HI Backcast,
the situation you find yourself in could be worse. The price of flies in the US is fairly high compared to here in England. When I tie flies to order I get about 70p for them (about $1.05), if you were to supply direct to the customer you would get another 50% on top if this I expect.
If you have any computer skills I would set up a simple (or not so simple if you can) website, put pictures of the flies on it and price lists etc. You will need to offer something which large shops can't and this will be quality of service. People WILL pay for a good service. You will get customers returning time after time. You can also try sending samples to small shops but as said in a previous post you will only get about half the money back.
You will however lose some enjoyment if you decide to tie for shops where they demand the flies to be tied that minute and sent within the hour etc etc. Fly tying will transcend from a hobby to a job. It's the same with fishery managers - surrounded by the fishery all day but they do no fishing, it becomes a job, one which they didn't expect it to be like.
If you have any more questions which I haven't answered please shout
Chris