Best Type of Work For Making A Profit?

[baileyuph]

There is a great thread going on regarding how your time is spent in the shop, that is time spent on billable hours opposed non billable hours.

That is an important subject to anyone in business, it especially applies to a small custom operation.

In my business some business is absolutely a loser because of the overhead related to getting the job (closing the sale).  Small jobs can fit into this category, but not always.

Then, my shop efficiency is higher on some types of work.  For example, a seam needs sewn in a furniture related item or much auto work takes a lot less customer time than a decorating problem.  

Therefore, maintenance type work in general can be handled more efficiently, than a comprehensive type sale, where the item is totally redone.  Another type job that raises the billable side of the equation is;  newer furniture requiring repairs opposed to total redo.  repairs are more cut and dried, the issue is to fix what broke and do it reasonably fast.  

Repairs, in essence, are proving to contribute more to the billable column.  Obviously, more shop profits.

Any other experiences out there similar?  Do you have a speciality of sufficient volume that affords you with a healthy income?

If so, list the specialty.  Good ideas are never to be ignored.  I read once where a shop (auto trim) specialized in leather seat kits, that is the shop made seat upholstery for certain cars and was doing quite well going in that direction.  Sales were primarily, I understood, via a website.  Get the order, cut from a pattern, sew, and ship.  Pretty efficient, huh?  I would imagine a lot of communication is by email.  One can take care of that at their best time.

Thanks,

Doyle

[kodydog]

As much as we like to gripe about the new furniture coming out of China the repair work from it is a money maker. I have found the simpler a piece is the better the profits are. Antiques are usually time hogs and hard to make a profit when you have to strip down to the frame. But without them I'd be out of business.

[baileyuph]

You got that right Kody.

Repairs are not all bad, my income went up by saying "yes" I repair also.

There are a lot of man hours in traditional work, as much as I enjoy it.  But I think we all enjoy making money!  Grin

Actually, some of the newer stuff is a challenge, just to fix it.  So, it isn't all boring stuff.  A lot has been changed in the technology of building things, that can be a different head problem too.

To the point of making a profit, I guess this thread was started to avoid Rich's point, of noting how you spend your time and what doing.  To keep the issue simple, I find that efficiency goes up when doing something that can be done fairly quickly and do a lot of it.  So, you are in concert with the repair thing.  

Just wish parts were easier to get for some of this new stuff.
Being mostly imported doesn't make that easier.

Doyle

[Rich]

Doyle, good follow up to the time thread.
I think any time one deviates from the original design of the work, the time spent goes up dramatically. I'm reminded of my years in my auto trim business. Repair work on dealer cars, inserts, convertible tops, vinyl tops were all good, predictable profit. But as soon as there was a request to do something different than the original such as with a custom interior or interior component, it became a minefield of time consumers. Time spent on the design, time spent reworking the design, time spent dealing with unintended consequences of the design etc. The problem I had and I think many in this business have is that the custom work is so much more intriguing than the straightforward stuff.

I will say this, though; when your engrossed in enjoyable work, you will find it easier to plug along than you might on work that may become boring over time.
Rich

[Mojo]

I like my little niche. I thought I would starve jumping into the RV world and doing what I do but it turned out to be a huge profit maker. I have healthy margins in my orders and thankfully, with being hooked up with Miami Corp and MiamiMike my margins stay healthy. They do an awesome job for me helping me hold down my costs through large scale purchases and with shipping. They do a few extra things for me ( like moving stock to Jacksonville to lessen my shipping costs which results in flat rate shipping of $ 10 per order). But I am also buying full rolls of fabric most of the time ( 60 - 65 yard rolls ) so you would expect price breaks. Just by moving stock around for me saves me a huge amount of money in shipping costs over the course of a month

It would appear on the surface that my $ 130 per hour average rate is higher then most but I also put in a lot of extra time that I do not calculate ( I should though ). My rate has been as high as $ 175 per hour on a few jobs but the one thing many do not realize is that I have had to bust my ass to carve out this niche. I hold numerous seminars every year in Florida, SC and Indiana ). I support two motorcoach associations with renting booths and buying advertising at their rallys. I also act as an expert to the members on slide topper/awning issues and participate on their internet forums. I have also had to spend a great deal of time getting educated in not only fabrics and thread but also the mechanics of the toppers and awnings, their internal parts, etc. which includes motorized and non motorized versions.

I used to think I was greedy by making as much as I do but then I also know how much time, effort and expense has gone into building this business and my niche market.

Yes, I will agree, I can turn around products quicker then most other upholstery sectors and I make a bigger profit and much faster then if I was doing work in other sectors of our trade ( simply because I am to slow with  other work ). When I think I am making easy money I need to remind myself it has taken a great deal of time, energy and money to get to where I am not to mention maintaining my presence in this sector. Just the time it has taken to forge relationships and a reputation within the RV world has been a killer.

In regards to doing repairs, I no longer do them. They eat up precious time for me and the payback is not worth the headaches of having to clean my machine. $ 40 for a restitch versus 130 for a topper. No brainer. :)

I am extremely happy with my niche market but I also have days I wished I was doing something different like car's, furniture or something. I see your pictures or read stories on your latest projects and I get VERY envious. Canvas work, while highly profitable is fairly easy and boring as heck. I consider many of you guys masters. I con sider myself a monkey with a sewing machine....lol... :)

Chris

[JDUpholstery]

I don't have nearly the experience a lot of you have so am still learning and everything takes me longer than it should, but I have found repair work or replacement (making a new cover while using the old as a pattern) make me the most money...I especially like boat covers and Bimini tops, they are larger but have less seams so go together quicker....I also enjoy recovering boat seats, as long as customer wants it all to stay the same its quick and easy, its when they order something custom that it takes time to design and pattern

[Mojo]

It took me sometime JD to get to where I am today. I was real slow when I first started and I assume everyone is slow when they first take on and learn this trade.

In my type of work it is so straight forward that speed becomes your best friend. It is almost like assembly line work. I have finally reached the point to where I can kick these toppers and awnings and solar screens out fast without compromising quality. I studied every step of the manufacturing process and was able to shave off a great deal of time by changing the way I did things.

I can make a brand new topper almost as fast as I can do a restitch. Actually I can do it faster when you consider the time it takes to rip out the old thread and re-stitch it plus clean out the sand and dirt on the machine. This is the reason why I no longer do repair work.

I turned away alot of repair work last winter because I was so bogged down with new orders. I couldn't afford to take on the repair work. I did one repair this last summer and I calculated it costing me approximately $ 200 in lost production of new toppers.

The problem I have is the market price is already set for re-stitching jobs. The same holds true for new orders. I do not set the price, the market sets the price for me. Thankfully the market price ( and margins ) for new products is very high.

I am curious to know when all of you do repairs do you charge like you would for new work in regards to hourly rates ? Or is there a set market price for some repairs ? Most of the restitching jobs I have heard of from RV'ers have been around the 40 - 50 range. So I cannot charge by the hour because the market has set that price.

I know I have read before where some of you have said it is easier and quicker to make all new versus repair some things. Just wondering.

Chris

[JDUpholstery]

today I redid a Bimini top, restitched it and replaced all the zippers, I charged hourly for that, it wasn't too bad 2 hours to redo all stitches and replace 4 zippers so 100 bucks and he walked out the door happy...the cover was in great shape but the elements had taken a toll on the thread...that job made me profit

[jojo]

JD, I think you are undercharging. 4 zippers and an entire restitch for $100? Sounds like the zippers should've probably cost $50....I don't know, maybe some of the others will chime in, but it sounds like you did the guy a favor. Unless he bought the zippers, of course.

[JDUpholstery]

the 4 zippers I replaced were 10" long and I got them for 2 bucks a piece, so 8 dollars, 2 hours of labor at 45 an hour, 90 dollars and the thread 2 bucks...I think I could have done it faster too on the next one...in my area the high end shops charge around 65 an hour...I have no overhead to speak of, and with my disability move slower than the other guys (closest is around 70 miles from me) so because I am slower I charge less...in a few years when I can consider myself proficient, I might charge more...

[Mojo]

JD:

Like you, when I first started I was slow as well so I never charged as much as others would have. I also lacked some confidence in my abilities and felt my work was not very good so I had a hard time charging what others would have. it took a long time till I gained confidence in my work.

Taking into account how slow I was I never charged full hourly rate. I felt it wasn't my customers fault I was slow and that I was learning so why charge them for my inefficiencies ?  I started out charging $ 20 per hour because I was working out of my trailer and felt my work sucked. Then went to $ 35 per hour. Then to $ 50 then to $ 65.

Today my rates are dictated by my competitors, all of which are large companies. They set the rates for each slide topper/awning. I charge just under what they charge. Depending on the dealer I can be anywhere from dead even with their prices to $ 250 underneath them on a full quad slide topper order. My competitors sell through a large dealer network. They do not sell to the public. I could charge more then the others based on the fact that my toppers and awnings are all of much higher quality ( Sattler fabric, Solarfix thread and double perimeter stitching ) but to be honest with my profit margins the way they are I would feel guilty charging more.

I just want to make a decent living. I am not looking to get rich. If that was the case I would sell my machines and equipment and go into another trade like maybe opening a brothel..........:)

Chris

[JDUpholstery]

yeah that sounds like me...I started around 20 an hour, up to 35 as confidence grew, now I am at 45, I am not looking to get rich either, as long as I have enough cash flow to cover the utilities, and pay for the mortgage so that I can have a huge shop to play around in then I am happy. It sounded cheap but really the amount of work was not much, I did it fast and other than the thread and 4 small zippers I had no upfront costs. I also believe that just starting out doing it a little cheaper will get more customers to start spreading your name. Today I start work on a pontoon boat cover, again it is probably under-priced, but I figured since the customer brought in his old cover, and I do not have to take time patterning, then 900 was a fair price...will let ya know when I am done if I turned a profit or not lol....and I forgot again to take pictures of the restitich...hopefully I remember during this!

[Mojo]

I have days I miss doing what I used to do. I started out doing solar screens for RV's but I also took in any and all work ( except furniture ). I have done everything from boat interiors to gun holsters to sewing patches on motorcycle jackets and vests.

I used to do restitching on all kinds of things from motorcycle covers to awnings and gazebo tops. I liked the mixture of different things that came into the shop back then.

Yes my work now is a money maker but it is so boring it drives me nuts. I have days I really need to force my old ass out to the shop because I dread making another slide topper. It is so monotonousness. :)

Chris

[Rich]

[quoteYes my work now is a money maker but it is so boring it drives me nuts. I have days I really need to force my old ass out to the shop because I dread making another slide topper. It is so monotonousness.][/quote]

Hey Chris, I'm not saying this because it's something I'd do (actually, been there, done that, hated it!) but since your work is fairly straightforward, would it make sense to train someone to do it to alleviate some of your boredom?
Rich

[Mojo]

I actually considered it last winter when I was so buried in orders. Then I got to thinking about paying taxes, salaries, all the paperwork involved with an employee, social security, workers comp, etc and said screw it. :)

I talked with the head of Sattler North America during a seminar him and I did together. He said he knew of some contract sewers that I could use if I got really far behind again. They are specialized shops I guess that do marine canvas work and other things and work for companies as contractors.

My big concern would be quality though. I am extremely anal about my quality. It has to be perfect or it doesn't get shipped.

Chris