[Jewelry making - Article 00645] - Re: [Orchid] Design Fee?

[Chaya Caron]

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>     If you use a design fee where do you draw line between initial
>     consultation and actual design development? When does the clock
>     start? What complications have you encountered? Or do you spread
>     your hidden costs (basically lost time) over all your jobs? 

    Your post above is a valid concern regarding custom work. When we
    have a jewelry line that we spend a lot of time doing the R&D, the
    sale of multiple pieces essentially absorb the time it takes to
    develop a sellable product. Custom work is a totally different world.
    95% of my work is custom order and I am learning as I go how to
    create policies that are good for my business and the client. I don't
    have all the answers but perhaps I can help. When I meet with a new
    customer, my first hour with them is "free". In the past, I would
    also, like you, spend a lot of time doing research and design work at
    "no charge" hoping the customer would buy the piece. In this
    scenario, the client is getting free consulting and design time.
    When I had my website created, I paid the web developer $80.00/hour
    for everything: design time and build time. Why not do the same with
    jewelry? I just had a long conversation last Sunday with a good
    friend (who also happens to be a lawyer) regarding this issue. I am
    in the process of developing a system where the client will be
    informed that design time has an hourly fee of $$$. I will give them
    an estimate for what this fee will be and they will be required to
    pay it before design work begins. If they buy the piece, the deposit
    gets integrated into the final work. If they do not buy the piece,
    they get a copy of the design but I still own the property rights to
    the piece. I still haven't hashed out the documentation, sales pitch,
    details, etc. but the the bottom line is creating an intention to be
    paid for design time. I feel that if the customer understands what
    they are paying for, they will have no problem with the cost. People
    pay for consulting and design time in many other industries without
    question. If your business is predominantly custom, you may spend 30%
    of your week designing, 30% of your week at the bench and 30% of your
    week doing sales and administrative work. If you don't bill out for
    the design time you essentially only make money on 30% of your time
    every week....can you survive this way? I am finding that I cannot. I
    would love to hear what others may have to contribute on this issue! 

Chaya Caron
Chaya Studio
www.chayastudio.com
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