Are You Adding In ALL Your Costs??

I still struggle with pricing my work, something that I think many designers, particularly new ones, have a tendency to do.  Until we gain confidence and truly appreciate the value of our work, we can miss some things in our calculations.  So, I tried to write a list---WOW, was I surprised.  Here are some things you may not consider when you are putting a price tag on a piece of jewelry. 

[While I am approaching this from the viewpoint of a jewelry designer, I think you will find that this fits many in home business that make and sell items, such as those who knit/crochet/sew, those who make candle or soaps and many more.]

 1.        Time---not the time it took you to actual design and lay out, make and finish the piece but what about the following

a.       Time in research, writing and entering your blog articles

b.      Time preparing your set, taking, editing and uploading pictures of your item

c.       Time writing your listing, the description, creating tags, shipping plan

d.      Time prepping an item to ship: gather package, wrapping, thank you note, any gift or coupon, postage and return address/mailing address

e.      Driving to and from post office to drop off, pick up packages

f.        Time maintaining your inventory, if you enter that in a software program, manually in a ledger, if you create labels, etc.

g.       Time searching, buying and paying online for your components & supplies

h.      Time driving to and from and while you are at bead stores and shows

i.         Time filing sales tax, keeping receipts and preparing all that for taxes each year

j.        Time preparing and submitting booth entry or jury entry for a show

Expenses can all be difficult to identify. Have you thought of these?

a. Domain costs for your webpage, possibly a web hosting cost, maybe you use a web developer too

b. Camera for photos, lights and possibly a lightbox

c. Storage of your components: cases, files, shelving, boxes, binders, plastic tubs

d. Books, dvds, tutorials, subscriptions to magazines, any websites you subscribe to

e. Equipment and tools you’ve purchased (and what you store them in), your beadboards, props for your photos

f. Your calendar, scheduler

g. Cost of the designs you made for YOU---you are an advertising billboard of your own work

h. Cost of items you do make for gifts

i. Broken beads

j. Your computer, printer, paper, ink, and software

k. Cost of internet connectivity

l. In home office cost: space, utilities, filing cabinets, closets, telephone

m. Business cards, signs, posters

n. Booth costs: table clothes, skirts, displays, price tags, bags

i. Your costs for the show---food, drinks, lodging, travel

o. Mileage to everywhere mentioned above

p. Booth and Show entry fees, jury fees, fees to enter bead shows

q. Cost of all classes you’ve taken

a. Those “orphan” beads left over from a design but not enough to make another

b. Beads you purchased, then later realized you didn’t like them and don’t use

c. The small “leftovers” from your supplies—that extra 6 inches of cord, wire, beadalon, tigertail, etc that you can’t do anything with except throw away

d. The items already in your home and garage that also support your business, maybe you use your microwave, or your stove, or tools from the toolbox, toothpicks, clothespins, needles or pins, scissors, twist ties, sealable bags, notepads, fingernail polish, sandpaper or emery boards

e. Cost of any repairs you were asked to make, or adjustments to length, change out clasp or switch from pierced to clip ons, etc

f. Any thefts you might have had at a show (hopefully not, but things do happen)

g. Any items that become broken when packing and setting up/tearing down from a show