Taking the leap

This past Monday I met an artist friend for coffee to talk about what it's like to be in business for yourself. This was in preparation for my going to talk with the shop manager at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to show my work. We agreed that I would use the prices I have been charging as my wholesale price.

As the conversation progressed, she suggested that I simply register my Sole Proprietorship business (this decided on after attending the "SmartStart" session at the Small Business Adminsitration, just so I would have a tax id number that I could use to buy materials wholesale. It appears that my price points might be a bit too high and paying retail for supplies and taxes on top of that, just doesn't make sense.

On Tuesday I attended the Small Business Administration's "Writing a Business Plan" seminar, which was well done, straight-forward, and eye-opening. I had some, but not all of the answers to the various questions that were brought up in the course of going through a well-written plan. Time for market research! The good news is that almost everything is available online. Once I have a draft, I will be able to make an appointment to meet with one of the counselors at SBA in College Park. On doing that, I will have access to their research as well.

Full of ideas, I went to Richmond. The great news is that the meeting went well. Initially the shop wanted to buy my earrings outright and consign (60/40) my necklaces. When it came time to do the inventory, the shop manager ended up buying 20 sets of necklaces and earrings--no consignment at all! What a great validation If the work I have been doing.

It's been a busy week, and I am two steps further on my journey to running a well-planned business.