How can we help Shopsmith?

[bartll]

There isn't any point I just like talking wood working & tools.
From what I've read about Studebaker the coke bottle incident (which I hadn't heard of) is just a small part of the problems they had mismanagement was the biggest part.

Can you point me to somewhere to read about the coke bottles it kind of interesting?

Oh by the way thanks for your military service. I served 15 years myself.

Oh you know that Studebaker is on the way back slowly.

http://www.studebakermotorcompany.com/showroom.phtml

[a1gutterman]

Hi fellow SS'ers, but more importantly, ShopSmith owners (and stockholders),

I know this is an old thread, but as Nick has recently (post 30 of this thread: https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=2159 ) put up this challenge, as greitz calls it in post 33 of the same thread, I thought that this thread wood be appropriate to add to, rather then start a new one. I apologize if I am still trying to ride that dead horse, but...

A call for suggestions that address the gaining of revenue vs. cost of producing that revenue has been made. I recall some scuttlebutt on the forum about ShopSmith selling the building that they are currently in. And then there was talk of the sale failing. Has any thought or effort been made to renting or leasing the parts of the building that are knot being used by ShopSmith? I am knot familiar with the surroundings there, as I have never visited, but whether they are located in a retail area or an industrial area, that might be a viable option. If that has been tried, please accept my apologies for the suggestion. At least that is a suggestion that wood generate revenue for little or no expense.

Another revenue-generating-for-little-expense suggestion: Do you suppose that "Smitty" (Mike Young) wood have had any luck with the venture that he started? If the same idea was used, but backed by ShopSmith, wood there be any interest? Pretty much there wood be no expense UNTIL a customer "placed an order" for the service of "Smitty". The option could be put up on the SS web site, and if there was an order placed for the service, SS could send a qualified "Smitty" to wherever to do whatever for the customer at a predetermined price. I know that it wood cost a lot to send someone and put him/her up for a certain, contracted amount of time, but if the customer knew how much and was willing to pay it, why knot? No cost until there was an order, and then a price that wood generate a guaranteed profit. Maybe woodburner wood be a qualified person, or even Mike Young, or some of the laid-off SS employees.

Well, so far I have come up with two possibilities. Both could generate revenue for more then the expenses to implement them.

[Nick]

Just so you don't feel you're whistling in the wind, Tim:

1. The sign on our building reads "For Sale or Lease." It's in an industrial park where there are five similar buildings with similar signs, none of which seem to be doing the owners any good. Part of the reason is the bursting of the Mortgage bubble. Money for real estate is very tight. The other is more Dayton-specific. We are in the rustiest part of the Rust Belt. Go to the Forbes web site and you'll find Dayton, Ohio listed among the ten fastest dying cities in America. Since the 1980 census, we have lost nearly 20% of our population. Many of those who are left would like to move but you can't sell (or lease) real estate in a ghost town.

2. Let's do a quick cost analysis of the "Smitty" Service. Let's say Dusty wants us to send Smitty to his place in sunny Arizona for a 5-day week. Presuming we can book a month ahead, the low-end cost for flight/hotel/car is about $1400 according to Orbitz. Call it $1500 with taxes. Cost of Smitty's salary is likely to be in the neighborhood of $18 to $20 per hour, plus $6 to $7 for FICA, Workman's Comp, and Unemployment. I don't have the costs on Shopsmith's overhead, but when I ran a small publishing firm it was about $17/hr. We're around $40 to $45 per hour -- call it $350 per day. Cost to Dusty is $3250 approx., and we haven't yet figured in the cost of marketing this service or marking it up so we can make a profit. Off-hand, it doesn't look like a winner to me.

I didn't go through this excercise to dismiss your ideas or justify ignoring them. In point of fact, we don't ignore ideas on this forum -- Doug and I often bring them up in our weekly meetings with Bob and Marketing. But we do analyze them and discard those the clearly won't serve. And -- winners or losers -- we appreciate the effort.

My post in thread #2159 doesn't challenge anyone to come up with ideas. You folks took it as a challenge because that's the kind of helpful, concerned people you are, and God bless you for it. What I was trying to say without treading on anyone's toes was that these suggestions rarely consider cost versus return. Neither do they take into account all the problems we face, both economic and cultural.

Perhaps the best example of this is live demos. This is the part of that poor, deceased horse that gets beaten more than any other. As recently as last year, Shopsmith hired 20 new salesmen/demonstrators, trained them, and put them on the road at great expense. After a few weeks, the number of machines they had sold could be counted on one hand. We had to let most of our salesmen go -- new and old -- at great loss. Demos, which had been the mainstay of our marketing efforts for half a century, no longer work except in very limited and specific environments such as state fairs. There has been a cultural shift and we are trying to adapt to it. However fondly you folks may remember the demonstration that introduced you to the Shopsmith, we can't afford to bring them back. The return doesn't justify the cost in this new cultural climate.

If you continue to submit ideas, we will continue to appreciate them. We will also continue to analyze them and pursue only those those that promise a good return for the cost invested.

With all good wishes,

[jg300da]

However fondly you folks may remember the demonstration that introduced you to the Shopsmith, we can't afford to bring them back.

I'll ad myself to the list of owners sold at a demonstration, and it's obvious that this mode of sales is economically unfeasible today. That may be too big of an obstacle for Shopsmith to overcome. This tool needs to be seen to be sold. A magazine ad can't possibly show it's true value or range of options. Infomercial might be the only way to demonstrate the tool properly.

[dusty]

Thank you, Nick for taking the time to respond. We appreciate this effort as well as the efforts that go into the web page and the sawdust sessions.

I just feel duty bound to do something to help this all survive and continue. It has given me so much. After being laid up for many, many months, I needed something to giveme a reason to keep up the fight. The Sawdust Sessions and my shop helped to rekindle my appreciation for the time I spend in the shop.

[dickg1]

There isn't any point I just like talking wood working & tools.
From what I've read about Studebaker the coke bottle incident (which I hadn't heard of) is just a small part of the problems they had mismanagement was the biggest part.

Can you point me to somewhere to read about the coke bottles it kind of interesting?

Bartll, I too have Googled looking for a reference to the "coke bottle" stuff and can find no reference to that or to the horrific labor/management problems that occurred at Studebaker. It was during this time that Studebaker ran ads about the "Studebaker Family" in order to show labor/management solidarity.

My interest was in Raymond Lowey (a renowned industrial designer) who was responsible for the Studebaker "which way is it going" look and I was interested in buying one. Never did, though.

Sorry I can't give you a better reference other than what I remember about the time!

Dick

[dickg1]

If you continue to submit ideas, we will continue to appreciate them. We will also continue to analyze them and pursue only those those that promise a good return for the cost invested.

Nick, I have followed this thread from the start and don't recall anyone mentioning "bingo cards". A small ad in the "back of the book" coupled with a number on a bingo card may provide some returns for info.

ShopSmith is more capable that I to determine what the info sent to the requestor might be but, to keep cost to a minimum, I would suggest the Shopsmith DVD info package, Forum info, a catalog request form, references to "Hands on Line", etc. In effect, that info which might provide someone with the confidence that the initial entry expense is well worth it.

Let's face it, you can build cabinets with a hand saw and a hammer. Not only that, the home stores sell cabinet carcases and complete cabinets which in many cases are good enough! Buying a ShopSmith is a huge initial expense if you do not have confidence in a payback. At this juncture, ShopSmith probably needs to sell the sizzle, then the steak.

Dick

[Nick]

"...ShopSmith probably needs to sell the sizzle, then the steak."

Amen. Which is why you can look forward to more wish-book projects like the "Shopsmith Tool Chest" and the "Grandmother Clock" in the future. It's also the idea behind the Owner's Gallery which I just can't seem to find the time to get together.

Tell me more about "bingo cards." We do card decks -- those have worked for us -- but I'm unfamiliar with bingo cards as a marketing tool.

With all good wishes,

[dickg1]

"...ShopSmith probably needs to sell the sizzle, then the steak."

Tell me more about "bingo cards." We do card decks -- those have worked for us -- but I'm unfamiliar with bingo cards as a marketing tool.

With all good wishes,

Nick, a "bingo card" is one that you find bound into a magazine. It has many numbers on it. You circle (underline,mark) the number (s) you are interested in which correspond to a number printed on your ad. The publisher of the magazine receives the (postage free) cards, and then sends pre-printed labels of the requestors to the companies who's ads are represented by the numbers that have been marked. It only takes a small ad in the magazine ( 1/8 of a page). Depending upon the draw interest of the ad, the return can be far greater than the usual 1 or 2% that you can usually expect. Card decks were once popular. Unfortunately, most of them are scanned very quickly, or at all, and then discarded since they are unsolicited. When you circle a number on a "bingo card" you are indicating a real interest in the information the ad offers - the sizzle!

A quick check of current periodicals: Popular Woodworking, August 2008, has a "bingo card". Note that some of the ads with a number are about 1/16" of a page! I would bet that those that have interest in the ad, have circled the corresponding number.

Dick

[shydragon]

Years ago, before the internet, the Bingo card worked for me. But, now days, if I see an ad of something I might be interested, I want to see or learn about it now. Then I go to the internet and read about it on the manufactures website.