Convincing "Her" I should go full time.... How should it be done?

Hankins

Hankins

Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Messages
2,936
Convincing "Her" I should go full time.... How should it be done?
Looking for the right approach so it becomes "Her Idea" that full time Knifemaking is the way to go...
Suggestions?
 
Let the rest of us know when you figure it out!

I know my wife basically wanted to see a business plan.
 
Why the need to convince? You either are or aren't paying the bills plus profiting with it.
 
A lot of late nights and weekends building up your work load, and turning the profits over into your shop until you're ready for the big time. Once you have your workshop how you need it and you have enough work to stay busy and pay your bills, then you're ready. At that point, "convincing her" shouldn't be a problem. I think it takes most people 5-10 years to get to that point if they decide that's what they want to do.
 
First you have to convince yourself!:confused: If you are making a monthly income on knives that is comparable to what you already make and you feel you can substain this, then the rest is just gravy!
You see women do not see this as a money making habit, at least not in my house!:eek: And so far she has been right but I always reserve the right to change her mind!!!!!!!!!!!!:D
After 33yrs. you would think I could take on easier tasks than trying to change her mind!:foot::D:D:D:D

Good luck if you think you can make it work full time she'll agree if you "show her the money"!
 
Just have her read this thread after it gets to a few pages. . .
 
Purchase a winning lottery ticket 1st. The rest will be easy.
 
show her a business plan, for example (numbers are wag's)

2000 hours per year
10 hours per knife
200 per year
figure sell 3/4 of them, or 150 ~ 3 per week
make $200 per knife after materials, capital recovery, etc.
or 30k/year

or whatever you think your plan is
 
*** don't let "her" read this! *****



Sorry, but I've been a full-time maker for near ten years now and I wouldn't force it on my worst enemy... even if he killed my dog.

Kind of a tough thing, working for yourself. Best take it seriously and think big. Water-jet/laser blades. Commercial heat-treating. Mid-tech production techniques. Big batches. If you think you can make it just doing customs, you are in for a hard ride. Sure, guys here will tell you they did it, so can you. And, I'm sure you can, but is it smart?

Best advice by BMK: get a winning lottery ticket first.
-M
 
Are you having any money problems now? How does your wife feel about that? You will have money problems if you go full time. Sorry , Bud, your woman is far more to have and to hold than any knife you can make. Frank
 
I agree with Michael! I've been at it full time for nearly 10 years, and part time for 15 prior to that. The only way I am doing it full time is because of a military retirement check coming in, and a strict budget that depends only on that retirement and my Wife's income.
I can remember when I was part time, thinking how great it would be to be "one of the big boys" who gets to do this full time, and thinking those folks had it made. In reality, most of those "big boys" live a "hand to mouth" existence, and in some cases I have even heard them mention how they had to "take out a loan" to attend a show. I know that's likely not what you want to hear, but it is the truth.

If you have a good, steady job, with benefits and a retirement, my advice is to keep working that job, make knives on a part time basis, and then once you retire, you will be in a much better position to go at it full time.
That being said, everybody's situation is different, and if you have prepared, and have a sound plan established, you will have a better than average chance of success. Where our business differs from most is that our income is always dependent of others' disposable income. In "good times" we thrive, and when times are "bad" we struggle.
As to "how to convince her".....if she needs convincing, then it's likely a loosing battle to begin with.
 
In the same boat as Ed. I have a military retirement check coming in and my wife has a really good job. All the beni's are taken care of due to the military ret. I make knives because I like to and the money I make goes right back into the business. I buy the wife a little something once in a while but do not count on ANY part of my business to pay the bills. Now there are a FEW that have actually gone full time without any other source of income. But like Ed pointed out they are few and far between and hustle all the time to make it in this business. Most who have made it "BIG" have diversified. Sold patterns to retailers. Sold rights to movies etc. When you work in an industry that relies fully on expendable income it is very hard. If you are working now build the business to a comfortable point first. Then since you would have been working so much the extra time you had been spending can be a bargaining chip for the mrs. She will probably want to see more of you or less of you depending on how she took the excess work to build knives.

Good luck
 
I've never really understood why people want to take something they enjoy and make a job out of it. Making it a sole source of income puts pressure on you that, it seems to me, would suck the joy out of it. Gotta crank out another 25 of the money makers... no time to craft that dream knife I've been thinking of for months now... bills to pay, and the wife definitely won't put up with camping in the back yard for vacation again this year...even if I use the dream knife to hack away the weeds.

Obviously, I'm talking through my hat because I'm not a knifemaker. But this same thought stream has kept me from being a contractor in my chosen profession. Steady pay and benefits are certainly a nice thing to have. Putting stress on the things I do to let down the tension would be a mistake for me. Your mileage may vary.

- Greg
 
The way I did it was to get laid off (May 1, 2009) and have no realworld possibility of becoming gainfully employed anytime soon. (Electrical Engineer).

Honesty alert, please don't be offended: Your knives look good to me, but your prices look low. I saw a gorgeous fighter with a 6" blade for $150 with the option of a leather sheath for an additional $25. This is a problem. It means you're under-valueing your time, and not getting paid much for your labor. Makers do this because they're scared they arent going to sell knives at the proper pricepoint. This isn't something you want to overcome when you're full time, and depend on sales. What you've done is skew demand for your work by pricing your labor rate at poverty. Price the knives what they're worth before making the decision to go full time. Then make the judgement based on demand at that pricepoint.

If you go full time and fail, your wife won't let you try it again. Do it right the first time.

All of this is only my opinion, and worth exactly nothing.
 
I think one should follow their dreams. (At a safe distance.) I once pondered going full time. Then I seriously sat down and looked at it. Here's my thoughts from my world. My electric will probably go up $50.00 a week, using the shop more. I expect shop supplies to increase to about $100.00 a week. My health ins. will go up to $100.00 a week (my current employer pays half now). You gotta do some shows and get your name out there. So lets say $50.00 a week put back for show cost. So for me I would have to increase my income by a minimum of $300.00 per week to live as I live now. I do not know your situation. So it is hard to give advice. If your gonna convince the Mrs you have to make the #'s work.
 
Fiddleback said:
The way I did it was to get laid off (May 1, 2009) and have no realworld possibility of becoming gainfully employed anytime soon. (Electrical Engineer).
Click to expand...

F*&K.... I am an Electrical Engineer and my appointment ends up in Jan 2012....:foot::eek:

That's pretty grim perspective.
 
I've been doing it for over 20 years. No health insurance, no retirement, no steady paycheck, no vacation time, no days off, no daily commute, no boss, no coworkers. Everybody needs to try it once.:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top