The Quickest Way to a Profitable Leathergoods Business

A lot of leathersmiths make the mistake of trying to build a leather business by making leathergoods that they like to make and then trying to sell said leathergoods to anyone and everyone that will listen.

But the problem with this is that your focus is on what YOU like to make and NOT what your customer needs or wants.

Your focus is on you when it needs to be on your customer.

You can absolutely grind out a business by hustling your butt off, trying to find customers and talk them into buying your leathergoods that you like to make but you’re going to have to hustle and probably under-price your leathergoods and it’s going to be an uphill battle.

The quickest way to a profitable leathergoods business is to make and sell a leathergood that solves a problem.

If your ultimate goal is to sell (over just making things and hoping that they sell) then creating a leathergood that solves a problem, makes someone’s life easier or at least is making a very specific group of people happy and bringing them joy and where you should be focusing on.

When you come at your business from the angle of serving your customer and helping them with a problem answers to these three questions becomes crystal clear.

#1 Who is my ideal customer?

It’s very clear. You automatically know who your ideal customer is when you know the problem that you’re solving. It’s all of the people who are suffering from that problem!

For example, say you make leather guitar straps. This solves the problem of holding the guitar for musicians, right? (I didn’t say the problem had to be earth-shattering. It can be quite simple!) So there are lots of groups of people suffering from this problem:

• people who play a specific type of guitar that need a specific type of strap

• people who play a type of music that want a certain style or look to their strap

• your customer could be music stores and people who sell music equipment

• music teachers

Lots of different markets open up once you get specific with your targeting.

#2 How do I find and attract my ideal customer?

Now that you know who your ideal customer is and what they look like, you can make better guesses at where to find them and how to attract them.

Maybe you make something that makes someone’s life easier like leather accessories for the kitchen like leather pot holders, or leather trivets.

• You would probably guess that your audience is people who like to cook, right

• people who like to host dinner parties

• foodies

• cooking supply shops, etc.

So knowing that, you can start by going on instagram and using hastags like #foodies #kitchenaccessories #kitchensupply #kitchendesign and find your ideal customer that is going to be attracted to your leather kitchen accessories.

#3 How do I promote my leathergoods to my ideal customer?

Creating a product that solves a problem, ensures that you not only know who your ideal customer and how to find and attract them, but it also makes your marketing and promotion strategy clear.

Remember that massive problem that you’ve been struggling with for months or years?

“How do I drive traffic to my website?”

“How do I promote my leathergoods to my ideal customer?”

Now that you know who your ideal customer is (in this case it’s the person who is "suffering" from the problem) you can dangle the solution right in front of them. Think about it. If you had a problem and someone was like, “hey i’ve got just want you need right here” (and it legit was what you needed) that would be an easy sale, right?

Solve the problem and you will build a fast and profitable leather business.

When you know who is suffering from the problem that you have the solution to, then you’ve just created a solid framework for a business that cannot fail. That is strong language, but it’s the same formula that I teach in Lucrative Leathercraft.

A product that solves a problem or the solution + the sufferer or the ideal customer = a profitable leather business.

If you don't yet have a product but you know you want to make something and sell it, then I would start with a problem that you can solve and the audience that is suffering from it.

Solving a real concrete problem is the best and quickest way to create a profitable leather business.

If you already have leathergoods then start with determining what you have to offer and ask yourself how it’s helping a specific group of people.

In the end, there isn’t one leathergood that is going to be the big seller accross all markets, in all locations, for all groups. What might sell well for you might not sell well at all for me and my audience! Your leathergoods business is first and foremost about helping your customer, BUT that doesn't mean that you can't make something that they need AND that you enjoy making too. Just make sure you prioritize what they need.

If you want to learn my top 3 tips to creating a profitable leathergoods business sign up to watch the free workshop, how to 5X Your Leathergoods Business, below.