As Lost Art Press enters its 16th year of operations, I am amazed we are still here. We have made so many errors – some of them nearly fatal. Likely the reason we are still operating is that we are too dumb to quit. If I had to “make” every LAP book with a photocopier and a stapler, I’d probably do that before closing our doors.
If you run a small business (or hope to), some of our mistakes might serve as warning flags for you. Here’s a partial list. The complete list would be as long as a book.
- We trusted a FedEx salesman as to what our shipping costs would be when we signed up with the service. In less than two months, the company’s shipping costs almost drained our cash reserves. We now take a very granular approach to evaluating shipping costs and know exactly what we are paying for every shipment. Lesson: Don’t trust – *and* verify.
- We ordered too much inventory during the pandemic. Everyone made business mistakes during the last few years. We panicked when printing times went from five weeks to six months. And then we sank too much money into inventory. Good thing we’re not Lost Art Meat (books don’t spoil). We had our first “sale” over the summer to help correct the inventory problem. But it remains a drag on us.
- We listened to customers and produced “The Book of Plates” – a volume of all of the illustrations in A.J. Roubo’s “l’Art du menuisier.” The printing bill was more than $135,000, which was more money than we had in the bank at the time. Somehow we managed to pay the printing bill. And then the book’s sales were terrible. Plus the book was so huge (size-wise) that we were spending hundreds of dollars a month just to store the unsold books. We managed to eke out of that situation and break even.
- Every single poster we’ve made (except one) has been a loser. We would have been better off lighting the money on fire and using that for heat during the winter.
- Our lovely Ebbets Field Flannels hats. So many were returned with a single message: “That Brim!” The hat was too fashion-forward.
- Teaching too much. In 2012 I was teaching on the road for 18 weeks. I hadn’t yet learned to say “no.” I missed my daughter Katherine’s birthday four years in a row as a result of my teaching schedule. It almost made me crack.
- Public email. I had a public email address for about 15 years. A lot of things about it were good – I enjoy conversing with woodworkers. But a small percentage of people were what Roy Underhill calls “Time Thieves.” People who exist only to drain you. One night when I was teaching at Roy’s I received an email from a reader asking insanely detailed questions about moulding planes that would take me more than an hour of writing to respond. The next morning Roy remarked that he had received this awfully long email from a guy asking all about moulding planes. It was the same guy. At that moment I decided that not every email deserved a response. And within a year (at John’s urging), I shut down my public email address. Editor’s note: Please don’t send them to me instead. – Fitz
- Working for free. While I was an editor at Popular Woodworking, we often spoke to woodworker’s clubs for free to help get the word out about our magazine, and we were paid by the magazine to do it. After I left the magazine, the clubs kept calling. And kept asking/demanding free LAP books for Christmas give-aways and club picnics. I learned to say “no.”
- Every future poster that I will rationalize and print and try to sell.
- Taking our eyes off expenses for even a moment. Anytime we weren’t paying 100 percent attention to our expenses, we made a small (or large) error. We now have a company motto: Expenses are like fingernails. They always need to be trimmed.
OK back to making books and dreaming up a money-making poster. Hmmm, squirrels with tool belts? Who wouldn’t want that hanging on their shop wall?
— Christopher Schwarz
I appreciate you guys and the work you do. Your efforts have benefited me greatly. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for continuing to do what you do though.
I totally agree with you . I am starting my own artisan business. Very scary and extremely hard to make sure everything is being taken into account …expenses etc.
Long live LAP.
Thanks for the transparency! Helpful to know other people screw stuff up too. Will there be a wait list for the Squirrels with Tool Belts? ‘Cause I’m gonna need that in my life.
Making good decisions comes from
Experience.
Experience results from making bad decisions.
Glad you survived. Thanks.
Sorry you almost lost your shirt on the ‘Book of Plates’.
Not sorry you had the sale.
The ‘Book of Plates’ was my first LAP book, and I have since purchased a bunch of others, so it may have acted as advertising to an extent.
You didn’t list ‘Mechanick Exercises’.
I’m surprised.
We still don’t know how bad of a mistake that was. It will take a couple years to really know.
And I think the bigger mistake would have been to not pulp, correct and reprint.
Consider: a full-color, A2-size or bigger, epoxy river stick chair poster. It’d be like printing money.
Great photo of your building. Thought you should know someone noticed.
I love the photo as well, especially with the cat in the window. It would make a great holiday card.
Maybe a dozen years ago The Village Carpenter handed you the best ideas for sure-fire money-making posters. If you ever need a cash infusion, you know those posters will help.
Oh lord. That image was burned into my brain.
I can share both of them if you want. Or if Fitz wants.
No thank you
I hope the building is one of the ten best decisions. It’s magical. CATBUS should be up there too.
Awww. Thanks Steve. After we signed the papers, I thought the building was a huge mistake. It was so much work to make it livable. But we made it to the backside of the renovation with a lot of help from friends – John, Megan, Justin, Narayan, Raney, Brendan. And we love it here.
That hat brim is 🔥. Love it.
I am personally very glad that you had a sale. Thank you. I was able to purchase almost all the books that I had wanted, and nearly every one that you had. I bought the videos too. I could have helped with the shipping if I was able to get through fast enough to combine shipping. But, alas separate boxes were shipped. Email should be checked more often I’m guessing. I am very pleased with the quality of the books and cannot wait for the classes that are being taught. I am currently amassing the tools needed for the courses. ($$$) The photography is amazing and I love every picture of the old buildings being restored.
Can’t wait to read what the top 10 is after another 16 years. Thanks for sharing and good luck going forward.
Look, I know you aren’t soliciting ideas, but this one’s too big of a winner not to share — how about a Men of Chair Chat calendar? Twelve steamy photographs of the world’s finest stick chair enthusiasts. Photo ideas such as:
“Oh, I didn’t see you there, I was so focused on shaving…”
How much work can one sheep skin do?
“Yikes, those proud leg tenons can be a real hazard!”
“This little ol’ thing? That’s just one of my many dinguses.”
Some people think of Wales as a moist country… they’d be correct.
Last but not least, you’ll probably want to have a thirteenth photo for the last page, something that can act as a promo for the following year’s calendar. This might be a bit too subversive, but I think the younger generation would really appreciate “The Anarchist’s Twerkbench.”
Chris. Interesting confession. Every business has issues but what kills them is overhead. An assessment on how you honestly review the marketability of a specific project
Might be helpful. We called it postmortem in my business. And honest review victories as well as your defense keep you from the champ 11 door. The other thing is always keep your eye on what keeps people coming back your courses in classes in the knowledge base that people look to your organization for always keep your interest. Your job is to become relevant, and maintain it when you have a niche take a vantage of that.
failing is hard. even harder to admit it. i have a student who’s family says a fail is just a “first attempt in learning.”
so when do we get to read about the top 10 best decisions y’all made at LAP?
There’s a guy here in Ohio who makes picnic tables for squirrels. I’m dead serious. He’s doing well too. Local Channel 13 ABC affiliate bought one to put outside the studio. Soooooooo. The tool belt idea isn’t really that nuts. Pun intended. : )
I am looking forward to ” The Ten Things We Did Really Well ” . And , if I may be permitted to add one to the list ? The Stick Chair video was a game changer for me ! Thanks LAP people …
What was wrong with the brim of the hat?
I hope The Book of Plates will someday be a collector’s item. At least that’s what I’m telling my daughter when she inherits my copy. Might be right, might be wrong, but none of us will be here to find out. I just wanted to support LAP and Don’s team. I’ve met most of them, know one of them personally, and they’re all first class. How can you not back a team like that?
Pretty safe bet it will be in the long run. Getting almost impossible to get a copy of Roubo now. In another 50 yrs, that collection may be the single best source of the images.
Geez…. time sure flies. I recall meeting you, presenting at the same woodworking shows, and swapping e-mails with you back in the PW days. Had a nice conversation with you and Tom L-N at the L-N booth when he handed you the then new David Charlesworth CD on shooting boards… I commented that it was a great CD. You both looked at me with questioning eyes and Tom asked where I saw it. I responded that I had gotten it off the L-N web site about a week prior! This as I was doing presentations on shooting boards at that show and figured it would be good to know what information was out there!
I continue to appreciate your efforts as I continue to add to my LAP collection…. Figure I’ve got at least another 20 years left in me and hope you’re still at it at least that long!
Been there done that. I can feel your pain. I keep going because I love working wood and helping others to learn the craft.
I can’t describe the value that you guys have in my life. Chris is directly responsible for being the loudest voice in my head on my woodworking journey, and his recommendations of David Charlesworth, Brian Boggs, Peter Follansbee, Jeanie Alexander, and many many more are the other voices in chorus who frequently drown out the black metal and hip hop and NPR (yeah, I think those three compliment each other nicely!) that are doing their best to compete for my attention.
You are the very first place I send new students who are interested in woodworking. You are the very first place I send veteran woodworkers who are doubtful that my hand tool skills aren’t really just smoke and mirrors, and are convinced that I have some secret room that houses my machine jointer and CNC routers. You occupy a solid place in my heart as the top five teachers I’ve encountered in my life (and I’ve never met any of you in person!)
This is all to say a gigantic, “Thank you,” that I can never fully repay, so I am doing my very best to pay it forward with my own students, if not by direct example in woodworking, then in conceptual example as your philosophies can cross media and mindsets.
Thank you all, more than I can express.
I am a serial entrepreneur and feel your pain. I learned early that I would live or die by the spreadsheet. It has taken me a long time to learn to say “NO” so I recognize many of the same things. Thanks for your lessons. I hope the young guys pay close attention.
Don’t do posters, as most of us don’t have uncovered/unutilized wall space on which to display them.
I haven’t hung a poster anywhere since high school. However, t-shirts. I like and wear t-shirts. Bet they sell better. LAP on back, cool thing on front. Likely sell better.
Time Thieves or Time vampires, as I like to call them, really suck.
When are you going to face to the truth and admit that you were born–destined–to start Lost Art Meats?
Birdhouse book = BIG $$$$$
(Not sure which side of the P&L statement those $$$$$ would show up on but the above statement is correct either way.)
Thanks for all you do and offer. It’s a great little business you and John have created.
You SHOULD write a book, Chris, something along the lines of The Anarchist’s Guide to Starting and Running a Successful Small Business. I’ve read a lot of small business books and the vast majority are packed with fluff and nonsense. You have a unique voice and are well-respected for your knowledge and integrity. Ignorance and stupid mistakes destroy far too many small businesses. Owner’s of small businesses would definitely benefit from your wisdom and experience!
As usual quality advice that is applicable to anyone running a small biz. Thanks.
Sharing your mistakes takes courage and allowes others to avoid them. After a good laugh of course. You are doing good to others. God will and has blessed you. Thank you for all you do.
Rob Drown
You have made a lot of wonderful memories. I remember meeting you and you wife at the Crucible in Berkley Ca. Again thank you.
I love both my Ebbett’s hats and get lots of questions about them. My favorite part is telling people the framing square on the anniversary one stands for anarchy. The resultant conversation, if there is one, is usually interesting. Honest Labour is my favorite title for inspiration and I share quotes with workmates that apply to equally as well these days and in a completely different field. Thanks for these and many more things you do and for writing an interesting blog, it has changed me for the better.
Everyone makes them!!! I’m in the UK and I can see you have a big following over here, let alone your home turf, you’re doing something right! Without sounding condescending, Well Done!!!
I read your interesting review of lessons learned. I sounds like you are seeing your glass as half empty. In the interests of fairness, you should write another about the good stuff that you have encountered over the same time period. Among other things, I own a copy of your “The Book of Plates”.
Of course, the biggest mistake was avoided – not starting LAP.
Some of those are hum-dingers, right from the ulcer factory.
And once again Chris I extol you to write a book about your journey as an entrepreneur. I hope this reflection serves as a starting point.
As I have watched your journey from a passion project to a pragmatic businessperson, I would like to point out a rhetoric I have read here & other places about “accountants making decision especially around cost or product cancellation.” Accountants in a large business are at the end of the line and typically brought in to do damage control when the “sunny ways” of marketing and/or sales projection led to thunderstorms. In a smaller business like yours, the owner has to wear that hat of an accountant to avoid mishaps.
As your point # 10 so succinctly notes “Taking our eyes off expenses for even a moment. Anytime we weren’t paying 100 percent attention to our expenses, we made a small (or large) error.” More businesses go under “growing” than otherwise. Accountants / spreadsheets / money management are like friction. A necessary evil to but a must to keep a business healthy.
Happy Thanksgiving and please do give a good thought to my suggestion. 🙂
Posters… I guess that the major costs of a poster are printing and shipping rather than creating a poster. If this is true, could you sell digital versions of the print instead? Let the customer deal with printing. You’d need a version to put on your website with those obnoxious one inch high “LOST ART PRESS” letters across the website version. I just looked up Staples(tm) cost – 11×17 is a buck for one page. Staples and other office stores seem to be almost as common as those awful Star***** coffee shops.
My copy of The Book of Plates will not fit on any shelf. Still glad I purchased. Would love to make an open house someday. Turned 80 today so probably will not happen.
You can do it!!
I bought the hat. Reminds me of a cricket hat and it’s so soft you can stick in your pocket.
First off; thanks for answering my emails years ago. I must admit to buying a couple books (e.g. Book of Plates), not because I needed them, but I needed you guys to be around. My version of paying it forward for all the help I received in college and was too poor to repay.
I have a buddy that went into Sci-Fi writing. Luckily he’s retired now and gets SS otherwise writing seems to be a terrible way to make a living – but so glad so many of you do it.
Nice read! Thanks, but hopefully you are thinking about the ten “best” or “most thankful” things. All in all the “mistake” list is pretty minor in the big scheme of things. None resulting in deaths or injuries or harm to others – many “professionals” can’t say that. Live long and prosper!!
This seems like a prelude to tomorrow’s list of things you are grateful for. Good on ya.
Hey Chris,
First, mistakes in woodworking are supposed to be a learning experience.
Second, please know that everything you do benefits us!
Third, give Fitzpatrick a day off each week, she deserves it.
I ponied up the big bucks for a “Book Of Plates” as a display of support for a noble effort that went awry after a blog of distress showed up in cyberspace. Reading a similar post above, I believe there is a low-impact life support system out here that cherishes LAP enough not to let you get ground under the heel of capital in the event of entrepreneurial experiment.
There is a time thief in my social circle. He knows I am a woodworker and anytime I see he he asks a million questions and questions my answers. He has never actually built anything himself.
God bless you all at LAP. I wish you much success in the years to come.
Many, many years ago when I was an apprentice plumber one of the journeymen I worked with offered me the following advice and it has served me even now: “Play golf with friends, work for strangers”.
Being a business owner I sympathize but Roubo’s Book of Plates is one of my most cherished possessions. Thank You Chris!
Too bad the posters doesn’t sell. That said, the only one I would buy is that one with the hammer…
I love you guys and I love supporting your business. Thanks for everything you do, and best wishes for many more successful years. Also, more T-shirts please!
Excellent advice.
The idea of owning a business was always a fascination for me.
That carried through the first two attempts.
I soon discovered that I was working my day job to pay for working twice as hard on my side job.
I am truly sorry that you missed your daughter’s birthdays. Money can’t make up for that loss.
After I finally retired I found a job I liked. I talk to people and post videos. Money is minimal. The reward is in making friends.
I hope you continue to learn these valuable lessons and share them with us.
Bummed to hear that about the hats since I tried and failed to obtain one several times as it is exactly my style.
Is that a cat in the center window??