Impostor Syndrome
#21
I was 'semi-professional' when asked, which means I sold enough to cover all my woodshop toys and pay some bills, but not enough to live off of. That would have made it 'work'.

robo hippy
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#22
imapseudonym said:


Anybody else feel a little strange making that first big sale when you started trying to get this hobby to pay for itself? Like, what if they find out that I'm just some schmo with a lathe in his garage, not some established master who apprenticed on a mountaintop with a one-armed Jedi bowl turner.

I know even the pros had to start somewhere, and people only buy what they think is worth it, but knowing that doesn't make the weird feeling go away. Just me? Does it eventually pass?





Nope. My first selling point and today's selling point is that each one is hand made, in my shop, on my lathe. Nobody is gonna care that you aren't a big-name person.
Semper fi,
Brad

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#23
I've sold a few items I've made though none off my lathe. Mostly what I feel is flattered that someone likes my stuff enough to pay for it.
You're making it yourself. No need to feel like you're an impostor or pretending. You're not. Someone else just saw value in your work.
I'm constantly amazed by what people create in small work shops with limited tools. You don't need a fancy shop to do good work.
Rodney
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#24
Selling your woodturning no different than turning cannot be afraid to fail! Don’t know what you want to sell but doesn’t really matter.

Recommend staying local where vendors sell their crafts and talk to some of those folks. The more places you go to and people you talk with should help you develop a plan to sell.

You want to know about cost to sell; booth fees, vendor’s license, insurance if required and collecting & paying sales tax.

Can find all kinds of venues in your state online without leaving home but doesn’t hurt to visit first!

Good luck with it!
Bill
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#25
interesting . . . i never really felt that way. i was just glad to finally start selling stuff to folks that WEREN'T family or friends . . . no "pity sales" there!
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#26
Been so long since I posted around here I almost forgot the fundamental rule: no pics - didn't happen.

17" Butternut Bowl
''How can we ever hope to understand atoms?'' Heisenberg had lamented that day.

''I think we may yet be able to do so,'' Bohr replied. ''But in the process we may have to learn what the word 'understanding' really means.''
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#27
I dont' pay too much attention to turners, but the guys that sell other crafts are producing someone wants, but they aren't necessarily doing great work. In fact, a lot of times they rely on gimmicks that don't appeal much to me. And the quality is just good enough to get the product out the door. Then again, I don't have to do that to pay the rent, so I'm not judging anyone. My point being you are no more of a pretender than anyone else
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#28
Your post gave me a chuckle.

I write (and get paid for) articles for woodworking magazines. I have written for WWJ since 2000, Woodcraft since issue #4 and even been in Wood once or twice. I simply asked all the magazines at the time if they were interested in seeing a sample article I had written. Most never responded, a few sent me nice letters about how impossible it is to break into the business, and WWJ said, sure, send it. They liked it, bought it, and I have been published about 30 times so far in various places.

I consult to the wood industry. I get paid very nicely by companies who want me to help them work more efficiently, start a new product line or buy new equipment. I work all over the US, Mexico and the Caribbean with companies both small and large. I have consulted for Armstrong. Yes, the flooring company, a huge multi-national.

I have been presenting seminars at the International Woodworking Fair (IWF) in Atlanta every show since 2008, often more than one seminar per show. Again, I simply connected with the director who sets up the seminars and asked.

I am completely self taught, and don't even hold a college degree. Two things are important: one is to simply ask for what you want. You will be surprised at how often the answer is yes. The second is to realize that PERCEPTION is more important than credentials. If you are perceived as an expert, you will be treated as one even if you did not learn at the single hand of the master.

The big cavat to all this is that you DO need to deliver. If my first IWF seminar was not well received by those paying to learn, I would NOT have been invited to come back. If my consulting clients do not save or make more money than I charge them, they will not hire me a second time. (All but one of my clients over the years has been a one-time job) and if my articles for the magazines suck, need too much editing or I miss deadlines, then they simply will not use me again.

Bottom line, if you make something that people want to pay you for, you ARE a professional. THAT IS the very definition. And do not cut pricing because you are "nobody". You may not be able to get Sam Maloof money, but you need to get a decent wage for your time. As long as you can do that, you need not apologize to anyone.

Ralph
Ralph Bagnall
www.woodcademy.com
Watch Woodcademy TV free on our website.
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#29
handi said:


Your post gave me a chuckle.

I write (and get paid for) articles for woodworking magazines. I have written for WWJ since 2000, Woodcraft since issue #4 and even been in Wood once or twice. I simply asked all the magazines at the time if they were interested in seeing a sample article I had written. Most never responded, a few sent me nice letters about how impossible it is to break into the business, and WWJ said, sure, send it. They liked it, bought it, and I have been published about 30 times so far in various places.

I consult to the wood industry. I get paid very nicely by companies who want me to help them work more efficiently, start a new product line or buy new equipment. I work all over the US, Mexico and the Caribbean with companies both small and large. I have consulted for Armstrong. Yes, the flooring company, a huge multi-national.

I have been presenting seminars at the International Woodworking Fair (IWF) in Atlanta every show since 2008, often more than one seminar per show. Again, I simply connected with the director who sets up the seminars and asked.

I am completely self taught, and don't even hold a college degree. Two things are important: one is to simply ask for what you want. You will be surprised at how often the answer is yes. The second is to realize that PERCEPTION is more important than credentials. If you are perceived as an expert, you will be treated as one even if you did not learn at the single hand of the master.

The big cavat to all this is that you DO need to deliver. If my first IWF seminar was not well received by those paying to learn, I would NOT have been invited to come back. If my consulting clients do not save or make more money than I charge them, they will not hire me a second time. (All but one of my clients over the years has been a one-time job) and if my articles for the magazines suck, need too much editing or I miss deadlines, then they simply will not use me again.

Bottom line, if you make something that people want to pay you for, you ARE a professional. THAT IS the very definition. And do not cut pricing because you are "nobody". You may not be able to get Sam Maloof money, but you need to get a decent wage for your time. As long as you can do that, you need not apologize to anyone.

Ralph




Once in a very great while I will see or read something and it impacts me enough I will save it. Your response now sits on my desktop in it's very own text file
Thank you
Steve K


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#30
great post, thanks for writing it
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