There are all kinds of reasons for selling at a bead show. Being part of the community, making contacts, building client base, picking up wholesale bead stores, hanging out with like-minded people. But when it comes to the business of lampworking, the main and most important reason should be to be profitable.
When deciding if you want to attend a certain show you need to know just how much money you have to make in order to be profitable. Be realistic with yourself and as always, remember shows are a gamble.
Here are a few examples:
Bead and Button (I’m using approximate numbers because I don’t have everything right in front of me, but they are close):
Table fee: $895
Electric fee: $150
Hotel (Shared a room): $200
Travel (gas, I drove from LA to WI): $300
Total fee not including food: $1545
$1545 before I’ve bought one display or sold one bead. Ouch! I’m not including display costs because those are business costs that are used for all my shows, not just one. But if you plan on only do one show, you for sure need to add that cost in. They can be as inexpensive or expensive as you like. Greg made my light bar. The materials cost $150. Plus bead trays, inserts, table cloths, a banner, risers, etc, etc. More on table displays later. But those costs can add up too.
Next I need to factor in how many days I will not be working at the torch. Bead and Button is a four day show. Plus I have four travel days. Two days up and two days back. Eight days. Plus I lose the day before I leave for packing and last minutes show prep. That’s nine days total. My goal when working at home and bringing in online sales is $100 a day. So I must make at least $900 at the show just to make up for my days of being away.
$1545
+900
=$2445
At Bead and Button I must make at least $2445 just to break even.
Let’s look at another show for comparison.
Houston Bead Society Show:
Table Fee: $275
Hotel Fee: $200
Gas fees: $100
Total fees: $575
Total days away from the studio is four with one prep day=5. My formula $100×5=$500.
Total needed to break even $1075.
It’s important to run the numbers and know what your expectations are for each show you are contemplating. Everyone will have different expenses so be sure to take into account your specific situation.
I’ll be honest, with the amount of work it takes to build inventory for a show and the cost factor I’m pretty sure I’d do better just selling everything at wholesale online. I don’t do that of course. The thing is I sell wholesale to bead stores and I have to maintain price integrity. Plus, with retail online prices I make more per piece so I don’t have to work as hard with lower prices. But when it’s crunch time (like right now) I dream about it. Bead Fest Philly is next weekend and I’m not ready.
No one is ever ready for a show.
You just do what you can and try not to spend too much time doing other things, like blogging. 🙂
