Tools and materials are the two most important things in an artisan’s life. Often, they are particular to the kind of work that they do, and to realize an artisans deign or product, they need to be safe always. It means how they are cared for and securely stored is of prime importance. self storage

Artisans are crafts persons like few others. They are creative and gifted in what they do. Many of their products are handmade, using time and patience to convert their ideas into an inspired product. Often their uniqueness commands a premium in price, and in the same way that the tools and raw materials used are valuable to them, so are the finished goods.

It means that safe storage is crucially important and finding a storage solution for their trade is often found in self storage. At a storage facility like Stop & Store Penrith, the selection of unit sizes provide adequate space for this kind of activity and are therefore well suited.

As there are a few challenges to being a successful artisan, it’s good that one of them is out of the way through obtaining cheap storage by taking a self storage rental.

Getting Down to Business

Uniqueness, craftmanship and handmade are all terms that relate to an artisan. Think about a barber, or hairdresser: they are experts at what they do. They ply their trade with tools to cut hair and have accessories to add value to the end look. The style you ask for is the style they cut to, giving you a great final product.

When you have an idea for the house you’d like to build, it’s the architect that converts your idea to reality, converting all your suggestions in the process, accurately costing the components thereby giving you an idea of what costs you are in for.

There are many different trades, and they all are entrepreneurs that run their own businesses, crafting day after day, making their way through life. Be it a plumber, electrician, or decorator, all use their hands to repair or make new things. Your tailor or shoe cobbler, working away every day, using the tools at their disposal to create, mend, alter or improve.

When Time is Against You

One of the biggest challenges of an artisan is that there never seems to be enough time to do everything in the timeframe planned. And on top of that creative designs and original products that are handmade often cost a bit more. This is because they could be made of superior materials, or simply because they are not mass produced in a factory, they don’t benefit from economies of scale.

Artisans may have to source materials that are specifically applicable to their products, which could take extra time to arrive, and while local materials may be available, their quality needs to be assured.

Speaking of quality, when making a unique or customized product which a customer is going to pay a premium for, it may require extra labour or time and detail not normally found in conventional machine-made products.

To many artisans it’s all in their heads, the way it’s done, the execution of the work, they are born this way and very few are made.

Quality First, Size Not So Important

The high levels of workmanship found in artisan trades and the specialization of their products mean that they often operate in a small sector of the market, making their marketing efforts more challenging.

Finding customers for high value items requires somewhat of a rifle approach rather than a shot gun. It means campaigns need to be accurately focused on prospective clients.

Take a craft brewer, who cannot make huge batches of beer, but their artisan skills produce a beer that tastes distinctly different, filled with character, from normal run of the mill beers. Time is needed to ferment rather than use a commercial approach, the brew master will take time until the taste, colour and consistency are perfect.

Staying small and getting a premium price have their advantages. From a storage point of view an artisan often doesn’t much more space than the size of a self storage room. By staying smaller everything is at their fingertips, and the business is manageable.

As the master craftsman it’s very difficult getting someone that is as good at it too, so this limits expansion. Quality labour is always a challenge, and particularly when it comes to fine skilled work that needs to be carried out.

Funding Small Businesses

One of the challenges of running a small business is the money side. When money matters get on top of you, it tends to stunt the creative spirit, which is counterproductive.

Unfortunately, without a track record funding becomes more difficult to obtain, so in the early days keeping a pin on the expenses, and also getting the money in. This helps contribute to a healthy cash flow.

Artisans may not have set out to be businesspeople, rather starting a business because of their passion, crafting uniqueness along the way.

There is nothing more frustrating than getting a big order only to find out that the money needed to fund the raw materials is hard to come by. This often happens, which brings the topic back to quality handmade items at a premium versus mass produced items at smaller margins. Artisans belong in the former sector.

Marketing Never Stops

Fortunately, the web is a great way to expose an artisan’s products and services, so make your artisan business a continuous source of news through the channels available. Customers forget quickly and are always looking for something new, so make it your business expose your business consistently.

Keeping stock in a secure store like self storage means that it is safe and dry in an insulated well secured container. This is ideal for a small business run by an artisan.

Self storage units can be booked quickly as in the case of Stop & Store Penrith, by going online or contacting us directly by phone. We will be please to assist you in any way possible.

Find us on https://www.stopandstore.co.uk/penrith-storage/

Or call us on 01768 800291.