Why You Should Be Charging Money For Your Leathergoods

It might seem like a strange thing to say, right?

"You really should be charging money for your leathergoods, you know."

Like, who says that?

Actually, selling and making money from their leatherwork can make some people really uncomfortable for many reasons.

Maybe they think their work isn't of any value or not good enough. Or they just feel bad asking for money in exchange for their leathergoods.

Have you ever felt this way? 

If you've ever felt awkward about charging money for your work, I totally get it but I want you to get over it because money doesn't have to be a weird thing. There are a number of reasons for why you should be selling your leatherwork and below i've listed my top 4.

1: Freedom to design the type of life that you want to live

The profits that you earn from selling your leathergood could be big or small. They could be a supplement to your current job or they could be the result of a full-time operational business. 

So what does designing a life that you want to life mean, exactly?

Well it could be as simple as having the extra income to afford to go out eat a few extra nights per month or it could mean bigger things.

Like for me, part of designing the type of life that I want to live is getting out of debt (and staying out of debt). I really want to pay off my student loans and I then I want to buy a house with cash... eventually.

Now these are big goals that I have and they're not going to happen overnight but I know that i'm more likely to achieve them by running my own leathergoods business where the sky is the limit to my earning potential, right? 

2: You can buy more supplies and tools!

As leatherworkers, we’re always looking for the new fancy tools, right? We're like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to browzing Weaver Leathercraft or Tandy leather. But a lot of us hesitate purchasing new gadgets to avoid the judgement of our friends and family, right? 

Maybe you've heard this from a loved one before,

"Another tool?? Geez how many burnishing tools do you need?"

If you can sell just a few leathergoods each month, this is extra money that you could put towards your leather tools and materials addiction that your significant other is constantly keeping tabs on.

Next time someone comments on your tools purchase you can say,

"Hey, actually the business is paying for this one, thank you very much."

3: Reach more people with your great work

If you're creating work and giving it away, after a while unless you are an independantly weathly person with unlimited funds, you're not going to be able to keep it up.

We all know how expensive a hobby leatherwork can be!

But if you focus on building a sustainable leathergoods business - meaning one that takes into consideration your costs and overhead you can keep creating new work for your existing customers who love what you do as well as reach more people.

4: Make an impact and do good in the world.

I heard someone talking about someone who said, they were uncomfortable with exchanging money for their work.

Being compensated for your work can feel icky or uncomfortable to some, but it is a fact of life that we use money as a unit of value.

And the more money you can generate the more that you are able to do "good" with it. The world needs more good people generating money to help other people.

This "good" comes in a few different forms. 

This could be good for your family because you can pay your mortgage or get a new car. It could be good for your community because now you can give to a local charity that you believe in. Or on a big scale you can do good for the world by joining a global organization that builds schools for underprivileged kids in Ghana. 

These are just a few of the many reasons why you should be selling your leathergoods but there are many more.

Whether you have really big dreams and you want to impact the world or you just want to be able to buy a few extra tools and materials without getting the side-eye from you know who, starting to sell your leathergoods is a great way to achieve this and so much more.
 

Are you selling your leathergoods? If no, whats stopping you from doing so?