.

I work out of our house.  I have the length of our basement and half the width so I have a great shop set up.  Across the alley is a car wash which is great because people see my yard sign so I have gotten several jobs as a result.  We're also half a block away from one of the major arteries in Grand Island I(Highway 30 for those of you familiar with GI) and the yard sign is clearly visible from H30 and have been getting calls from folks on their cells who saw my sign.  I am also advertising in Dex (both print and web page) and I'm tracking carefully to see which is bringing in the most.

Gotta get back at it.

Virg

[Mojo]

im thinkijg of doing  the shows next winter

I think in your situation it would be a good idea. The thing about these shows is you have a captive audience. This is a big plus for people like you who specialize. I do these rallys because it gets me in front of a group of people who will sooner or later need my services. Shaking hands, talking and handing out brochures and business cards ensure I get business down the road.

I am-redoing my booth for next years rally season with new banners. I want to step up the professional image as bit.

Chris