I originally wrote these rants with arts and crafts professionals in mind. This was a period when I was educating these folks on how to run their studios as the small businesses they in fact are. Bear that in mind as you read about craft widgets and retail shows. The principles, however, are the same as with any small business, and apply whether dealing with the manufacture of art or industrial widgets or service businesses selling time and expertise instead of goods. These are practical tools to help any businessperson manage a business better.
If you are a typical crafts professional, then you work on a margin/gross profit/contribution rate of about fifty per cent. The first point you need to appreciate is that this is the same spread your gallery owners get when they double your price (it’s called keystoning). Yes, folks, it really is a level-playing field: we all have overheads, we all pay taxes and we all have to eat.
