Mermaidtail Selling

[MermaidAliyah]

AS a big fan of making tails I was wondering what an experienced tail - maker would reccomend. Like when making latex or siliconer tails how to hide the seams and if I need a license to sell tails. How much should be charged? What kind of material? What if a customer is allergic how do you approach the situation? I'd appreciate answers. Thanks. :rolleyes:

[Mer_Adella]

Well technically if you make more than 600 dollars in a year you have to put it on your taxes. If you dont make 600 a year then it's considered a hobby. That's here in the USA. As far as a liscense idk but I thought that would be useful info

[SilverSiren]

You just opened the can of legal worms, lol.

Right, like Tory said, if you make over a certain amount a year (I think the number is higher than 600, its more like 3,000, but still silicone tails are going to set you over the limit regardless) you must claim taxes. You can probably register as a sole trader. You need to keep a record of EVERY receipt of EVERY purchase of materials, they are tax deductible. If you work from home you can also deduct the cost of certain other things, like electricity, gas etc. so you need to keep those records too. Get a good filing system... now.

Assuming your going to have a business name you need to register that. Website? Need to register the domain name. Those cost money btw. If you don't register them, someone can sue you if they have the same name or if they like the name of your business they can take it... then sue you. Trademark register your business name and logo too.

You need to charge your materials x2 plus however much you think your time is worth per hour your working on the project. Dragonskin silicone is 183.45 per unit, so 183.45 x 2 = 366.9, thats not including shipping cost of the unit and the fact that you'll need two, its just a example. Then lets say it takes you approximately 20 hours to finish each tail and you think your time is worth 15 an hour, 20 x 15 = 300. Soooooo.... 366.9 + 366.9 + 300 = 1032.18 (yeah, I probably got that wrong but I am also terrible at math and this is just an example thing) so you can see that this is adding up? So, 2 to 3 thousand per silicon tail is clearly fair price. I didn't include the shipping in there or the silicone paints or the clay or the molding material etc etc.

I would avoid latex, a lot of people are allergic to latex. I don't know anyone who is allergic to silicone... yet. Plus, if your going to be working with children, do you really want to risk an unknown latex allergy with a kid? Could end up being a bad time or maybe I'm just paranoid and like to cover my tail. It's just my opinion and opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one! Whether or not they stink depends on the individual.

As for seem hiding, everyone is different. The most common way to avoid seems is to measure once, measure twice, and just for safety, measure AGAIN! Measure twice, cut once... you mess that up you loose time and money, and lets face it, in business, time and money are what counts. The scale pattern is your answer. Think of them like puzzle pieces. If you measure correctly you can figure out how to fit them together like a puzzle. That's one way of doing it.

Oh, you might need a business license... I'm not clear on that, I'm not going by US law here, so if any of this info is incorrect then I'm sure someone will be along to correct any legalities of it. I do have a understanding of US law but I'm not 100%. Hope I helped a little though. I'm also sure there are a lot of other things involved that I missed but, like I said, I'm sure someone will come over to fill that in. It can be tough starting your own business, just make sure you cover your tail in every way you can think of. People are not nice, granted I like to give the benefit of the doubt, but in business you have to be a lot more brutal and cover your bases. Better to be safe than sorry!

[Mermaid Narina]

that was really good Silversiren :) you sure know your stuff!!! :)

[SilverSiren]

that was really good Silversiren :) you sure know your stuff!!! :)

Thank you, I do my best. Thankfully I have a friend who owns his own business so when I have pressing questions I need only ask him, so I figured I would tell what I know of the top of my head. It's complicated sometimes when it comes to owning your own business and I think a lot of people just into it thinking its simple, then suddenly realize there is a whole world they didn't know they were getting into... it makes you really appreciate people who do run their own business... then you think of the people who have made their business a huge franchise and realize all they had to accomplish to get there. It's impressive really. To not get overwhelmed, take it one step at a time, writing up a business plan can help.

[Mer_Adella]

Thank you, I do my best. Thankfully I have a friend who owns his own business so when I have pressing questions I need only ask him, so I figured I would tell what I know of the top of my head. It's complicated sometimes when it comes to owning your own business and I think a lot of people just into it thinking its simple, then suddenly realize there is a whole world they didn't know they were getting into... it makes you really appreciate people who do run their own business... then you think of the people who have made their business a huge franchise and realize all they had to accomplish to get there. It's impressive really. To not get overwhelmed, take it one step at a time, writing up a business plan can help.

In MI at least (since my family is full of entrepenures {dont yell at me for spelling THAT world lol} it is 600+ and you need to put it on your taxes...600- and its considered a "hobby" by law. So if you were to make fabric tails and it cost you about 90-100$ in materials to make one tail. SEll it for 150-175 and you make 50-75 profit. Now if you were to sell only 4 tails a year you would be at 600. and you wouldn't have to put it on your taxes. if you made 5 tails in one year....THEN it would go on

confusing but helpful I think. My thought is that if you want to get serious about it, make as many tails as you can and report it on your taxes. and Silversiren is right FILING SYSTEM, SAVE RECIEPTS NOW!!!! trust me it definately helps. She's a smart cookie she knows what she is talking about :D

[SilverSiren]

Tory's right, thats for MI, sate by state taxes will differ. Your state may be different, so you may want to find out what the limit is for "hobby" vs "your making too much so pay us now". Then also you need to be aware of federal tax. Taxes taxes taxes... its a real bummer.

Thank you Tory!

The main things you NEED to have for a business is 1. Common sense, cover your tail! 2. Commitment, you MUST commit yourself to your business 110% EVERYDAY! If you have those, you can go far.

[MermaidAliyah]

How do you register a domain for a website?

[Mermaid Arianna]

If you want I can design a website for your tail selling.... PM me if your interested