To soon?

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GeoSpectrum
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To soon?

Post by GeoSpectrum »

I have only just set up in the last 4 months, working from my garage/workshop. Things are slow but picking up. A shop unit has come up and is available at a decent rate in the local town and I am tempted as there are no other framers in town. However, a shop was not part of the plan for another 12 months or so, so what do I do, jump at it or sit back and stick to the plan? I am new to running my own business and am not quite sure if i am ready to take the plunge. Of course it will take some additional capital layout to get the place fitted out but how do I go about deciding on what to offer other than framing ie a gallery or art supplies or gifts or what? Time to revisit the business plan, but where to start?

Any thoughts or suggestions anyone?
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Paul Hayward
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Re: To soon?

Post by Paul Hayward »

although i am not a framer , we own a photographic studio, Its fairly easy to expand and take the plunge and grow the bizz....someone once said to me if your not growing your dying :shock: .......I would just be pleased with a stable turnover and a small profit at the end of the month...think "Growing"any bizz is a real challenge in the current climate .

I cant really give you advice on specifics ie products etc ...the only thing i would say is that once you sign up for a unit all sorts of extra bills will land on your desk...and obviously you have the hard choice to make re the rent / lease etc....if its a short term lease and you could " shrink" back into your garage if you needed to then it could be worth giving it a go....think carefully about a long lease though! I sadly signed up for a 2nd studio when things were good and then when income fell i was stuck with a lease with 12 years left to run :shock: biggest MISTAKE of my life that was... I have learnt the hard way and have learnt some very important lessons in life..

Saying all that were back to one studio and for the last 3 years have just about kept things ticking over ,

summary ....

get out clause on the lease

dont grow too quickly (ie staff).....you can grow all too easy but reducing costs can at times be much more of a challenge :shock:

Chase profit ..not turnover

I have 2 friends with there own Art Gallerys and both of them mainly work on there own with there other halfs of a part timer and although they do work dam hard they do seem to have a good income and nice lifestyle 8)

Anyway hope you can take some helpful info from this FANTASTIC forum and wish you the very best of luck with all the new oppertunity 8)

Sorry i cant give you any help re products etc

Best Regards

Paul
Graysalchemy

Re: To soon?

Post by Graysalchemy »

When you are taking on a lease your business is taking on a liability for a given length of time, you will be responsible for paying not only the rent but the rates an insurances for the length of the lease and since most leases require personal garantees then you will be personally liable if your business fails.

In the present climate there is no guarantee that being on the highstreet will generate the sales to service this lease. The highsteet is dying I was lucky to get off the highstreet 8 yrs ago, I used to be involved in the family business selling art materials and doing framing. The town died not long after that.

4 yrs ago I was moving into larger industrial premises, I found a property which was the cheapest I could find but was still a stretch, there were delays on the lease so I gave the agent an ultimatum. That night I got an email from another agent for another property have the price and better, so I pulled out and went with that one. I had a very lucky escape as I wouldn't have servived with the other lease.

My advice would be to grow your business for another 12 months and grow your client base. Bet your bottom dollar that there will be properties available then. Keep your business lean and fit that way you can manouvre you business model whilst you are growing.
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prospero
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Re: To soon?

Post by prospero »

Good plan to have a second sting to your bow Alan. But don't consider art supplies unless you have an enormous amount of spare capital. It's not the sort of thing you can just stock a few bits'n pieces of. There are 10000s of different items. Some have a limited shelf life. It can be a big trap.
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Graysalchemy

Re: To soon?

Post by Graysalchemy »

Prospero is right. I used to carry the full range of W&N paint and also Dalers. I had 6.5 metre units of colour alone with a value of probably over 30K. It was an impressive shop but even back in early 2000 people were beginning to buy online and the town was dying so we got out in 2004 and I have never looked back. At first I ran my business from a small workshop hidden away now I have a 3500 sq ft workshop nowhere near the high street. Admittedly all my work is commercial but it is a niche I have carved for myself in 7 years.

Seriously take a long hard look before you commit yourself financially especially in this climate with a potential second downturn of the economy.
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prospero
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Re: To soon?

Post by prospero »

Gallery sales are better bet. If you have wall space - use it. But avoid 'popular' prints and such. Try and get stuff that no one else has. Frame it nicely and price it accordingly. Not only will you have an extra avenue of income, but you have examples of framing styles to show folks who bring things for framing.

Keep your eye open for things to frame. Postcards, calendars, stamps, greetings cards etc. Any decorative items. The standard of printing on some of these are as good if not actually better than much 'fine art' prints. Old sepia photo reprints of local scenes. Have a look round any car-boot sales for suitable stuff.

Small things are good. They make nice presents. Also you can use up all your offcuts. :lol:

Mirrors? You can go for more flamboyant framing on these.
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Jonny2morsos
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Re: To soon?

Post by Jonny2morsos »

If it is of interest there is a Fine Art Trade Guild meeting next week hosted by Rob and Julie Chapman GCF of "On The Edge Picture Framing".

Rob and Julie Chapman GCF will be talking to us about "moving to their new premises " the challenges, the joy and rewards of moving.

The speaker for the event is Neil Stout, who will be educating us on Equipment Servicing . Come join us to learn about the importance, benefits and how to service your equipment to gain the best out of it.

East Midlands Branch Event will take place on Wednesday 12 October, from 7pm.

Venue: On The Edge Picture Framing, Unit 8, Courtyard Workshops, Bath Street Market Harborough, Leicestershire. LE16 9EW

If you are interested in coming along get in touch with Andy Rossiter on 01778 394664 or email aprossiter@o2.co.uk by Monday 10 October 2011.

It is £5 for non FATG members.
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Framerpicture
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Re: To soon?

Post by Framerpicture »

From my expierience I would avoid artist materials- the margins are only about 35% and its impossible to compete with the online retailers.

Running a gallery along side your framing can be another job in itself if your going to be at all succesful- If your a one man band all the time you spend customer facing your not making frames. I started like this and I can still feel the frustration of wanting/ needing to get frames finished and customers just want to browse "your lovely pictures" and me working till 9.00pm in the evening to catch up



You could rent wall space, or hang on commision but when you've spent an hours discussing the artistic merits of picture with potential customer you'll probably find it more profitable to be making frames in that time. On the plus side, if you have good pictures well framed the artist's will have paid for your impressive gallery display and this will definately bring you more work.

If you are running a gallery,we also do well with carefully selected greetings cards, books,ceramics, and jewellery- but of course all these need capital.

Good luck if you decide to take the plunge!
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JamesC
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Re: To soon?

Post by JamesC »

My instinct from talking to reps and so on is that a high quality originals gallery is one of the better bets just now and it's like sale or return if you run it right - but you need a good location/catchment perhaps and don't know about yours so much. In terms of framing good parking outside is a massive plus too so consider that. If you are the only one in a decent sized town then it sounds potentially viable.

One things to say and my old boss told me when I left work was - "if it isn't working don't be afraid to change it" and he drove an aston martin etc. Having said that his dad left him with a pretty good printing business in place. Patience and prudence are also virtues.

You might consider a well placed industrial unit instead and doing fairs etc.

I do the more mixed online/commercial work and it works ok but has it's drawbacks - pressures are similar but growth is steady. We have reached 5 full-time employees now so now we can think about holidays etc. Before that it was very tying and hard to find staff who can "do everything".

I considered opening a gallery and my intention was to also do cards and nice gifts too to keep the till ringing and people coming in - the shop was near the main supermarket in town - whose cards are poor. Try to do things no-one else does and make it special - then people can't undercut you as easily and people will talk about you more. Original art and local made things fit this bill I feel perhaps.

New businesses are never easy at any time - fact so why not take calculated risk. Try to have a contingency plan or fund in place, we always have.

Better a quick bang than a slow death I feel.
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