Full Time Home Foundry Business

Has anyone on here turn their foundry hobby into a full time business? And if so I want to know your story! What do you make, process, setup and so on...

 

three letters.....EPA!
Depending on where you live it can make it a non starter.
There's a lot more rules for businesses than some putz in the back yard making paper weights.

 

In Florida, you cannot start a home based business, that emits anything, smoke, dust, an odor , noise , congestion, yes they will ask about customer parking


V/r HT1

 

Okay well let me rephrase, has any one turned their hobby into a business, not it their home...

 

I am working on it. But really just getting started.

Patrick

 

Awesome! What are your plans? What things are you making? What is your setup like?

 

I think selling castings you make at home is different than having a home business.

Except for art, the markup is very low for castings as there is lots of competition.

I do know a guy who does very well making plastic castings of obsolete plastic parts for classic vehicles.

 

yes and no, sort of, as long as you can stay under government radar, you ar ok, but technically , as soon as you sell them, you are a retailer, and have to collect sales tax .

I know what you are thinking "it's a craft" like moms crochet . well it is, but if mom sells her knitting on Etsy, guess what Etsy reports that as income.

I can see both sides of the issue , if I lived on a tiny lot, and fired up a crucible of brass, my neighbors who are breathing the fumes have every right to complain, I'm on a rural residencial lot, I can raise livestock, so as long as no one complains I can do what i want , but selling New castings makes you a business ( their are exceptions to this in locals, in certain states if you loose money for multiple years, and consistently take a business loss, they will pull your licenses and declair you a hobby this is mostly in states with an income tax, as the loss lowers your tax responsibility, if you are in a state with sales tax, they GOVERNMENT wants their pound of flesh . so if you are selling, you gotta be a business

V/r HT1

P.S. i personally think the point of being a business should really be a bit more complicated, for instance if you have to have a full time employee, pretty much makes you a business, but if you can hustle hard enough to make a living with no help Nah

 

Very well put. I was trying to stay away from the tax standpoint because some people seem to think it's OK to advertise on the internet that they are breaking the law.

Minimal sales where your costs are higher than your revenue are typically OK under the radar but to be legal you have to keep track and report if there is any profit. As you stated, repeated loss will be denied if you try to claim it as a tax loss after your business has been declared as a hobby. Generally you have to show a profit at least every five years. The worst offenders are typically horse owners to try to claim they are operating a farm and deduct the costs of feed and supplies for their riding horse. In Oklahoma, horse ownership is scrutinized closely if you're showing a tax loss.

Since I raise cattle, I have a farm tax number which enables me to buy farm related supplies without the state sales tax. I'm careful to only avoid tax on legitimate farm purchases like feed and seed. Some people are more liberal and occasionally pay a hefty fine for trying to avoid taxes on taxable purchases.

Due to my woodworking business I also have a state sales tax permit and have to file sales tax reports on all sales amounts, whether agricultural or other sales. Part of that sales tax permit allows me to buy items I purchase for resale and not pay sales tax until the item is resold. This includes lumber I'm going to process into a product for sale. The state gets their sales tax money when I sell the finished item or resell the raw material. I also use that sales tax number when buying and selling antiques. I can buy without paying sales tax so long as I report and pay sales tax when I sell. That came in handy when I bought some gold coins for resale when gold dropped several years ago. Since I did not plan to eat the gold, it was purchased for resale without sales tax. If I had had ot pay sales tax on the gold that would have made making a profit from the sale much more difficult.

Because I manufacture wood products I also have a Manufacturer Sales Permit which allows me to buy tools and consumables without paying sales tax. A drill press or saw blades are not taxable if they're used in the manufacturing business. However I have to keep those tools and supplies separate from those used for personal use.

Not that you asked.

 

Hey! So this information you guys provided is good info, but I don't think that is what David was looking for.
What you want to know David is, how one would have his shop setup for the most effective turnaround time. But you also want to know how to make your business unique, something that stands out... right? Because that is the only way to sustain a small business. So the money for a small foundry business is not in mass producing, but in making things that either one other people won't or two other people can't.

So what I have made so far is mostly art like stuff like, trivets, walking stick heads, and corpus' for cross', these things have sold decently but I if I were to work harder at it I could sell way more than I do. And I am planning to up my game in this respect. I have also recently started taking on some custom jobs, and this is where the big money is, doing custom work for people who restore antiques, for car brand nuts who want custom hood ornaments, or hubcaps, or just for rich people who want something their rich friend can't get.

This year I am planning to do a lot of expanding, by building a website, learning lost pla, lost foam, and lost wax. I also have a knew foundry work shop in the works.
I am planning to build another bigger furnace this year as well as a kiln and a core oven.

I hope this is some of the information that you are looking for David, and if it is let me know if you want me to provide more details. Because there is a lot more that I haven't said yet.

Patrick

 

With respect to taxes, the rules vary from one jurisdiction to another, this is especially true where sales taxes are concerned, it might be prudent to check what rules are in effect in your area.

 

Here is a good one... If I sell this thing at asking price, I'd stand to make about 8bucks an hour. I wonder if I can get a check from uncle sam for sitting on my ass like others are doing today? I'd probably do better selling it at a loss and take the write off. Yes, I am a self prop with an EIN number.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/709203...f=sr_gallery-2-8&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

Wise man once said, keep hobbies as hobbies and work as work. Oddly enough, I love old british cars, but if I had to work on them for a living, I'd hate them pretty fast. If I sell something I cast, great! If not, I don't really care. One thing I won't do is give my hard work away. Trouble is, people often think cast means cheap and mass quantities. Which is not the case for what most of us make here! Just try offering 300bucks for kellys new intake manifold or 50bucks for my porch light. I like one of kind, leave the mass quantity crap to the chinese, they excel at that stuff.

 

Thanks guys! Yes jason and Patrick are more inline with what I'm interested in hearing. I've been selling casting for some time and now I have a baby on the way and have decided that I will probably quit my day job at a foundry to care for and spend time with my child. I guess you could say a stay at home dad. I'd like to ramp up my side hustle a bit to supplement my income a bit. I won't have time for it to be a full time gig necessary, but would like to produce more than I currently am. I am worried about what Jason said about mixing hobbies and work but I've been doing that for a bit now and still haven't lost interest...

 

I admire your diligence Andy. It takes a lot to keep after those details. How often have we seen a talented mechanic or carpenter or other tradesman go into business for himself and get upside down in the paperwork. It’s not a question of doing the right thing. They will catch you and they will come after you if you don’t do it right.
A small foundry guy might try to stay under the radar and just suck it up and pay the sales tax on supplies and equipment, but once you sell stuff -anywhere, anytime- the state wants compliance. And they’re super good at getting it. There are resources to find out what the state requires. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is one. It’s been 35 years since I’ve been in their office in Buffalo so I don’t know how things currently work there, but they were helpful to me. I ran a basement printshop-aboveboard- for many years and had no problems. Of course there are few cash buyers for commercial printing. Some, but not many. So I had to do it right or not at all.
These days I have a brick and mortar commercial shop, a business partner, accountant, attorney, employees, etc. and the tax and compliance details are way deeper. I couldn’t do it without a partner.
Employees are a whole nuther bag, and don’t get me started on insurance.
That doesn’t even address your technical ability or ability to turn a profit.
None of this is insurmountable, but it takes the right information and diligence.

Pete

 

Wow! Didn't know you sold. So can I ask are you retired?

I learned long ago that for me I prefer to give away my craft work, whether it be blacksmithing, casting, brooms, or machine work. That allows me full control to make what I want, when I want, with no schedule pressure from others.

It is a perk of being retired.

 

Congratulations on the coming baby David!

I don't think you have to worry about hating casting if you make it work. The reason most people tend to hate what they do is because one they are lazy, or two they would rather be doing
something else. Not that I hate what I do, but I do know that I would rather be casting. And the checker at Walmart probably wants to be a celebrity, so that would result in job dislike. Now I am not trying to preach here but that is what it seems like to me.
And David if you want more of my business plan outline, let me know and I will type it up.

Patrick

 

Well put! I have had to be firm with a few.

 

You have a babe on the way and want to start a business while you're a stay at home dad? Is it just me that had extremely disruptive babies?, I was walking around like a zombie with my first child.

If you can make it work I sincerely wish you well with it (and the new arrival) Hobbies only get spoilt when you've got someone breathing down your neck for a result and you've poured the same mould 5 times and 5 times it's screwed up. I'm man enough to admit I have shed a few tears breaking out a mould at midnight when a sample was due at a meeting 12 hours later.

I do hope you do well with it.