neilestrick Posted October 15, 2020 Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 Just now, Benzine said: Hey Neil, I had a question on whether or not you would suggest that someone spends their retirement fund. Thoughts?... It depends... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 Dirtball I sent you a PM check your inbox-upper right corner on main page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 On 10/10/2020 at 12:23 AM, dirtball said: That said do you think a year will be long enough to get things off the ground? I'm just a bit gun shy on pulling the trigger on this because its a major life decision. Who knows but no need to do that. Do you make and sell pots now? Do you have all your gear, studio and inventory or do you mean quitting your job and starting from scratch? If you are not currently making pottery at a fairly high end then no I don't think you plan will work, might, but seems more like wishful thinking. If on the other hand you have been doing it for a while and make nice pots and you just mean make the transition from hobby potter to pro then yeah lots of people do that. I think most though start out part time and transition. I tried that one and it didn't work but going to try again soon and my partner is full time. If your pottery is selling then you can decide if it will meet your needs. If you have been making but not selling then just start selling and just build up your business until you feel comfortable that you will make it. Nothing is going to magically change when you quit your job. Your customers won't know one way or the other unless you tell them. Online is faceless and a lot of shows are on weekends. Shows are great because you can talk to people that like pottery and get used to how your pottery is being seen buy people who buy pottery. Just remember money goes real fast when nothing is coming in and everything is going out. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 Just read your latest post sounds like you have this, just need to work it out. Not clear on what you are building but I'd rethink that. I was at one show where a lady showed up next to us about 5 minutes to opening and popped up a light tent, hung a big sign on the back and put up a folding table and a chair. She then set out 4 or 5 long 'logs' of home made soap and proceeded to sell it an inch at a time to a never ending line of people. When the show ended she was out of there in about the same 5 minutes. I had tears in my eyes when I started the long task of tearing down and packing all our crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 5 hours ago, Stephen said: Just read your latest post sounds like you have this, just need to work it out. Not clear on what you are building but I'd rethink that. I was at one show where a lady showed up next to us about 5 minutes to opening and popped up a light tent, hung a big sign on the back and put up a folding table and a chair. She then set out 4 or 5 long 'logs' of home made soap and proceeded to sell it an inch at a time to a never ending line of people. When the show ended she was out of there in about the same 5 minutes. I had tears in my eyes when I started the long task of tearing down and packing all our crap. Fairly certain I have been next to your soap woman at a couple of shows. hahahahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam2015 Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 I've been reading this post with interest. I think a number of assumptions were made about the poster Dirtball. Unless I missed this, age and amount of retirement funds were not included in the post. For all we know, Dirtball is of the age where he/she will not pay a hefty penalty for drawing on his/her retirement accounts and has adequate funds to build a dream studio, house, etc and live comfortably on the remaining funds. In the original post, he/she asked one question, "do you think a year is long enough to get things off the ground?" Dirtball, please let us know what you decide and how things turn out. Betty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Bam2015 said: Unless I missed this, age and amount of retirement funds were not included in the post. Dirtballs said "Now what I want to do is pull my retirement funds and build a new house, studio, all the equipment, newer Nissan NV 200, and still have enough cash to live for a year and a half". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 @Bam2015 @neilestrick It should be noted that the OP has stated they're Canadian (and in my province!). Age and proximity to retirement have no bearing on what you pay in taxes on an RRSP when you withdraw money from it. RRSPs are tax deferral vehicles where any money you invest grows interest free until withdrawal. When you withdraw money, it's treated as income and taxed at the applicable bracket. So if you pull the whole thing all at once, it's still a really bad idea, especially since it'll be added to this year's employment income if you do it before January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam2015 Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 I stand corrected, Dirtball indicated having enough money to live off of for 1.5 yrs.....oops, sorry. Somehow I missed that Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtball Posted October 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Hello I'm looking into different locations across Canada to set up shop. To tell everyone the truth I'm probably going to have a run at it .I'm betting everything on myself I deserve this I've given my whole life and made sacrifices for everyone but now it's my turn to have a go at my dreams . I've wanted this since I was seventeen so here I go and whats the worst that can happen I end up with a house thats paid off a newer vehicle .I'm planing to have a part time job to get out and meet new people. I believe in myself and know my pottery is saleable I sold when I was in my early twenties so now I've improved my skills . Anyways ill keep you'll posted about how it goes . My journey starts next June so I get to do two things i've always wanted to do build my own house and make pottery for a living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtball Posted October 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Hey so people know I have skills here’s some shots of my work. This is what I can throw with eight pounds of clay. 11 1/4 tall the 11 mugs took forty five minutes to throw nothing special more like exercises for my hands . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey2 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Most Excellent dirtball! Now ignore all the naysayers and go for it. You can do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 hey I get it. Might work, might not and like you said, you are willing to accept the downside. I would just say that there is no reason to kick in such a gradiose plan before starting the business and selling some pots. An art business is still a business and if you havent sold anything in a long time then you will have a lot to work out. Here's the thing, you say a year and a half but its really less than that because you cant actually spend to nothing. I tried that and it was really stupid. I was very lucky that I got a programming contract right when I ran out of dough and they paid on invoice or I would have been scewed. I sold a lot of pots but trying to get to thousands a month to pay all of my bills and the business bills was a hill to high for me and a string of out of town shows ( using an RV ) that barely broke even burned through a lot of cash really fast and I was looking at another string of shows with thousands in new cost and it just fell a part quickly. That was close to five years ago now. I was up to 2am twice this week and I am generally in the studio working by 6ish and stop at 9ish for the day job. Work at home so no commute really helps. I really think I will be working two full time for a while and this time there is no way will I quit the day job until pottery is making as much or more than I make programming and its a pretty decent salary. I dont want to make less money just want to make it with pottery and I am determined to do it. None of that means you should do it the way I am just thought it might help knowing someone else journey. There are so many different ways to get where you want to go and I've learned the hard way that sometimes it can take a bit to break through. All or nothing can work but it can also be defeating and set up a time to fail. I guess after almost a decade I just dont see a year and a half as a likely time frame. The first things you do may not work. The first string of shows may not clear enough over expenses to start a paycheck and may even just drain your account more. Slow and steady works. Building revenue works. I would try to get past the living a dream feeling and progress to making production list, sign up and do shows when this virus passes and build a business plan. Since we cant do shows right now we are concentrating on re launching our website with a new product line and building inventory foe when we can. You can do a lot by June but why make that a line in the sand. You say whats the worst that can happen and I say that is spending a lot of cash a lot faster than you thought you would. Transitioning with a part time job is great . Maybe a year getting to a good starting point with a lot of the business decisions worked out and some part time pottery revenue actually hitting your bank account would be worth considering. But however you do it I wish you nothing but sucess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 oh, also liked your pots, looks like nice work and I bet lots of people will enjoy owning and using those in thier everyday life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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