This post was inspired by a comment received.
Let me tell you a little story to support this tip.
In the seventies I operated a ceramic and woodcarving studio in Barbados, plus a retail outlet.
The operation had four employees, one was a young full-time potter.
On one particular day the potter either had too much to drink or smoke. but he was in the retail outlet examining the prices of the ceramics pieces he had thrown on the wheel.
His job was strictly throwing, he was not engaged in preparing the clay for throwing, another employee did that; he was not engaged in the decoration and firing of the pieces he had thrown on the wheel. He was not penalized for pieces that were loss prior to glazing and firing.
On this particular day, he waited until there were customers in the retail outlet and blurted out in a real obnoxious tone- “Look what he is charging for my work and he only pays me X dollars”
I warned him and forgave him for his embarrassing behavior; but placed him on piece work at mutually agreed prices for each piece of pottery thrown; but the pieces had to meet a certain standard.
The working hours were 9am to 5pm. The week after this new arrangement he left the workplace between 1pm and 2pm each day. In the meantime he had thrown an average of ten percent more pieces as he usually made in the previous arrangement at a fixed salary.
I dismissed him at the end of the week and offered to help him set up is own workshop if he needed help.
About three months after I received a call from him asking if I could lend him some clay and glaze materials; I inquired as to why. His reply was he sold most of the pottery he had made, but he has no money to purchase new raw materials.
He then apologized for his obnoxious behavior and said he now understood the business and that my pricing was more than fair.
He had learnt by experience.
Put aside some savings for replenishing tools and raw materials; take your cost of raw materials out of your sales if you are to continue producing without unnecessary interruptions.
Service your tools regularly and if you live in an area where supplies are not easily available, keep spares and if your raw materials have to be shipped, don’t wait until you run out; order well ahead of time.
Let your work be your pleasure.
