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cgarrett
Starting Member
United Kingdom
1 Posts |
 Posted - 15/03/2006 : 11:32:09
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| I'd welcome constructive advice on starting-up from those of you who've done it yourselves. Especially advice on how to get my first clients and the methods of marketing/advertising that actually worked (and those to avoid). |
Edited by - cgarrett on 15/03/2006 11:34:25 |
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mbarrington
Administrator
United Kingdom
92 Posts |
Posted - 15/03/2006 : 19:57:09
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A subject fraught with very many different points of view and one which engages BAFRA members most times they meet! Whatever I say must be considered as just one approach but it is coloured by listening to and discussing with many friends in our organisation, hearing and observing the effectiveness or otherwise of differing approaches and citing personal experience.
At the start I believe one needs to be very clear about exactly what service you wish to provide and this will inevitably be coloured by at least five things,
1. Inate and acquired ability at the bench,
2. The state and effectiveness of one's 'learning',
3. The areas of work you wish to avoid,
4. How much time you want to put into the business and, very importantly
5. What your pocket can afford.
Many people have then made a choice of the area of service they want to work in and the Antique Trade has always been a strong one, but nowadays one needs to broaden the field and perhaps even avoid the trade altogether unless you are fortunate enough to have a good contact with the top end of the trade who is prepared to 'give you a go'. Undoubtedly working for the trade is very beneficial to one's education if you get onto a really knowledgeable dealer but you may find that you have to sacrifice some of your ideals such as finish, conservation and resistance to alteration of appearance and/or use.
If you have strong convictions in support of conservation, and as a BAFRA member you should, this will to an extent direct you in the way you choose clients and is inevitably likely to cause you the odd problem. It is in this field in particular that you need to choose whether you stick to your guns or take the more flexible approach. As you get more experienced and better at the business, you can probably afford to become less flexible!
Most of us start with Friends as clients, then friends of friends becoming 'by word of mouth', which incidentally is probably the best and most effective and long-lasting form of publicity/advertising there is.
Having got a prospective client interested, you need to be able to assess how much they know, how much they love the piece they may give you to work on and above all, be able to talk freely and knowledgeably about such things as origins, history, state and reason for damage/decay/deterioration and translate these topics into recommendations. You will presumably have decided what your hourly rate is to be, don't start altering it because the client looks as though they are well off, so be able to give at least some idea of cost either on the spot or after quiet consideration - I often opt for the latter but it does really require you to make a written report on what you have found and the results of your calculations on how long the job will take. You must then be prepared to face up to negotiation in options of approach. A frequent topic is 'charging for estimates'. I almost always do because by writing one I am putting my professional integrity on the line, I may have had to travel to see the object and I will certainly be spending professional time writing my report and estimate. You can opt to refund such charges if it results in work and this can be an attractive bonus.
Advertising is a well worn topic and never gets any easier, largely because of the difficulty in evaluating effect. Always ask prospective clients how they heard of you. For myself I believe Yellow Pages is thoroughly effective but take great care with your entry and avoid looking like others. Similarly Parish magazines can be good. The glossies seldom are in my experience but others will disagree. There is one Full member of BAFRA who advertises very widely and knows just how effective it all is - I often ask them for advice - that being one of the great benefits of being a BAFRA member. Although the name of your business will probably be a decision you make near the beginning, its importantance comes into stark reality as soon as you go into print. Clever and well-worn titles such as 'Good as New' are to be avoided !
Accreditation: is a buzz-word these days. If you want the best work, get accredited by the right professional body/ies. Accreditation, although not that easy to attain, puts you at the head of the market in the private and public areas - it is doubtful if it is of help in the trade field. Don't be put off by being told you have to make CPD returns - it is very short-sighted to refuse or think you need not - CPD is with us today like it or not and there is hardly a profession which does not demand it.
Specialism: Good to have and advertise but in my opinion unless you have a very good established field of specialism in which to work, widen the field and practice as many interrelated skills as you can but you must do them yourself and not rely on others for you have at least to be able to judge the quality of every sub-contract to a specialist you make. You are 100% responsible for every service you provide.
Presentation is another area needing attention and covers your communicative ability as well as how you appear. Just remain always aware that in the private field your customers are likely to be well educated and to have strong views on how they choose where to place work. In the Museum field you have got to demonstrate your academic ability, particularly in relation to recognition of objects and attachment to conservation. The same tends to go for ecclesiastical commissions and certainly when working for organisations like the National Trust, English Heritage and members of the HHA.
Finance: Grants for start-up can be obtained through local authorities, The Prince's Trust, Heritage Lottery and a host of other organisations with commitment to heritage preservation.
If you like the idea of making quality objects you need to look for an influential client and realise pretty quickly that you will be competing in a huge field of very talented designers/makers - it is a most difficult area in which to work.
Insurance: A prime requirement and one you can ill afford to overlook or delay. Go for PI if you can afford it and you will be surprised at how affordable that can be. Choose your insurer carefully and go for the specialists in the Art and Antiques World of which there are not very many.
I hope at least some of this helps and above all that it may spark discussion through the Forum.
michael barrington conservation |
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Roland Carn
Starting Member
United Kingdom
8 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2006 : 20:55:19
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Having just graduated I'm also just starting out.
While `I was at college I did two very imporatnt things.
1. Starting from th erecommended set of tools, when I needed a tool I bought one. This meant the by the end of th ecourse I had teh basic tools I needed for cabinet-making, upholstery, gilding adn carving. I bought only the tools I needed - well that was th eidea - so that now I do not have a heep of useless gadgets.
2. When I needed a material or substance - wood, screws, curled hair, gold and so on - I bought more than I needed, so that now I have a good stock of the basic supplies that I need. agin not too much stuff that takes up valuable space in my tiny workshop.
To answer your specific question about where teh clients come from, my clients (after almost a year) are either individuals or organisations. None of them are dealers or other restorers. I found, as Mike, says that they have come from friends and then aquaintances adn so on. In my case I am an active Quaker (a Christain-based church) and most of my clients have come from this activity.
As a professional singer once said to me, I am my own best advertisement. Jobs come when I talk to people and meet them at this and that activity.
A second thing that I have noticed about all start up businesses is that you have to build brick on brick - what we in the computer trade used to call boot-strapping. Don't expect or plan to be instantly successful, profitable or to make a living at it overnight. 90% of busienssess fail with in the first year, and I suspect that most do not break-even in less than five years.
Hang in there!
Roland Carn |
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Stephen Davies
Starting Member
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
Posted - 25/03/2006 : 17:29:52
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I second what has already been said and add the following;
One of the main things you need is confidence. If you can't sell yourself it doesn't matter what your ability is because no-one will ever find out.
As for advertising;
Yellow Pages - works for me and i get regular calls and clients from it. I found you need at least the 45mm add at around £300. You also get loads of calls from people trying to sell you things i.e. other advertising because they use Yellow Pages to source from.
Yell.com - I have too ads on here, one a free ad, which is the one that generates the work (mainly commercial) and one i pay about £175 for which doesn't work . The problem seems to be with all directories in that the potential client has to have a vague idea of what they need. i.e. Antique Furniture Restorer, Furntiure Repair, Cabinetmaker, French Polisher - all different categories, so which one do you advertise under?
Thomson Directories - Waste of time. Same sort of cost as Yellow Pages, but doesn't appear to be used. Ask yourself, if you want someone to fix your roller skates and don't know anyone how are you going to find someone? most people look in the Yellow Pages.
Antiques Fairs - work fantastic for me, but you must go every month. People get to know you're there and will look out for you.The theory is that the people who are attending are doing so becuase they are interested in antiques, if they're interseted they may well have some, if they have some they may also have furniture and so on.
Word of mouth - the best of the lot. You can't beat or buy this. It's hard when you first start but eventually it seems to just happen. The trick is to keep going until it does
Hope this is of some help.
Stephen Davies. |
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suzandy
Starting Member
United Kingdom
34 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2006 : 20:56:20
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| I started my business as a chair reseater (cane, rush etc) 3 years ago. I now have over 4months work in waiting. I have tried many different forms of advertising and it is not worth paying for them in Yellow Pages etc as you can get free one line listings. However, the best investment I have made was in getting my website built. It cost under well £400 and has repaid me many times over. Other than that, Parish magazines work really well. Hope this helps. |
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n/a
deleted
12 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2006 : 12:02:16
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| Thanks all. |
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roderick
Starting Member
United Kingdom
8 Posts |
Posted - 27/06/2007 : 07:33:08
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| I would agree with Stephens comments regarding Thomson directories, people just use Yell. Yell.com is now more popular though as people search more and more on-line and not traditional directories. I mentioned another couple of advertising methods in another chat form earlier, The Verification Association give free internet listings with ifindabusiness.com www.ifindabusiness.com and Infoserve have created a large internet directory now too. I would put all my advertising budget into on-line listings and avoid traditional printed directories, people just do not use them now. Must say, this is a great forum. Well done Bafra. |
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Clifford Garrett
Starting Member
United Kingdom
31 Posts |
Posted - 27/06/2007 : 22:32:17
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I cannot agree that people do not use printed directories now. I would agree that this is probably the case for many things where an on-line lookup is quick and convenient. However, this tends to suit the type of user who has easy access to a PC, can get onto the net quickly, and is savy with search engines like Google, etc. The problem is, we are dealing with Antique Furniture and perhaps older less computer literate clients. Most of my clients to-date do not even own a PC!
I think that the printed directory has a place and fits the Antiques trade very well. The real issue is the slow down in the restoration/conservation market in general. |
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roderick
Starting Member
United Kingdom
8 Posts |
Posted - 28/06/2007 : 07:50:59
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You do have a point about certain age groups of people using specific types of directories for searches, but overall less people are using printed directories. On line directories that seem to be working well are 118118.com, infoserve.com, ifindabusiness.com, 192.com and verificationassociation.org, btphonebook.co.uk
My parents, (in their eighties) use Yellow Pages but people less than 50 all seem to search on-line now to research their projects and find local businesses to use.
Have you advertised with any other on line directories that seem to work well? |
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Clifford Garrett
Starting Member
United Kingdom
31 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2009 : 09:40:53
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Since I posted my original question, I have tried a few different ways to advertise:-
Yellow pages, cost £400 received 1 enquiry, disasterous!
Parish Magazine, good initial interest from the small local readership, several jobs but also a percentage of modern furniture worth less than my hourly rate. However, good investment of goodwill that may produce returns later on. Paid for itself.
Local Free Advertiser, good but infrequent results, same mix of qulaity as parish mag but covers a much wider readership than single local parish mags 1000's v 100's for same cost.
On-line links and web-site, only just got around to putting this together but instant results. The issue here is attaining top listings so that when customers do search for a restorer, your name appears at the top of the list for their location. I've lots more work to do on this but initial results seem good. Downside is that you are exposed to every cold caller on the planet.
Word-of-mouth, the best kind but takes years to establish. I'm begining to get referrals now, but It has been through a ruthlessly uncompromising strategy of providing top quality work (often at my own expense).
My conclusion is that really, advertising in itself is not that useful for a restorer wishing to secure quality commissions. These come through recommendation of a trusted craftsman. Attaining that status is the hard part. Obviously BAFRA membership helps; I just hope I don't starve while I'm working towards accreditation.
Clifford Garrett
Antique and Period Furniture
Restored & Conserved |
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What advice have you got for me then?
