How to Start a Clay Painting Studio

Saturday, July 13, 2013

How to Start a Clay Painting Studio

Clay painting studios made a big splash on the crafts scene in the 1990s, as Gayle Soto Stodder notes in "Entrepreneur" magazine. You don't need to have a ceramics background to open your own clay painting studio, but it helps you guide customers new to painting clay. Opening a clay painting studio in the right location, choosing an array of inventory to paint and providing a welcoming atmosphere will set you apart from other craft vendors near you.

Step 1

Shop around for a location that gets plenty of walk-in or drive-by traffic, so you can get noticed. Make sure there are no competing clay painting stores nearby, since the already-successful store can drive down your business. Settle on a location that gets lots of visitors, such as a chic downtown shopping area or an upscale shopping mall with boutiques.

Step 2

Follow up with your local chamber of commerce or city clerk's office to get information on the type of business permits you need for your location, such as a business license or seller's permit. Apply for the permits that you'll need to open. Pay any related fees.

Step 3

Calculate your business expenses, separating out what you need to open from things that would be nice but aren't necessary. For a paint-your-own-pottery studio, you'll need a kiln, ceramic glaze, molded ceramic pieces for painting known as bisqueware, and chairs and tables so customers can sit. Stencils and inspirational art books add a nice touch but aren't necessary to open.

Step 4

Purchase all of the equipment you need to open. Since the clay shapes and glazes make the bulk of the experience at your shop, purchase a wide range of colors, styles and shapes so customers will have lots of choices for repeat visits. If you have money left over, get some of the ancillary items that enrich the customer experience.

Step 5

Create a website, business card, brochures and marketing materials. Once you open, you'll get walk-in traffic, and initial customers who enjoy your clay painting studio will spread the word. Still, traditional marketing media help you advertise your services. In these materials, be specific about what sets you apart. If you close down the studio for birthday parties or special events, list information about this. If you offer wheel pottery classes, list rates and a brief description.

Step 6

Hire additional staff members. You can't do everything yourself. If you don't have a potter's background, consider hiring a ceramic teacher to run classes or help troubleshoot when things go wrong. Hire a couple customer service folks to greet customers, set them up painting their own pottery and work the cash register.

Step 7

Open your doors when you have the needed permits, the equipment in place and staff to help you run it.

Tip

Keep informed on the industry by subscribing to trade magazines, such as "Ceramics Monthly," and joining industry groups like the Ceramic Manufacturers Association.

References (4)

About the Author

Elton Dunn is a freelance writer with over 14 years experience. Dunn specializes in travel, food, business, gardening, technology, beauty and fashion writing. His work has appeared in various print and online publications. Dunn holds a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing from Emerson College.

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Saturday, July 13, 2013