The Framers Forum

With my first Christmas out of way I’m finding things rather quiet. I was kept pretty busy all of December and as I only got going in Sep/Nov I was quite happy with the amount of custom I attracted. January is proving different. Of course I expected a drop off but what are others experiencing? I have some work in but could do with a load more; is January always this quiet?

Busiest ever. I have got 2 months worth of turnover to do in less than 2 weeks, but that is exceptional. However things on the commercial front seem to be improving. Feb is my year end and it looks like my best year ever.

Having said all that I am twiddling my thumbs and surfing the net as I am waiting for 5 boxes of moulding which should have arrived today but isn't being dispatched until today so I have had to pay for an am delivery in order to guarantee getting it in a reasonable time to start this big job.

geo, it'll pick up over the next week or two as people start getting paid again.
some years this happens here as well.
we are getting plenty of orders in, but there is of course the effect of being closed a fortnight over christmas so people were not placing orders which they would otherwise be collecting about now. Plus people delay pickups at this time of year due to impecuniosity and the weather.
generally we are much busier than last january though. middle/higher end. the arse has fallen out of the "bottom end".

Is anyone noticing a trend towards selling more framed prints? Our shop does seem to be showing some encouraging signs of framed print sales picking up.

To answer the question; much better than expected, in fact, very much better.

I had a whole list of jobs to do which I had been putting off until after Christmas, including:
New racking system for all the mouldings
New work bench in the workshop
Sorting all the offcuts and making them into ready mades
A new website to maximise sales of mounts from the CMC
Sorting the moulding display to remove some discontinued mouldings and look at where there are gaps in the range
Revamping the shop area.
Getting familiar with my new printer so I can offer a printing service.

I have not done a single one and the work keeps coming in every day.

Sometimes I have been juggling three customers in the shop at the same time.

January is looking good so far! A good level of orders and good cashflow for a January. I am still continuing with my refit as this is a priority for me. I need to make it happen, so I am having to split my available time accordingly.

My original shop counter and one original workbench have been scrapped and I have already built a new shop counter, plus fitted a workbench top onto my plan chest.

My new shop counter still needs fitting out inside with internal dividers, which I still plan to do this week. There will be a perspex top cover which I will probably do some time in the coming weeks. My new price charts will be placed under the perspex cover for easy access, while working out prices for framing orders.

My framing assistant and myself spent today refitting the inside of my now smaller mountboard storage bench.

I feel very positive about 2012.

GeoSpectrum wrote:With my first Christmas out of way I’m finding things rather quiet. I was kept pretty busy all of December and as I only got going in Sep/Nov I was quite happy with the amount of custom I attracted. January is proving different....

Alan,

Specifically to your situation and a new business - you will not establish real patterns and profitability for about 2-4 years of business, assuming that you have a store-front operation. As you have read in the initial responses in this thread, even for those businesses that are established, all experience a major drop off in sales volume in January.

Fortunately, outside of Nov-December, the year is typically flat for most bespoke framing business... deviating not much more than 10-12% month-to-month. But of course, you need to gain critical mass first. With a new business, what amount have you budgeted for advertising in January? For the first quarter? Getting the word out that you exist is critical...Free or Paid Advertising both are important.

(I'll be at the Spring Fair in a few weeks, if you'd like to talk further.)

All the best,

John

John Ranes II, CPF, GCF wrote: Alan,

For the first quarter? Getting the word out that you exist is critical...Free or Paid Advertising both are important.

(I'll be at the Spring Fair in a few weeks, if you'd like to talk further.)All the best,

John

That is a generous offer, don't pass it up if you are going to be there.

I will be there, probably on the Monday as I get home form a business trip on the Saturday nd thought I had better give the missus a little of my time!

I agree that in most normal businesses, barring big initial investment or a genius groundbreaking idea, 2-4 years is when you will start to see things ease, and after 5 should be going well.

You can feel very proud if you achieve that and it will take work, as it's far from a given. Take advice but trust your own nose more than anything as advice and opinions often conflict and what worked for someone else 30 years ago, could spectacularly fail for you today.

Personally I think picture framers on the forum will do better than most, as it's almost a given that you are reasonably modern, outward looking and committed. They are 3 of the major factors for success in my opinion. How you achieve success can vary on you, your situation and your luck. Success can also be measured in many ways but most business people want more work, some just want the right kind of work and no more (the lifestyle).

January was our best ever with all types of sales up, despite not starting back till the 9th.

We have seen gross and net profit margin fall a bit this year (not too badly), but partly a reflection we are handling more big jobs. Partly increases in cost of materials it's not quite the time to pass on yet.