As the blacksmithing industry is getting more and more attention, it is no wonder that a lot of new blacksmithing businesses occurred on the market. Unfortunately, a vast number of them fail in just a few years.
With that in mind, we decided to write an encouraging article for all people planning to start a blacksmithing business and for those who already have one but have a problem generating sales.
These are 10 proven tips for increasing blacksmithing business:
- Start With Small Items
- Use Gas Forge
- Add Power Tools to Your Equipment
- Learn How to Price Your Work
- Market Your Products Online
- Learn How to Negotiate
- Keep a Record
- Estimate Your Target Market
- Create an Online Shop
- Take Enough Time to Come up With the Right Brand Name
Without further ado, let’s begin with the first and crucial one.
1. Start With Small Items
If you are just getting started or you are in the early phase of the blacksmithing business, this one is huge. As a beginner, you want to start money as quickly as possible to buy new required tools and materials. For example, you may have a railroad track anvil, but your type of work requires having a more massive anvil.
One of the best ways to make a good profit with a minimal cost is to make small and simple items. Items like that would include various types of hooks, bottle openers, keyrings, nails, etc. All of them are quite easy to make and don’t require much time to finish.
In the beginning, we recommend focusing more on quantity rather than quality. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make these small items as best as you possibly can, not at all. All I am saying is that you can’t jump straight into advanced and expensive work like Damascus blades.
Doing simple quantity projects allows a beginner to become a better blacksmith much faster than making something extremely complicated. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that when I was just starting out. Namely, my first blacksmithing project was a sword, but rather, it was an attempt.
So, let’s say that you can make ten hooks per day, and each sells for 10 dollars. Now, let’s say each hook takes 10-15 minutes to finish. That means you earned $100 in just 2-3 hours, which is not bad for the early phase of business.
2. Use a Gas Forge
While this advice may seem odd at first, it is really not when you think about it. Let me explain.
Namely, the gas forge is a superior option compared to the coal forge when it comes to the rate of production. So, if you increase your production rate, you will automatically increase sales.
The biggest advantage of the gas forge is that it doesn’t require constant attention as a coal forge. That way, you can start to work on the next piece when you place the previous one in the forge. Not only that, but you can also put multiple items in the gas forge at the same time.
A gas forge is even more convenient for beginners. For someone who is just getting started in blacksmithing, learning to work with a coal forge can be complicated. This is also why people first learn proper fire management before forging in most blacksmithing classes.
I tried both options, so without a doubt, I can say that gas forge is ideal for production work. While you can still produce a fair amount of work using the coal forge, the gas forge is simply more efficient in that regard. I remember the time when we switched on the gas forge. In the first month, our sales increased by over 50%.
Not so long after that, we managed to increase our sales by a full 300%, which was our business goal in the first place. We went from making 5 knives a day to making 15 knives per day. On some days, that number would be even higher.
Here are my highly recommended products:
For beginner smiths: Blacksmiths Single Burner Propane Forge (affiliate link)
For intermediate/advanced blacksmiths: Double Burner Propane Forge
3. Add Power Tools to Your Equipment
I mean, this one is obvious. A power hammer will do a job way quicker and more efficiently than a hand hammer. Also, the belt grinder is way more efficient than a regular file. I can go on and on, but you get the overall point.
Adding power tools to your workshop will drastically improve the production rate. Instead of making 3 pieces per day, you may produce 15 or even 30 pieces. Power tools are much more precise than hand tools.
Except for being more efficient, power tools conserves a huge amount of energy, which would be wasted otherwise. I mean, which one is harder, striking the 4-pound hand hammer or placing the material under the power hammer?
One of the most widely used power tools in a blacksmithing shop includes a power hammer, hydraulic press, drill press, angle grinder, and belt grinder.
We should note that if you are still a beginner, it would be good to master hand tools before moving on to power tools. If you don’t know how to properly strike a hand hammer, moving on a power hammer would be idiotic. Remember, power tools do not make a better blacksmith, they only help to make the work easier and more efficient.
Recommended products:
Angle Grinder: DEWALT Angle Grinder Tool (affiliate link)
Drill Press: WEN 4214 12-Inch Variable Speed Drill Press (affiliate link)
Belt Grinder: 3 in 1 2″ x 82″ 110V 1.5KW Knife Belt Grinder With 2 HP Motor Belt Sander (affiliate link)
4. Learn How to Price Your Work
A blacksmith who doesn’t know how to price his work is also probably one who doesn’t have a successful business. If you underestimate your work, you lose money. On the other hand, if you overestimate your work, the chances are that you will lose your customers very quickly.
I know it can be very intimidating in the beginning when you first try to sell your work. When you compare your work with other experienced blacksmiths, it can easily lead you to doubt yourself and your work. The good news is that it is completely normal.
Your working price is mainly based on how much time it requires to finish that project, so don’t forget to keep track of the working hours. Now, the shop rate is calculated by various factors such as a mortgage, fuel, tools, oil, rent, and your desired salary.
Now, it is time to make a calculation. Let’s say that your desired salary is $50,000 per year. After removing weekends and holidays, you end up with around 250 working days. After that, figure out how much time you are planning to work in the shop. Let’s just say it is 6 hours.
6 hours/day x 250 days = 1500 chargeable hours per year
$50,000 / 1500 chargeable hours = $33/hour
So, if some projects took you 5 hours of work, you should not charge less than $165.
5. Market Your Products Online
If you are not marketing your products online, you are missing tons of business opportunities. If people don’t see your work, how will they buy anything from you? If you are more of a traditional blacksmith who primarily relies on referrals, I think it is time to change that.
With so many free social media available today, it is a pity not to use them. Pinterest and Instagram are the two most popular free platforms for marketing your blacksmithing work.
Instagram allows you to connect with potential customers across many channels and also increase engagement. So, let’s say that you want to display your Instagram photos on your website.
Now, when people are browsing your site, the chances are that they are not your followers already. When customers see your gallery of Instagram photos, they will be most likely to click and start following you.
One more benefit of using Instagram is that traffic is super engaged, which is why Instagram is so popular. Namely, Instagram drives the most engaged traffic among all social media. Also, it helps you to engage with your customers, which drastically increases the chances of bringing the customers back for new purchases.
So, if someone buys something from you and then follows you, they are more likely to see your brand more often and buy again.
6. Learn How to Negotiate
Oh, yes, the power of negotiation. It doesn’t matter whether if you are a woodworker, artist, singer, blacksmith, or whatever, but if you own a business, proper negotiation is a must. You cant expect to increase your sales without learning how to negotiate correctly.
Before making negotiations, make sure you understand the customer’s issues and points of view. In other words, become a good listener. Successful blacksmiths tend to be the ones who truly listen to the customers. After you understand their point of view and triggers, you should make an appropriate response.
Also, when someone comes to your shop, make sure to be courteous and professional. I mean, nobody wants to buy something from a difficult or abusive person. So, establishing a good first impression will most likely maintain a long-term relationship with your customer. A positive and collaborative tone drastically increases the chances to close the deal.
Blacksmiths often have problems with objections like: “this is too expensive.” If you are in the blacksmithing or bladesmithing business, you are guaranteed to stumble upon that.
When that happens, try to genuinely explain to the customer how much time will require to finish that project. Also, don’t forget to mention the fuel and material costs. It is crucial to make it known to a customer that you don’t want to rip him/her off.
7. Keep a Record
Running a successful blacksmithing business is no walk in the park. While your sales may not be as large as Amazon, that doesn’t make it any easier. Actually, running a small business is often harder, especially if you are the only worker.
To properly run a small blacksmithing business, proper record-keeping is very important. Not only that, it is beneficial, but it is also a must, primarily due to the law.
For example, when you want to get a business loan, a lender almost always needs to check your personal records, such as financial statements. If you don’t have record-keeping, you don’t have a good chance of succeeding.
One of the major reasons why you should keep records is because of the detailed tracking. Namely, running a business requires tracking a huge amount of information like sales, inventory, and customers.
Without good record-keeping management, you will probably lose sight of crucial business details, which leads to another set of problems. For example, if you don’t know the customer’s details, your blacksmithing business may not provide buyer demands.
I know, being informed of your customers, orders, and all overall inventory can be challenging, but it is worth it. So, without record-keeping, you will place yourself in big trouble.
Also, don’t forget about future business planning. How can you plan anything without knowing your past and current records? Nearly impossible.
For example, next month, you plan to buy a new power hammer, but you are not sure if you can afford it or not. Without good record-keeping, you don’t know your financial ability. You have to analyze your financial statements and make decisions accordingly.
8. Estimate Your Target Market
In today’s economy, no small business can afford to target everyone. The only way for small businesses to effectively compete with big companies is by targeting a market.
You don’t want too broad a market the same way as you don’t want too specific market. So, the idea is usually somewhere in the middle. I should note here that targeting a particular market doesn’t mean excluding people who don’t fit your criteria.
The advantage of target marketing is that it allows you to focus your brand message on that specific market that is more likely to purchase something from you.
Since blacksmithing is a very broad term, it would make sense to niche it down. For example, if you are more into blade-making, you could find people who are interested in buying knives, swords, axes, etc.
To properly estimate your target market, looking at your current base of customers should be one of the first things you should do. Ask yourself questions like, who are your customers? What is the reason why they bought from you? Which customers bring in the most sales?
Next, check out your competition. Who is your competition targeting? Who are their present customers? Remember, it is much easier to fill a demand than to impose it. For example, many people in your area already produce knives. You find out that people have an interest in buying blacksmithing tools, but unfortunately, no one makes them.
That is where you could stand out. Instead of being just another option in knifemaking to choose from, you can be the only one making blacksmithing tools.
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t break down your target too far. Don’t forget that you can have more than only one target market. So, if you can successfully reach both niches, the chances are that you narrowed your niche too far.
On the other hand, if there may only be ten people fitting your criteria, consider reevaluating your target market. Finding the perfect balance is the key.
One of the easiest ways to find all this information is by searching various blogs, forums, and survey results, and asking customers for feedback.
9. Create an Online Shop
Having an online shop is almost inevitable to succeed in today’s business world, especially in blacksmithing. If you have a workshop and you are only selling in your local area, you may be doing just fine, but unfortunately, you are limited.
By creating an online blacksmithing shop, you increase the number of potential customers, which is extremely profitable for your business. With more potential customers, more sales are generated.
You can sell your products online in two options: by creating your own online store or selling on some other online platform like eBay or Etsy.
Creating your own online store is a much more complicated but also often more profitable option. On the other hand, selling your work on Etsy is way simpler but often less profitable due to its commission.
10. Take Enough Time to Come up With the Right Business Name
When it comes to choosing the name for your brand, take it slow. Don’t rush it because you could regret it later on. Building a successful blacksmithing business takes time and careful planning.
In today’s world of unlimited choices, every startup requires to build a business that is consistent, memorable and differentiated to please customers.
The name of your company is the first thing people hear when you tell them about your business. As much as an excellent name points out purpose and maturity, a name lacking creativity and vision can be very detrimental to the image of your company.
Your company’s name is also an emotional connection with customers, so it should be something they would like to be associated with for a long time. Catchy names evoke a strong passion for your company and can be a substantial competitive advantage for your company.
Once you decide on a name, the very next thing is to design a logo that suits your name and personality. A logo is the first visual of your company, so take the time to make it right.
