Why Not Start Your OWN Informal Chicken Coop Business?
I've fielded several questions recently from people who either want to go into business with me selling plans (see my affiliate page) or asking permission to start sell their own coops based off my plans. Here's what I have to say about that, "GO FOR IT!" This is America baby, land of the free and home of the brave. This is the country of Free Enterprise.
With all the garbage happening with our economy right now, a lot of people are scared about losing their jobs... as well they should be. Our country was not founded on the concept of servitude to a boss in return for little pieces of green paper. At one time America had localized economies. A farmer took his corn to the miller, who in turn sold to the baker, who sold to the blacksmith who, in return shoe'd the baker's horse. That same horse was loaned back to the farmer to plow his fields the upcoming spring, since the farmer's plow horse was going to foal soon. See how that works?
Sure, dollars helped simply the exchange of goods and services. But each transaction was supported by a tangible... something that could be seen, felt, or held.
I'm about to spill the beans on retail. If you've worked in retail, even you may not have heard about the retail keystone. It works this way. If I am a retailer who sells shirts to the public, I typically run my business on a 50% profit margin. That means that my cost will be 50% of that price which I sell the shirt to you.
For instance, if I sell a shirt in my store for $20.00, my cost to purchase that shirt from the manufacturer/distributor is generally going to be ±$10.00. In other words, I marked up the shirt 100% so that I could sell it for twice what I paid for it. What a racquet! I have a gross profit of $10.00 a shirt! If I sell 100 of them a week, I've made $1,000.00, right?
Wrong my friend! I own a retail establishment. From my $10.00 that I made on the sale I have to remove my fixed costs; expensive commercial building rent, electricity, internet, and phones, as well as operational costs like paying employees, healthcare, inflated labor union rates, unemployment benefits, etc.
After that's all done, I may have $2.00 left over from the sale to pay myself. I have to sell 100 shirts a week just to make a $200 paycheck (net profit). But I miscalculated the market and people's tastes in shirts. I have to mark down my shirts 30% to sell them, now giving me a 20% profit margin. But I still have fixed and operational costs to cover before I take a paycheck this week. Oh wait, I'm not taking a paycheck this week. Welcome to the state of Formal Business In America™.
If you have a few minutes read this amazing article by blogger/author Charles Hugh Smith entitled: End of Work, End of Affluence III: The Rise of Informal Businesses.
Smith writes,
Even in high-tech, wealthy Japan, tiny businesses abound. Wander around a
residential neighborhood and you'll find a small stall fronting a house staffed by a retired person
selling cigarettes, candy and soft drinks. Maybe they only sell a few dollars' worth
of goods a day, but it's something, and in the meantime the proprietor is reading a
magazine or watching TV.
He continues on,
Fixed costs of these thriving enterprises: a small fee to some authority,
an old cart and umbrella--and maybe a battered wok or ice chest.
So this is what I envision happening as the Depression drives standard-issue high-fixed cost "formal" enterprises out of business in the U.S.:
1. The mechanic who used to tune your (used) vehicle for $300 at the dealership
(now gone) tunes it up in his home garage for $120--parts included.
2. The gal who cut your hair for $40 at the salon now cuts it at your house for $10.
3. The chef who used to cook at the restaurant that charged $60 per meal now delivers
a gourmet plate to your door for $10 each.
4. The neighbor kids' lemonade stand is now a permanent feature; you pay 50 cents
for a lemonade or soft drink instead of $3 at Starbucks.
5. Used book sellers spread their wares on the sidewalk, or in fold-up booths;
for reasons unknown, one street becomes the "place to go buy used books."
6. The neighborhood jazz guy/gal sets up and plays with his/her pals in the backyard;
donations welcome.
7. The neighborhood chips in a few bucks each to make it worth a local Iraqi War vet's
time to keep an eye on things.
8. When your piece-of-crap Ikea desk busts, you call a guy who can fix it for $10
(glue, clamps, a few ledger strips and screws) rather than go blow $50 on another
particle board P.O.C. which will bust anyway. (oh, and you don't have the $50 anyway.)
9. The guy with a Dish runs cables to the other apartments in his building for a
few bucks each.
10. One person has an "unlimited" Netflix account, and everyone pays him/her a buck
a week to get as many movies as they want.
11. The couple with the carefully tended peach or apple tree bakes 30 pies and trades them for vegetables, babysitting, etc.
Here is the contents of an email I wrote recently to a gentleman from southern California who contacted me about getting into the chicken coop business.
What
I recommend is this. Buy a set of the plans and use those to go into
business for yourself. Get some used tools on eBay or Craigslist. Build
one ark in your garage and use it as practice... maybe something to
keep your chickens in. Build a second one and don't let your birds near it.
This one is going to be your display coop. And now, do what I do.
Promote your business locally and sell custom chicken coops in your
city or neighborhood. Maybe charge 1/2 up front (to cover your
material's cost so you don't have a lot of out of pocket expenses) and
then the rest upon delivery.
This way, your MAX out of pocket expenses are maybe $100 worth of
tools and $350 worth of materials to start your business. Heck, you can't get into Amway for
that cheap*... and this will truly be a business of your own.
Whatever you do, maybe now is the time to diversify yourself. Don't wait for the hatchet to drop on your job before you start something else. I know several people who have been successful selling these chicken coops. My booklet might be copyrighted, but the coop is not. Could this be the business for you as well? You can get started tomorrow by downloading my plans today.
P.S. If you do start a business selling these coops, how about a $20 Paypal donation for each Catawba ConvertiCoop sold? This is on the honor system of course, but it's always appreciated.
*Yes, I know the cost of an Amway business kit is not $450... but once you add in motivational organization costs like standing order tapes, leadership weekends like F.E.D., weekly meeting room rentals, and transportation to and from, it gets expensive quickly unless you sell a lot of soap. Now I like soap just as much as the next man, but I like chickens a lot better. I use more eggs than I do SA-8 or Dish Drops. |
