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primeflycompany

It Don't Pay to Start a Flyco...

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Hey Everyone, 

My name is Dan and I recently wrote a blog about the financial realities of starting a fly company. I've been at an inflection and I wanted to stop and really evaluate the financial realities of my business and whether it is worth continuing. I wrote it so if anyone was considering this path forward, that it would give them a better grasp on the financial terms and implications that matter in how much you ultimately earn. 

I'm going to link it here, if it's not allowed- let me know. I'm not doing this to get business but just to help educate some people. I'm certainly not the smartest or most successful fly tyer out there- so please use your own judgment. It isn't all inclusive either, but it lets you figure out right away if it's worth pursuing. 

Happy New Year guys.

https://www.primeflycompany.com/blogs/news/dont-quit-your-day-job-to-start-that-flyco-it-dont-pay
 

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7 minutes ago, primeflycompany said:

I'm going to link it here, if it's not allowed- let me know.

Hey Dan, I checked it out, looks fine to me so you're good. Besides I doubt you'd tryin sell flies on a tying site anyway, that would be like the old saying of ice to Eskimos lol. So no problems with the post on our end.

 

Steve

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Nice dose of reality that some people need to hear.  The reality and knowledge in your link will help others in their career decisions.

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10 minutes ago, Poopdeck said:

Nice dose of reality that some people need to hear.  The reality and knowledge in your link will help others in their career decisions.

People like myself lol. 

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Good information.  Thank you.  I am not sure that you have the correct info in the definitions part, for Gross Profit.  I may be wrong.

Best wishes going forward.  I hope you strike if very big.

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Nice blog Dan, and sadly the truth for younger or anyone getting into a legitimate venture. It is not impossible to turn tying into a business but it not as easy as just walking into a shop and selling orders. You will most likely work for less than minimum wage if you average time across the board as you have shown. If your tying muddler minnows probably a lot less. 

Royalties from a fly house are a better way to go. Your going to be working hard to invent new patterns to catch the fishermen that those tiers in Thailand, Shire Lanka, and Pakistan to reproduce. And watching catalogs yearly to see if your still in it. Royalties are based on sales not just being in the catalog and when sales drop they drop your pattern for the next new hot fly. To be successful you need to market that pattern or patterns to fishermen (write a book, killer website, fishing show promotions, magazine articles, guide recommendations)

Custom fly market is a way to make money,  e-bay will 1099 you, collect sales tax, offer shipping discounts all at a price. As a tackle manufacturer you will still need to deal with the excise tax, and other federal and state taxes as noted plus e-bay & paypal fees. They are mining the miners also. If you use your own web site expect that government is monitoring you, some localities have stopped kids selling lemonade for not following regulations.

30 years ago all you needed was a tax number and a decent accountant, buy wholesale material sort and sell at shows, events, and out of your home. If it impacted a local shop you would hear about it. Today most wholesalers have steep minimum orders and most only sell to established businesses. When I was a part time shop rat I learned about the trade and tackle shows and how much $$$ these businesses spend, the sliding price & credit scales by volume sold and ordered. When the owner of my favorite shop closed (retired) he started smiling again, put on a little weight, and started fishing,  I heard some of his hair grew back.

 

 

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Interesting. A church member asked me about people in an Asian country tying flies for an income. Gave him the names of a couple of importers/retailers. Nothing came of it. I built custom fishing rods for seven years. I had to collect sales tax on rods sold in Tennessee, package and ship, pay federal excise tax quarterly, keep track of expenses, profit/loss, etc. for my CPA. I did find a niche but it required operating as a full time business. I didn't retire to work 40+ hours.  If someone wanted to start a business, I would highly recommend consulting a CPA and/or an attorney. Contact the state revenue office regarding filing requirements.

Howard Hughes made a million dollars selling from the back of a Model A Ford. My, how times have changed.

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1 hour ago, Djfan said:

Good information.  Thank you.  I am not sure that you have the correct info in the definitions part, for Gross Profit.  I may be wrong.

Best wishes going forward.  I hope you strike if very big.

I put it together pretty quick. I think it's right generally speaking. except it depends how strict you are with considering your Cost of Goods. In general, most people separate indirect costs from COGS and keep it strictly to materials plus labor. 

Hopefully it gives someone a general idea though. 

I appreciate it. 

 

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1 hour ago, cphubert said:

Nice blog Dan, and sadly the truth for younger or anyone getting into a legitimate venture. It is not impossible to turn tying into a business but it not as easy as just walking into a shop and selling orders. You will most likely work for less than minimum wage if you average time across the board as you have shown. If your tying muddler minnows probably a lot less. 

Royalties from a fly house are a better way to go. Your going to be working hard to invent new patterns to catch the fishermen that those tiers in Thailand, Shire Lanka, and Pakistan to reproduce. And watching catalogs yearly to see if your still in it. Royalties are based on sales not just being in the catalog and when sales drop they drop your pattern for the next new hot fly. To be successful you need to market that pattern or patterns to fishermen (write a book, killer website, fishing show promotions, magazine articles, guide recommendations)

Custom fly market is a way to make money,  e-bay will 1099 you, collect sales tax, offer shipping discounts all at a price. As a tackle manufacturer you will still need to deal with the excise tax, and other federal and state taxes as noted plus e-bay & paypal fees. They are mining the miners also. If you use your own web site expect that government is monitoring you, some localities have stopped kids selling lemonade for not following regulations.

30 years ago all you needed was a tax number and a decent accountant, buy wholesale material sort and sell at shows, events, and out of your home. If it impacted a local shop you would hear about it. Today most wholesalers have steep minimum orders and most only sell to established businesses. When I was a part time shop rat I learned about the trade and tackle shows and how much $$$ these businesses spend, the sliding price & credit scales by volume sold and ordered. When the owner of my favorite shop closed (retired) he started smiling again, put on a little weight, and started fishing,  I heard some of his hair grew back.

 

 

That's correct- I didn't go into this part but the other way to make a fly company (I kept it strictly at flies because I see so many guys just doing that on Etsy, Ebay, Instagram) work is to have additional revenue streams. All of which include other variables, costs, etc. Book sales, magazine articles, Patreon (aka charity lol), Youtube revenue, selling other products from 3rd party vendors, branded merchandise, paid fly tying classes, guiding, speaking fees, paid sponsorships, etc. 

It becomes very complicated and needs even more precision on your understanding because any venture you go into, could takeaway time from another venture that might actually make money. 

 

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wonderful write up.if a tyer wants to make it a full time business it is very hard.  but as a part time business it can be as good . and as you pointed out having a royalty from a world wide fly company is the way to go. happy new year everyone

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A fishing forum i belonged to,now gone,was mostly pansish and bass.a few of us that flyfished got a lot of inquiries about rods flies etc.Some of us that tied made a couple bucks or took stuff in trade it was fun.I am still friends with a couple of those guys and we still buy sell and trade a little.I have ended up with some pretty sweet little vintage flyrods.I love to tie but HAVING to tie was like WORK after work,I got to the point where i could tie a dozen or so an hour and they were simple bluegill bugs.Like the OP stated i would have to 10.00 for a 1.00 fly.

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