Hi David: I doubt anyone can "get rich" by making sundials, but I could be wrong.
One big reason for this is that by their very nature, good sundials can't be mass-produced. Every good sundial must be custom-designed and made. So every good dial has a high cost and must be sold at a higher price than mass-produced dials to cover costs. It's been my experience that homeowners, schools and parks are the biggest customers- in that order. They want dials that keep time and that look good. You MUST combine art and science. Make what you know how to make, and have fun doing it, or you will never be successful! my two cents worth... Good luck, John John L. Carmichael Sundial Sculptures 925 E. Foothills Dr. Tucson AZ 85718-4716 USA Tel: 520-6961709 Email: jlcarmich...@comcast.net My Websites: (business) Sundial Sculptures: http://www.sundialsculptures.com (educational) Chinook Trail Sundial: http://advanceassociates.com/Sundials/COSprings/ (educational) Earth & Sky Equatorial Sundial: http://advanceassociates.com/Sundials/Earth-Sky_Dial/ (educational) Gnomons, Styles & Nodi: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1207180@N23/ (educational) My Painted Wall Sundial: http://www.advanceassociates.com/WallDial (educational) Painted Wall Sundials: http://advanceassociates.com/WallDial/PWS_Home.html (educational) Stained Glass Sundials: http://www.stainedglasssundials.com (educational) Sundial Cupolas, Towers & Chimneys: http://StainedGlassSundials.com/CupolaSundial/index.html -----Original Message----- From: sundial-boun...@uni-koeln.de [mailto:sundial-boun...@uni-koeln.de] On Behalf Of David Andersson Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 8:01 AM To: sundial@uni-koeln.de Subject: Re: Asking for advice, on starting-up a sundial business In message <60c399c951.davey.anders...@gmail.com> David Andersson <davey.anders...@gmail.com> wrote: > > In message <259dedc851.martina.addisc...@gmail.com> > Martina Addiscott <martina.addisc...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > As well as Len Honey ("Science Replicas"), if anyone else may like > > to consider producing a commercial 'Teaching Sundial' - then there > > is likely to be a huge profit potential available, for suppliers. > > > > With around 30,000 primary schools (in the UK alone), even if just > > 5% (1 in 20) of them bought a Teaching Sundial at a cost of (say) > > 500 Pounds - that is a 'turnover' of three-quarters-of-a-million ! > > > > Thinking about a worldwide market, you can see the possibilities. > > > > I have only been a member of this "SML" for about 3 months, (having a hobby > interest in sundials) - but was very 'intrigued' to see just how much money > can be made, and should like some advice on starting-up a sundial business. > > > Although more profit might be made by supplying 'physical' products, I can > see that the "Modern Sunclocks" technique of selling just information may > be better - since it can simply be E-mailed, or downloaded from a website, > and so there are obviously no costs associated with production or delivery. > > I looked at their website ( www.sunclocks.com/profit.htm ), and they offer > this as a 'free Franchise' - but prefer to run things myself, and so want > to request details from other members, about how to proceed. For example, > should I just 're-sell' for other people - or offer my own range of items? > > I can see that being associated with a well-established existing business > has advantages, but developing my own products would take time and money. Exactly a month ago, I asked for information or advice on starting a sundial business - but only received one response to this List, and none privately. I am not attempting to 'copy' any existing items, or designs - preferring to develop my own, and using some limited "market research" which I have done. Based on earlier information from Martina Addiscott in the UK, I am tempted to concentrate on the Educational Sector - though I can see that Architects or Landscapers may also be a good source of orders, for their own projects. I was even thinking about metal-studs, for interactive 'analemmatic' layouts on wooden garden decking - simple, cheap, plus "adding value" to properties. Can anyone recommend the best type of information (and/or products) to sell, plus where the largest 'customer-base' might be - like schools/gardens, so that I could begin to think about this. There are obviously lots of sundial businesses in the world, and I like the idea of making money from my hobby! Any appropriate information or suggestions, would be very much appreciated. My regards to all, David Andersson. --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
