Hello David,
I make and sell sundials as a business-hobby, not a business per-se, so
I may not be best suited to answer your question. I sell about 4
sundials per year, ranging from $1,800 to $8,000 each. I also sell
about 3 consults each year for sundial layouts at about $75 each. I
tell my consult-customers that they can download a program and do this
for free, but I think they don't want to spend the time and would rather
pay a little money.
I do not actively advertise other than a rudimentary website, because
frankly I currently have all the business I want; I do this for a
part-time hobby, not to make a living.
I am very fortunate to have built a good friendship with Kate Pond, a
local sculptor who likes to make sun-oriented sculpture. Working with
someone who has the skills and interest in building things I would never
attempt on my own has been very satisfying, and has enabled me to
affiliate my name with some wonderful public and private projects. I
encourage you to seek out similar partnerships. I read the NASS
compendium and the BSS Bulletins religiously. They give access to great
ideas conceptually and aesthetically. Please ask for permission and
give proper credit if you use someone else's idea. I am not qualified
to advise on copyright and intellectual property, but issues may arise
in this domain.
Initially, my customers were first degree relatives. Now my customers
are universities, private individuals, high-schools, botanical gardens,
and museums, roughly in that order. I have done some gratis work for
one or two townships in advising and laying out a stone circle and an
analemmatic dial. I do not know how my customers find me, but I presume
it is by finding my website on a google search.
I do not consider myself particularly business-savy. I decided early on
that I would try to sell a few well-made expensive sundials rather than
deal with a lower cost / high volume model, as I did not have a knack
for running the latter. I also like the challenge of designing and
building a technical piece that is an unusual addition to the family of
sundials.
If I had to do this for a real living I am not sure what I would do to
scale up. I would probably try to get some free recognition via
articles in gardening magazines. I know William Andrewes got fantastic
recognition for his sundials via an article in Smithsonian Magazine by
Dava Sobel.
I think my best advice is to make a high quality product, and to educate
your customers on what to expect from it (local vs civil time, daylight
saving, etc.). Artistically, I would hope you can develop your own
recognizable style. There is no mistaking a Spectra sundial, a Wenger
sundial, or one of John Carmichael's carved stone dials, for example.
Though those are all examples of custom dials, I am sure even if your
product is a massed produced one, you can still make it look like an
Andersson dial.
-Bill Gottesman
Precision Sundials LLC
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.
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