Wholesaling Rolling Pins - Now There's A Thought

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Grand Rapids, MI
Okay, so last year I started making French rolling pins. After getting a few wholesale orders from retailers I'm seriously thinking about trying to market them more intentionally.

Here's an order I just completed that will be sent to Singapore. 130 rolling pins in hard maple and cherry, two sizes. This order was a good opportunity to refine the production process, and at this point I think I'm ready to run with it.

-Hutch
 

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Hi,

I have three questions:

1) You have answered this one already. You are getting paid enough to make it worth your while plus pay all expenses.

2) Will your body be able to keep up the pace you need to produce enough to meet the demand.?

3) If this grows are you making enough money to hire employees to do the turning and still make a profit?

And #4: Can you keep a decent set of books? Enough so you know where all money is going so you can adjust expenses by changing shipping methods or some other thing?

Enjoy and LOTS OF LUCK!

JimB
 
Just like everybody else don't sell yourself short. Prices are only going to go up on wood and supplies so you should make room for it now.
Dennis
 
A friend's wife does custom wedding veils for a living, has customers fly in from all over the country to have a custom veil made. Does a lot of business on etsy and ebay. He was telling me watching the sale trends of her business, that there has been a large increase of overseas sales. His assumption was that with the dollar being lower than some other foreign currencies that it was cheaper to buy here an ship over there. An inquiry to several recent overseas customers confirmed that theory.

Glad to see things working out Matt, hope that continues. Take a deep look into your processes and work out the cheapest packing and shipping methods that your customers will agree to. I went through a lot of that with a stained glass lighting business years ago. Funny how an inch here and an ounce there can really affect rates. :wave:
 
That's a switch! I would have expected items like this to be coming the other way! Has Singapore gotten to be even more Hi-Tech than the U.S.? (I know that a LOT of electronics come from there.)

"Handmade in the USA"

That has quite a ring to it! :thumb:
 
Very cool, Hutch. :yes: Sounds like you've made the whole thing challenging (and thus less boring) by working to improve your production methods and output. Best of luck, and may it make you a boatload of money. :thumb:
 
Thanks for all the encouragement!

As for viability, this job helped me to see that my price point was a little low. My new prices will still be reasonable for wholesaling within the "handmade" market and make it a worthwhile endeavor.

Frank - Yes, they are all individually turned, no duplicator. In this case a duplicator would actually slow me down.....I think. I have a friend with a duplicator, and I will have to try it out and see.

Jim -
1) The pay rate is definitely worth it. That said, one of the more frustrating problems is the yield I am getting out of the 8/4 cherry lumber I purchase. I am not sure if people will be willing to pay for the huge waste factor. The maple pins are no problem in this department.

2) Right now I would only be interested in making pins 2-3 days a week. Even at that rate I would have a decent yearly income (by my low standards :D). I would want the rolling pins to help fund my other endeavors and not become a full-time venture. The rest of my time would be spent pursuing artistic woodturning, architectural woodturning, and furniture making. As for my body holding up, manufacturing rolling pins 3 days a week is probably manageable.

3) Hiring employees and still making money would be a little more of a stretch. It would definitely require someone who really knows their way around the lathe, and is confident with speed and accuracy. It's not like they're difficult to make, but to make "real" money you gotta move quickly.

4) The bookkeeping is the part that would be most challenging at the outset. Right now I have a fairly accurate idea of where the money is going, but I certainly would like to keep tabs more closely to ensure I am not missing a "hidden" expense.

Vaughn - I have made a few jigs/fixtures to help speed things up and make the work a little easier. But it's definitely work. :rolleyes: If this idea pans out, it would be a big financial relief. Now if I only had a bigger shop... :D

Thanks,
Hutch
 
Hutch,

Is the market so that you could make "Designer" rolling pins? You know, coca bolo, zebra wood, etc. The profit is higher on the "Upscale" end of the marketplace.

Word of advice (and worth every cent I am charging you): Do not mix household expenses with woodworking expenses. Examples= figure out your kilowatt hours expenses for the time you use the shop. It isn't free so it needs to be in your "books." Charge yourself rent for the square footage and the length of time you are actually manufacturing, shipping, etc. Also think heating, cooling, car/truck expenses, wood, etc. When figuring out how much you make an hour don't forget to add in hauling the wood, time in the lumber yard etc.

I cannot remember if I mentioned one of my patients who had 28 employees. I think he hung doors---but that does not really matter. Anyway, his expenses were high, he was working hard, etc. He let all of his employees go and worked alone. He netted more alone than when he had all of the employees and he got rid of a lot of headaches.

I am NOT advocating, don't have employees. In fact, you will probably do better if you get busy and do have to hire people. However, do keep the thought in mind---am I doing better with employees or was it better when it was only me?

I hope this thing expands and you end up making a bloody fortune.

Enjoy,

JimB
 
...Is the market so that you could make "Designer" rolling pins? You know, coca bolo, zebra wood, etc. The profit is higher on the "Upscale" end of the marketplace...

I don't know for certain, but I suspect the material costs for exotic woods would be substantially higher. I'm not sure if an upscale price tag would compensate for the additional costs.
 
3) Hiring employees and still making money would be a little more of a stretch. It would definitely require someone who really knows their way around the lathe, and is confident with speed and accuracy. It's not like they're difficult to make, but to make "real" money you gotta move quickly.

Yes, indeed. Having employees puts you into a whole 'nuther category. New equipment, supervising, payroll, taxes, etc.
My experience (might not be true for everyone) is adding a person does not double output. It increases output by only about 50%.
The story about making as much money without employees as with is very true in a lot of circumstances.
Another thought with a product like yours is there is nothing to prevent an employee from going off on their own and stealing a portion of your business.
Non-competition clauses with low wage employees??? :rofl::rofl: fuggitit. You will be forever in court and spending tons of money trying to enforce.
 
These are all very important points. Right now the waters are still a little muddy as to the EXACT amount of money the TOTAL costs/expenses represent. My current overhead is low, but increased overhead is definitely something I need to plan for, cuz I am hoping to move into a proper industrial space within 2 years (next year if things go very well). Also, at this time I don't think I would be making huge profit through wholesaling, just a very respectable income. If I were able to sell in huge numbers direct to the customer, I would be making great money. Direct to consumer is a tricky business, but it's possible thanks to the internet. I will be looking into that in addition to wholesaling.

Managing materials costs has already proven challenging. Even with commonly available domestics like hard maple I am finding that the cost of materials, and the somewhat unpredictable yield, present some problems. I definitely think my best bet is to market to small "boutique" retailers and purveyors of handmade goods. And who knows, maybe there will be some room for the exotic woods down the road.

As usual, it's all a game that has to be learned through experimentation. At what retail price do handmade French style rolling pins stop flying out the door? That's always the trick: maximizing profit while maintaining turnover.

We'll see how things go over the next 6 months. *fingers crossed*

- Hutch
 
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I would not get employees. Let the guy down the road or around the corner make them as piece work. Make sure about quality control and let them use there own shop. That way if you have no orders right away you don't have someone standing around collecting wages.
Dennis
 
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