New business practices...opinions please

PAPERLESS PAPERLESS PAPERLESS PAPERLESS PAPERLESS PAPERLESS.

don't pay for printing. don't do mailings. use the web. use software you understand. don't hire a V-8 nerd, get somebody to walk you through a site you LIKE, and point at WHY you like it, and talk about it. A website gallery will sell everything you need, get business cards for looky-loo's and fuggedaboudit. you can't get any richer than 'Backlogged' and that's what the web will give you.

3 billion people with web access. That's PLENTY of customer base.

do one sort of advertising well (a website) and you're too busy to do anything else... and you'll spend TONS less. And you'll be able to actually build the knives you have on order, and keep the price where you're not FORCED to hype and push and discount..

KISS. make it simple, for YOU, to update any and all galleries with work-in-progress or 'just finished' stuff..

you can attract TONS of biz by just showing HOW IT IS DONE..

get a good digital camera, REAL good, and some good lights, and have FUN with your pics.. at a cost of about nothing.

you, are selling YOU, and once you spend money on the selling, you have to get it back from your customers. they don't love you for that. keep a gallery, and every blade sells for you for years.

not a 'catalog'.. just a gallery of what's available, cause won't all that much BE available..

print is dead. brochures are wasted time. you don't need dual wheels on a porsche.. it don't fit.
 
More bigger better photos!! A website that actually gets updated regularly is also a great way to keep people up to date. I see too many knifemakers that create a great website, get tons of hits from links in forums posts but after a month or two they forget all about it. It's almost better to have no site than to have one that you haven't updated in 3 years.

I really like your idea of a catalog of all the knives at a specific show. That would work really well on a website too. Have a page for each show you go to with pictures and descriptions and prices of the knives you took. Maybe a few pics of the show and a little write up about how you felt about the show or anything else you had to say about the trip.

I think it is a great idea to show the prices of past knives. Make sure they are clearly marked as NOT CURRENT PRICE. If a new collector can go to your website and see pictures of current work and past work with prices on everything it gives them a better understanding of how you have progressed as a maker and the investment value of your knives.

A quarterly mailer is a great idea! It need not be anything elaborate either, just something to let the people that don't see you on the web know that you are still alive and banging away happily. That's also a great place to talk about any long term goals and plans you might have. The type of things that don't need an update more than a once or twice a year. And of course your web address and maybe a short list of the forums you hang out on for the latest and greatest info.

Email lists are a great for instant updates on shows you will be attending and available knives. Giving people on your list first dibs on some of your knives or even a giveaway once a year is a great way to get people to sign up to recieve random updates. The best part is it's free (unless you give away a knife) and it takes almost no time at all once you've set it up to send to everyone.
 
Bailey, I really like your idea. The more communication that you have with your customers, the happier they will be.
 
Grapevine said, "Are you going to have enough time to do all that, Bailey?" This was exactly my first thought. I also echo the rest of Grapevine's thread. As a collector, I find many knifemakers' websites frustrating, since they never change. If a knifemaker does not have the time to update his website with his current work, it is hard to imagine him having the time to do what Bailey has suggested. While his ideas have a lot of merit, IMHO they would be quite time consuming and some of the other posts here offer suggestions that would be less time consuming and more valuable to him in the long run.

Paul
 
hi
Bailey,

you know i'm a big fan of your work, especially swords...i think a blog is a great idea...you can always attach it as a signature on your email or here...and people can visit and see what you are up to...i for one frequent such little areas and take full advantage of commissioning what's on the bench if i like it. keep a gallery of your past work too. i for one love to look at portfolios just to see what direction(s) a knifemaker is heading in the future.

maybe, progress threads in your website, blog, or here in bladeforums...people always love this stuff. especially if it was my knife that was being hi-lighted.

and if you do plan a catalog...i'd make it in PDF file...that way you can just email it to your present customers or email contacts and will save you the cost of postage.

just my thoughts...
 
Bailey, I think contact is most important and a point you need to work on.

Your innovative ability to work with many steels is also something you should put on your site. You have several listed but not all I am sure.
 
At the risk of stepping on some toes (please forgive me fellow forumites, no harm meant), I'm not sure anybody reading this thread and replying is qualified to offer credible advice, including me.

I know what my father would say (and did say to me many years ago): Find someone whom you both like and respect, and who (most importantly) has reached the success point where you want to be in the future. Get around that person and listen, observe. Ask them to share their story with you but be careful not to talk much about yourself. Listen and ask questions. Listen more and, if possible, watch what they do, especially in dealing with people.

It may be a new world technologically speaking but all technologies (images, web etc.) are tools. New and better tools won't do it alone. There's more and only the ones ahead of you on the trail can teach you, the ones that are already where you want to be.
 
HTMD said:
At the risk of stepping on some toes (please forgive me fellow forumites, no harm meant), I'm not sure anybody reading this thread and replying is qualified to offer credible advice, including me.
Click to expand...

The editor of the ABS magazine would no doubt agree with you, but I sure don't.

Bailey was smart to post this question here - and he has received some good advice. Your suggestion of contacting a maker who has been successful in areas where Bailey wants to improve is a good one.

But we absolutely part company at your suggestion that the forum membership has nothing of value to offer.

Roger
 
I would have to agree Roger in that there's probably some pretty astute businessmen frequenting this forum both in knifemaking and in other areas. And Bailey is asking for business advice.
 
Buddy, I nearly always find myself agreeing with your posts, but I have a different take on it as well.

For one shining example. I had a girl in the shop. She knew NOTHING about making knives, but stood there watching me.

I did this one particular step in the forging, and she asked me, "Why did you do it like that?"

Just having that little push to look from another angle, made me realize there was a better way.

Sometimes we just need a fresh set of eyes. :)
 
Bailey,
You are a super-talented knifemaker but your image suffers from an equally great identity crisis. What are you best known for? Bowies? Folders? Swords? Engraving? Custom knives? Semi-Custom knives? Forged knives? Stock removal knives? Do you follow me?

When people think of the "great" makers of today and play word association, certain things emerge. What word do you want to be associated with "Bradshaw", because right now there are too many words!

Now that you have dabbled in almost everything, pick your poison. What are you BEST at? What do you like making the BEST? People aren't interested in buying from a Jack of all Trades, IMO.

(FYI, proud owner of multiple Bradshaw knives, all traditional, take-down, forged fixed blades.)

Pick your genre, expand on it and run with it, otherwise your prospective customer base will simply be confused.
 
Update: Bailey and I corresponded through some notes and he called ME to follow-up.

We went over a number of procedures for taking better photographs, and I am sending him a roll of some special diffuser material, some backgrounds and other miscelanea to improve one aspect of his business.

Buddy, don't let that old-skool gotta-have-a-handshake mentality cloud your thinking. Behind every digital keystroke is a human hand--some willing to help, some indifferent, some unqualified. Amid the noise a savvy maker will determine what he wants to hear and what's needed. Bailey did all that with me as I explained some stuff, and offered to help. Exactly your point.

The point of asking for advice and help in an overall sense from the world's largest audience is joined with his wish for technological improvements.

Technology alone won't make it, we both agree.

I am only qualified in one area, but there are others on this thread who offer wonderful insights; some far-reaching, some within grasp. These are the folks your dad wished for one to listen, observe, and respect for their successes.

We DO qualify. As do you. :thumbup:

Coop
 
I would agree with Roger and Kevin. :thumbup:

I myself get paid (even in retirement) to show businesses how to increase their sales - and I'll be the first to say there have been some very good suggestions offered here.
 
Buddy,

I understand what you mean, and knowing you as much as I do from our interactions, know the spirit in which you intended the comment.

I make a remark to one of my friends who shares my passion for fine guns ( no, I don't own any REALLY good ones, but the passion is certainly there). I see small clips of guns being made at H&H, Purdey, Fabbri and such. My comment is always ( and in jest...somewhat) "They need to be careful about what they show me". I consequently have a single shot action on my bench that is about 75% finished. It's taken the better part of 7 yrs. to get it where it is, but it has been a process of gleaning information where I could find it, no matter how small a bit it was. This is not much different. I have heard enough here to give me a clear and concise direction to work on. That is except one issue that Bladeandbarrel pointed out......my Achilles heel, but at the same time part of my success to date.

Early on in my career, my versatility was a huge benefit. It opened several markets and kept the whole process fresh because there was so much inspiration from all angles. Now, as you said, the "jack of all trades" veil has been looming over me for some time. My focus is towards folders, with high end bowies second and Japanese style swords last. I don't make slip joints anymore, and am working on making ALL of my folder patterns as integraframes to become specialized in that arena.

What I have done is narrow my focus in each of the three markets and am making an attempt to be unique in each of them. My goal is to make a wider variety of folders while keeping the bowies and katana on the upper end. In the end, the skill set to make any of these is based upon a level of dedication to quality. Fit and finish is no different in any of the three, and while the techniques are a little different to get there, the final products are consistent .
The Japanese swords are the big departure really. Where I am unique with them is the "one stop" buying process my customers can enjoy. Collectors and users buy a blade ( wait for 1yr plus), send it to a polisher, another long wait, send it to have a habaki made along with other fitting....more waiting, send it to someone else to mount it...... You get the picture. Since I do all of it, I have more artistic control and the customer gets a piece in hand SEVERAL yrs earlier. I make about 6 a yr, so it's really a minor market for me, but they are a blast to make and really keep the discipline level high.

So that is how I am working to get out of the "jack of all trades" problem. It will just take time, but it is starting to show signs of success and will hopefully allow me to elevate my image substantially.

Really a heart felt thanks to everyone for their input. It means a lot to me, and has helped even more. Thanks especially to Coop for being so generous with time, materials and information. His "teaching me to fish" in photography will come back to me ( and him hopefully) many fold.
 
Thanks, Bailey. I'm sorry for disturbing the flow of your thread here.

As for the rest of you rascals, my apology extends to you as well. I should have used more discretion in my post. I understand why each of you may have been offended and I apologize. The beating I received seemed excessive, but I accept that. The mistake was mine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top