You have probably read Electra’s article about when to start a corset making business. This time I want to talk to you about something different: knowing when to stop your (corsetmaking) business.  

Now I already hear a lot of you say: "Quit? NEVER!"

As a fellow corset-obsessed person I completely understand your point of view. However, next to corsetmaking I had another job. Like lots of corsetmakers I do not wish to live off corsetmaking alone. I used to have a “day” job as an insolvency practitioner. The company I worked for helps small business owners to restart their businesses or to end their companies with the least amount of financial damage.

Running a business has several aspects. Being a good corsetmaker is an important part, but other parts are important too, such as being able to control your cash flow, keeping your books, and knowing your cost, taxes and profit.

Working hard vs making a living

Something a client (from the day job) once said to me, stuck with me for a long time. He said: “When I owned my own company I always thought that being a business owner was about working hard and making a lot of hours, but it wasn’t. Being a successful business owner is about earning a living.”

What a lot of artistic people forget is that when it is your job to make corsets, you need to earn enough with it to pay your bills. Your corsetmaking should not only pay for the materials and hours you spend on making the corset, but your corsetmaking also needs to pay for the hours you need to do research, acquire new customers, or try out new techniques. It is not just hours + materials.

You need to earn enough money with your corsetmaking to be able to set up a financial buffer in case you want to go on a holiday, or have a month or two with less orders than usual, or if you have a customer that goes 'bridezilla' on you, or for that course you want to follow in order to make your work better.

All of the extras people have when working for a boss, you need to be able to create for yourself, and the income needs to come from your orders. You need to make a PROFIT.

Profit is not a dirty word. Profit is what any healthy company needs to make. Profit is what helps your company grow. Granted, you do not need to be able to become a millionaire from corsetmaking - but it is not too much to ask to earn an average income for the hard work you do. If I would work fulltime in a call center, I would earn about €22,000 a year before taxes. This is a low income, not even mediocre in the Netherlands. Now let’s be honest towards each other, do you make this kind of money from corsetmaking? No? Why not; because there are no orders, or because you are too cheap? For most corsetmakers, it will be the latter...

Price vs Market

You have probably already noticed this, but the market is flooded with cheap corsets; corsets made in factories and from poor countries, corsets that are not that bad for clubbing or goth nights out. They sell easily for €50-€150.

That is not the market for you, if you are a corsetiere who puts hours of love and skill into making a wonder of fabric and steel. Of course there are different levels of skill and customization that make up the price of a corset, but as a general rule a lot of corsetmakers undersell themselves in order to compete on the “cheap” market. This has two negative side effects:

1. The customer believes that a custom corset is available for a low cost.
2. A corsetmaker is struggling to keep her art alive for a wage that lies below minimum.

True, there is a financial crisis at the moment, and customers will be more critical on price before buying a luxury garment - that is well within the rights of the customer. But remember, if a customer cannot afford your work, and is not willing to save up for it, then they are just not the right customer for you! The customer is king, but not to an extent that they can force the corsetmaker to earn a living far below the minimum wage. The only person that controls what you sell your work for is YOU. The market will always be a place of offer and demand. If you do not offer to work for €3 an hour, the demand might also change. I do feel that as a corsetmaking community we should encourage each other to value what we do, instead of trying to compete with the sweatshops. We are artists, and deserve to be paid enough to live a comfortable life.

Even if you are a starter as a corsetmaker, you are allowed to get paid properly. Just because you are new, you are at least entitled to a minimum wage. The downside of starting out as a relatively cheap corsetmaker is that you might lose your clientele when you start to ask more for your work. They might not have, or be willing to spend, more money for your work - even when you get better with time. This will mean that you will need to find new clients as you increase your prices.

For example: I have made this corset in 2008 for €130. The supplies would have cost me around €40, leaving me with €90 to pay my hours, taxes and overhead costs. I probably made about €4 per hour for this.

After realizing this I sat down with my husband and put it all on paper. He made me a calculating program in Excel to help me calculate what something should cost. We calculated the fixed cost, put in a profit margin and set a proper hourly rate. It really helps to sit down with an “outsider” to go through the numbers. It also helps you to be honest to yourself about how much time it really takes to finish an order. This includes things like grommet setting and hand-finishing of the binding, but also the time it take to email back and forth with your customer, plus the time it takes you to pack the corset up and drop it off at the post office.  

How to find that market with more money? For me, it helped to focus on adults with an income. You can find them online and at local (bridal) events. It also helps to work with models and photographers who get published a lot. Make sure that people are positive about you and talk about your work.

What really worked for me was setting up my website as more of a portfolio rather than a store. If you show quality custom work at your site, rather than just an item with a price list, people understand that what you do is making unique items with a unique price tag. Funnily enough, there are also customers who “grew” with me; ladies who found a steady income and are still loyal customers.

Higher Price, Lower Costs

There are several ways to make sure you make more money, and one is to 'up' the prices. The other one is to lower your costs. For example, it really does help to buy your supplies in bulk, as you can buy rolls or boning for half the price you would pay if you buy retail. You could also team up with other corsetmakers to buy coutil and busks in bulk.

You might want to consider making other items apart from corsets. Corsetmaking is an amazing, labour-intensive, work of love. Personally, I also quite enjoy making less labor-intensive outfits such as gowns and skirts, for example, this Victorian inspired jacked or this classic gothic gown.  

Standard sizing could also be an option for you to consider. Developing a standard size chart would be a good idea for the basic corsets like the waspie, Victorian underbust or Victorian overbust. For some customers with a limited budget, a basic black corset is all they need. If you already have your well-tested standard size pattern at hand, you can take on the order and make the corset. This eliminates the time to make a mock-up and with a little luck also limits the correspondence time with your customer, because of the limited choices. For example, this basic black satin coutil waspie (below): because I offer this waspie in basic black satin coutil, I can buy more meters of this satin coutil in bulk, therefore reducing my costs. When I have a break from my custom orders, I can make a couple of waspies in standard sizes as stock.

Quitting and Debts

But what if you have tried everything? From cutting the costs to working with high end materials, to advertising in local media... but there still are no customers for the corsets you sell, being high-end or basic handmade corsets.

Then it is very possible that your business model just does not work and you company does not have a life expectancy. In such a case, it is wise to control the damage. Every month that you plough on, not being able to make a living, can cause damage if you do not have a financial buffer.  If you depend on your corsetmaking, a negative cash flow will eventually lead to debt - not to mention the danger of taking on too much work in order to pay your bills, and then not being able to finish those orders, thus creating more damage to your company and good name.

Quitting your business is one of the hardest decisions one has to make, and I truly hope it never happens to any of us.

If you do need to quit (and are in debt) there are some suggestions you could take:

• Stop taking orders. Sell out any remaining stock you might have. Put a notice on your website that you will close up shop. Do not just disappear, but try to make an arrangement for any outstanding orders.
• Try to find a job. After quitting the business you may get depressed. This will be hard, but in order to get back on your feet, you will need a job - not only for the income but also for your place within the social community, to get out of the house and be around people.
• Payment of your private fixed costs always come first. This means rent of your home, insurance, electricity bills and food. If after that there is still money left, try to pay the company costs. It does not help to have paid your company taxes if you are being evicted from your home.
• If you are at such a low income that you are below social security/welfare requirements, check with your city if they have a form of social security for business owners. Here in the Netherlands we have a BBZ (Besluit Bijstand Zelfstandigen) arrangement.
• Make sure you keep your books in order so that you can file your tax return. Here in the Netherlands, if you do not file your tax return, the IRS will estimate your tax return with a really high fictional income, creating more debts.
• If you have severe debts that you are unable to pay off, try to find an insolvency practitioner to help you. Getting through any form of debt restructuring is hard, it means that you have to live of a small income and save the rest for your creditors, but it is the only way to get back on your feet.
• If you have severe debts, do not borrow money from family members. If the bank won’t give you a credit because they think that you are unable to pay it back, why put your family at risk? I have seen old people who gave up their pensions on order to save the companies of their children, only to see it all get lost.

I don't want to end on a negative note, as I truly do believe it is possible to live of corsetmaking. There is a market for luxury items out there. Try to find your place on it and do not sell yourself short. Believe in the art you sell, promote and sell it as an art form. What you do is amazing, and not all people in this world are able to make a good corset. Enjoy what you do and believe in yourself.