StartUp Ladies™

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M is for Make One, Sell One

We generally associate manufacture with mass production - machines that spit out those products we use and wear every day. But manufacture simply means to make something.

The most intimate form of manufacture has to be make one, sell one. A huge number of entrepreneurs fall into this category of production, whether they are making designer chocolates, sewing custom garments or building furniture. Service providers are in a similar boat. They get paid each time they provide their service, with little or no opportunity for residual income.

Cottage industries are small manufacturing concerns. One person owns and oversees, but several people may be involved in the actual design or manufacture. This streamlines processes and can increase efficiency and productivity, allowing reach to a larger market, but is still pretty much a make-one-sell-one affair. Owning or being part of, a cottage industry is a very good way to learn about and work out cost-benefit issues, employee and employment regulation issues while still having a hands-on business. My experience taught me never to hire anyone. Some people are managers, some are not and it helps to know if that’s a good fit.

As a fine artist I’ve spent most of my career making one piece of art and selling it. As a commercial illustrator I sell the rights to use my images, so that can lead to multiple earnings from a single piece. I’ve worked in a cottage industry and had one goofy little business after another, making various series of things for awhile in small to medium quantities and selling them. It put me through college. It’s been a creative outlet. I’ve loved it all and actually made a profit sometimes. But, my first large royalty check for a book I’d illustrated got me thinking in a new direction- gave me a taste for getting a check for something I’d done years before. It made me think about a time when my eyes or hands might not allow me to be able to make that one to sell it. It feels a tad (sometimes really) risky, depending on my body for my livelihood.

For that and many other reasons, I’ve started a couple of larger-scale manufacturing ventures. Entering this realm has been like landing on another planet. Depending on others. Doing much MUCH more math. Depending on others. Marketing to the significantly larger market one needs in order to sell lots of something. Depending on other people. Putting out a huge amount of capital up front and seriously hoping to get the return. Let’s see…WHY did I do this?

My make-lots businesses are coming along. It’s all hugely interesting and challenging. I wouldn’t trade a bit of it. But I don’t think I could stand it if I didn’t have the art. I need to make one…have my hands on the materials, put my heart into it and tweak it as I’m going. Selling is truly secondary to the creative process (though I don’t say no to a check), but it feels pretty darned great when someone wants to own something I’ve created.

The make-one-sell-one business is the only way to go for some people. It may not be the most financially profitable business niche. It may not provide security. It will teach a person to be flexible and adaptable and it may well be the most gratifying way ever to make a living. How do YOU define profit?

Barb Hranilovich is a guest writer for StartUp Ladies. She is writing an alphabet series of articles pertaining to women entrepreneurs and business owners. Make sure to read her articles on the letter D, letter P, and letter R also.

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