How do you handle backlog?

I am needing some advice on schedueling commisions. I am getting to the piont that I am starting to build a backlog on orders, its not to the stressful piont yet, but it will continue to increase, and I want to get a handle on it before it gets out of control.

Here's the deal, I am getting some real good work, high end stuff, but I am not nieve, the reason I am getting it is not because of my name, one I have a very reputable engraver vouching for me and secondly, because I can do the work and the customers won't have to wait three years to get it. So that means I have to deliver in a timely fashion in order to continue to get work, until I am proven.

So what the question really is, how long are most customers used to waiting?, and How do you handle doing large and small jobs? Do you stick to the order in which they come in? or Do you fit in the small stuff in between the big jobs? Basically how do you keep things under control??? and any other advice I may need to know. Thanks Brian

Brian,
If I were in your shoes doing the kind of work that I know you are doing, for the clientel that you are doing it for, I absolutely positively WOULD NOT let myself get into backlog situation beyond 6-8 months. While you are doing excellant work, you still will do a lot of growing in terms of what you want to do and what YOU want to (or need to) charge for it since you are still in the growth curve as an artist in this field. Don't let yourself be railroaded into a a year or two year backlog of work that seems comforting at the time, but 12 months from now your going, gee, I really am taking longer to do XYZ type job and wish I was getting paid more. Or Gee, if I do another plainjane nude I am going to puke.

You need to be in charge, not the customer. Learn to say "No, I don't want to be backlogged, give me your name and number and I will call in you 6 months. If your project sounds interesting to me, then we should be able to start on it very quickly." Then you can pick and choose what you want to do artistically, and you are establishing the price to be paid in closer time to when you are actually doing the piece.
regards
Scott

Brian, just remember that the only people that don't have problems are dead!
Be glad your troubles are slanted this way....now on to managing them:
1.I never give the customer a deadline. This is custom, one-of-a-kind work. Some days it goes better than others. When I get "stuck", I switch gears and work on something else for a short while then jump back in.
Since I get the balance of my commission on completion, I'm motivated to get it done ASAP.
2. First come (with deposit) First Serve, is my general rule....There are some exceptions, but they are usually accompanied with a hefty premium...enough to make the Rush Job: A.) Worth my immediate attention or B.) Not really a Rush Job after all.
3.Plan your day in advance. Before you retire for the day, make either a written or mental note as to what you expect to accomplish tomorrow. Many people do not plan to fail, they fail to plan.
4. Make your expectations real.....you know what you can do and you know the direction you need to go.
5. Don't over-do it. Working until the wee hours of the morning usually wrecks my entire tomorrow. I can't afford to waste an entire day recovering from last night's "pushing it".

Best of Luck!
Brian

Brain,

Scott has just given you golden advice. I have learned this the hard way.

Right now I am not letting ANYTHING else in the door until I get a grasp on the work load again. I am almost there and when I get my books cleared I am going to do things a bit differently.

As Scott has pointed out, as you go along and build a reputation more and more people will want your work and if you are not careful you can easily get piled under. To add to the problem, the jobs get more and more involved the knives themselves have gotten more and more complicated with trap doors, buttons, hidden panels and all kinds of other gadgets which take a lot more time than just a plain interframe. The knives have also gotten larger in size. Ten years ago the average knife job took me a week working 8hrs a day. Today the average knife job takes me about two to three weeks working ten hours a day.

If you are anything like me and that work piles up you begin to hate the work you once loved. You will burn out.

In the beginning all I did was knives and I could turn them around fairly fast because the jobs were fairly small. Now the jobs are large and (like you) I do other things. With the school, my fly rods, the fountain pens Dave Broadwell and I collaborate on, etc. I now only have time to do maybe 4-6 knife jobs a year.

With your talent and desire for excellence it will not be long until you are in a similar position in the knife market. When you do find yourself there you do not want to be buried under a three year backlog.

If you are starting to get a backlog that is beyond 6 months at this point the first thing you need to do is raise your prices. Not drastically, but enough to level of in the 4-6 month range. Also be more selective in the orders you accept. IF it is not the kind of work you particularly enjoy recommend a fellow engraver who enjoys the kind of work the customer is wanting.

You also need to come up with a system of pricing that will prevent tire kickers who will never commit to a job from calling or emailing you constantly wanting to know how much for such and such. When my books are cleared I am going to a strict per/sq inch pricing structure for engraving and a strict per linear inch pricing for line inlay. On my website I will explain to anyone interested how to figure the square inch surface of their gun or knife. That way they won't have to call me for a quote. All they will have to do is measure out their object multiply it by the per inch price for the type of work they want and they know.

You need to figure out a system like that which is fairly consistent and can be applied across the board.

I have one more thing I would recommend to you. I don't know you well, but from the few conversations we have had and the time we talked together at the Blade and Scott's shindig I can tell you tend to be a people pleaser. Don't take that as an insult it is not meant as one. It merely means you are a nice guy who likes to help people out. That is an admirable quality that too few people have now days. However, it can be a rope that will hang you if you let it. Customers will sense that the same as I have. There are many out there who will take advantage of it and you will find yourself with some of those jobs you wish you had not taken or wish you had not given the guy a break on the price.

Once you set your pricing structure stick to your guns until the time comes that the demand once again outweighs the supply and you need to raise it.

Yes, you will reach a point where the average guy at he knife show will say things like,"You want how much, Are you crazy!" (to which I reply,"I am out of my flipping mind!" ) But..........I have learned that the serious collectors understand that good work takes time and that takes money. I have also learned that most of them do not want to wait two or three years to get their knife engraved. So you are doing yourself no favors by letting work back up that far.

Ray

Hey Brian!

There's some great advice here, and I'd like to throw in my two bits as well.
First off, I'd like to say that after meeting you and seeing your work at the Blade Show...
you have nothing but a great future as a professional artist/engraver, and that's a fact.

My work has a fairly broad base of catagories like Ray's, [guns, knives, pens, flutes, etc.].
It's damn near impossible to take jobs in sequence with this range of projects on a monthly or quarterly basis.
I try to maintain no more than an eight month schedule on knife work just for my own piece of mind.
In many cases the delivery time is less than that, and the customer appreciates the consideration.
What many of us fail to consider is that we have families [and hopefully a life] or sudden emergencies...
that interferes with time at the bench, and I call it the X-Factor...

[It's useful to sit down and figure out how much time you spend actually cutting as opposed to doing the other stuff related to your business such as wrapping packages, ordering supplies, finding stuff in your shop, talking on the phone, being plugged into the web, etc.]

The beauty of being in this profession lies in the variety.
I have a balance of production work and artistic projects.
I like that.
With production work...somedays it's nice to not have to think about what you're going to do in the morning.
Artistic work, or projects that stretch your limitations require thought, planning, and a lot of time.
If the client appreciates your talent, they'll honor your need to do your own thing as well as the time involved.
If the individual your dealing with can't get a grip on that...you're not going to be able to do your best work.
I graciously decline doing business with them.

I'm not opposed to "cherry picking" within a job list.
Sometimes you'll be working on something, and a germ of an idea for another project comes to light.
I call that inspiration my friend, and I like to strike when the iron is hot...if you know what I mean!
That freedom of choice is why I love doing what I do.

I never discriminate amongst clients.
Some of my most rewarding jobs were first-time-engraving commissions from what I call "Normal Folk".
They really appreciate the work, they pay immediately, and often they become your best sales rep.
I'd be happy if all my clients had that ethic.

There's no real cut-and-dried answer to customer satisfaction.
We practice an age-old artform that requires patience, talent, and the human touch.
Nowadays, the majority of the population has a "Burger King Mentality"...they want it now.
Forget them...they are not, and never will be an appreciative client.

The important thing is that you maintain control of every job situation, and never undersell or compromise your integrity.
It's not an elitist attitude...it's all about respect for yourself.
Also, try to remember why you got into this trade in the first place, and stay fixed on that goal to avoid being side-tracked.
I like variety because I don't want all of my eggs in one basket, but that's just me.

Sometimes you bite off more than you can chew, but you suck it up and get through it...and bank that experience.
I wear many hats in this business, and at the end of the day I'm accountable.
If I make a promise...I better keep it.
[I'm real cautious about making promises these days... ]

I hope these ramblings help you out.

Tim

Tim Adlam said:

I'm real cautious about making promises these days... ]

Click to expand...

Amen to that brother! and Tim, I was thinking the other day, you never did get the grand tour of my solar house and completed and uncompleted projects..ha!


Brian, Lots of good things being covered here , things I meant to answer about the scheduling sequence and what have you, but are being nailed in good by the rest of the gang.

boy Brian.you got a lot of very good advise here from some of the top people ,I myself have a large back load I engrave only colts and a few knives , my back log is 1..5 years I tell my customers I will not rush a job and if they need it done faster don't call me. I love what I do and I work at it, my work schedule is 9 to 6 seven days a week. my advise is do your best and don't cheapen a job because some one wants it yesterday and you will try to do it because you are a nice guy . just remember when that customer is not pleased with your work he will not say it was his fault because he rushed you but he will blame only you .. that is my 2 cents worth .. ron p.

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I almost feel like I am cheating, it took alot of you some bumpy roads to gain the knowledge that I just recieved by clicking a few buttons.

The business side of engraving is all new to me, so I have just been using my best judgement, and thinking of the end goal. Many things that you all are warning me about I am starting to see, and I am going to have to start making a few changes and yes one is that I am going to have to become less accomodating(sticking to my prices and not cave to the pressure of "I need it done right away or I will go somewhere else", and be selective in what I accept to work on.

Also I need to get over the fear of the work drying up and the feeling of wanting to get as much work lined up as I can, it seems from what everyone has stated that it should not be a concern. The work will be there.

Thanks again for the advice and all the time it took to type it. Brian

i'm not aware of your situation, but you must develop a realistic sense for time required on jobs. everything you do - keep notes in a journal, and keep a stopwatch at your bench. many engravers don't know how long they actually spend working a job. keep a 3 ring binder notebook. and time everything you do. this way, you will eventually know how to estimate time requirements. and btw, this can directly relate to what your fee might be ! i've done about 1400 or so belt buckles; i can tell almost to the minute, what a given size/design buckle will cost me in terms of actual bench time. same for all the other classes of work that i do. the only variable that comes to play, if a graver should go skatin across a piece where it aint sposta ! aargh !! also, you should require a deposit. those who balk at the idea, you don't need folks like that anyway ! serious clients will pay a reasonable retainer. there also must be an understanding of why the retainer is required. this elevates you, the engraver to the level of true professional. one must never leave a client with any unanswered questions. to do this, brings problems later. always show the client that you are in command of the ship ! every unanswered question they may have in their mind after the first meeting, they will have a dozen about you as an individual.

Wow! What great advice from a great group of professionals!

It really needs to be published widely. Possibly in THE ENGRAVER (The Journal of FEGA), and/or the FEGA How-To Handbook. Anyone writing a book should consider including the advice.

My two cents.

Lester Holmes
Montgomery, Alabama