(Not So) Secret Plans

One of the realizations to come out of my work so far on my business, is that a great way to make a business more profitable, is to reduce overhead. Looking seriously at what goes in to a) making pots - not a whole lot of expensive stuff, b) securing space to make them in - ie. rent and c) selling my wares - show fees and travel, there are a handful of large expenses. Some of these (like show fees) I can't reduce, and honestly will probably increase as I move from local, to regional, to national events. So in order to decrease my overhead I have been looking at one of the other big expenses - rent. Right now my rent is a fixed expense and I pay it wether I make one pot or one hundred pots in a month, but my bisque firing is included in my rent.

I chewed this one over a long time in my head, and on paper, and in conversation with my spouses (who were both very patient with my agonizing and dithering and thinking out loud). I thought about the porch (which has great lighting) and the garage (which doesn't) and I thought about summer (which has mosquitoes and kids who will be out of school and therefore at home). I imagined the kids running back and forth by my studio space on the porch and leaving their shoes scattered around... and decided the garage would be a better choice. For one thing, there's just more space out there, the floor is concrete instead of wood and... I discovered an outlet. It could be a dryer outlet, but it could be a kiln outlet! I view this as a SIGN. Also, the garage has really good wiring in it, and a circuit box.

So I decided to move my studio space home (as soon as I make room for it) and trade a fixed expense (rent) for a variable expense (additional firing fees for bisque). If I am able to buy a kiln and install it in the garage that will be a capital expense and a variable expense. I figure a (used) kiln would pay for itself in under a year!