JoAnn Fabrics

[gene]

I was in JoAnn Fabrics yesterday. I told the lady cutting my lining that I'm an upholsterer. She wanted my business card because she said she has customers all the time wanting an upholsterer. She said customers come in all the time buying fabric for a DIY project and then come back because they got in over their heads and are looking for someone to finish the project. And she said she has customers who want to buy their fabric but want to find an upholsterer first.

I did not give her my business card. My thinking is that someone sees a new cheap sofa for $500. They think they can save money by reupholstering their sofa themselves. They find out that they do not have the skills to do the reupholstery, or that it is too hard. They then find out that an upholsterer will charge double what they can pay for that new cheap sofa.

If I gave JoAnn's my business card, I believe I would get a steady stream of phone calls and texts asking me for advise and estimates, but not one piece of business.

Do you agree or disagree with my assessment?

gene

[65Buick]

Smart move, Gene. They are there for cheap, not quality.

[MinUph]

Agreed

[SteveA]

Once your card is there and folks tell one another - it could be beneficial.  When those " by chance" customers call me I don't put time into an estimate.  I ask them to send photos and give a ball park over the phone.  You can usually tell the ones who want the job done as opposed to the ones kicking the tires. 
I'd rather not burn bridges because you never know when some ill advised lead turns into a good thing
SA

[kodydog]

Taking over an amateurs half finished job is never fun and often a money looser. You can count on having to strip the fabric, no telling what they used to fasten it with. The customer will expect a better price seeing they already cut the whole thing out. You can bet the cut job is all screwed up so re-cutting the fabric will be in order. There is a pretty good chance you will need more fabric. You could charge more than your normal fee but these folks are do-it-yourselfers and looking for a cheap job.

On the other hand the folks looking for an upholsterer before they buy their fabric could bring some jobs your way.

[Mojo]

I gave up trying to guess on sales leads. My wife dragged me out to a Podunk campground to inspect and measure some awnings on a beat up old diesel coach. He was telling me how he was going to store the coach in Florida because of the amount of fuel it took to drive it back to the mid west. I thought " this guy is a cheap skate and he will have a heart attack when he sees our quote. " I did my duty, measured everything, looked at some assemblies and called it good. On the way home I told the wife " do not expect to hear from this guy once you give him your quote ". Her comment was " You never know and you may be surprised ".

God I hate it when she is right. Turns out the guy placed a big multiple awning replacement job with us as well as numerous parts.

I hand out cards to everyone. Just yesterday I got a call from a church to look at installing an awning on a church. I turned it down and told him " this job is not right for a canopy or awning. The area is too large and you need an aluminum structure that can handle 130 mph wind loads ( building codes ). " Later that day I get a call from a VFW hall that needs a door awning. Turns out the guy at the church gave him our number.

Moral of the story: You never know where that next sales lead will come from. Business cards are cheap. Hand them out and then deal with the potential customers as they call. Some will run when you give them a quote but others may just make your day for you.

Oh, and yes. We are creating another division within the company and expanding into commercial & residential awnings. :)

Mojo

[baileyuph]

The new division in your company - Mojo

This sounds like a much bigger market than what you have been doing - Right?

One thing for sure, you will (probably already started) have a lot more home work to look at.

I have had little contact with this market but it certainly comes off more complex (in every way) compared
to some of the other work.

Will there be a different approach on equipment used?

The first thing that comes to mind is the scalloping edges around the awnings - Actually in both
the residential and commercial venture.

Another thing that offers a change will be installation and servicing existing products.

It will be interesting to hear about the new challenges.  I am interested in the hearing about the patterning of such.  There should be considerable geometry in that play.

like I say, hearing about your planning and execution will catch my interest.

Doyle 

[Mojo]

Doyle:

I will be sure and let you know.

I just wrote a quote the other day and will be subcontracting out the welding and aluminum fabrication. Once we get moved into a bigger facility then we can start doing our own fab work.

I will post more on this new venture in a few weeks.

Mojo