I could use a little advice. I got my husband a luremaking starter kit from Lure Craft, and now we are looking into making baits on a larger scale to sell. We are interested in putting them in local stores and taking them to outdoors shows part time. I'm wondering if its possible to make a profit at this. We arn't wanting to make a fortune, just for him to enjoy a hobby and make a little money on the side. Before I start buying matrials in bulk, I thought I would pick your brains, thanks for your help!

It is very tough to turn a profit. I had my business going for about 5 years. I made a profit, but not a big one by any means. The time it took away from my fishing and family was not worth to me. I never got to prefish for any tournaments or do much fun fishing. A lot of nights it was home from work, grab a beer, head to garage, pour a bunch of baits, eat dinner really quick, back to the garage untl 11 or 12 at night. If you keep it small and don't expect to make a bunch of money, then I would say it is worth it. I love to pour baits, but I got pretty burnt out doing it. I actually sold all of my molds, which now I am kind of regretting. One more big thing was with the hand injection coming into the picture, it is really hard to seperate yourself from other people. We used to "hand pour" which takes a lot more skill to come up with double and triple pours. Now a guy who has only done this for a day or two can make a perfect bait. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it is a tough business. I will start pouring again one of these days, but only for myself and friends Good luck.

It is very tough to turn a profit. I had my business going for about 5 years. I made a profit, but not a big one by any means. The time it took away from my fishing and family was not worth to me. I never got to prefish for any tournaments or do much fun fishing. A lot of nights it was home from work, grab a beer, head to garage, pour a bunch of baits, eat dinner really quick, back to the garage untl 11 or 12 at night. If you keep it small and don't expect to make a bunch of money, then I would say it is worth it. I love to pour baits, but I got pretty burnt out doing it. I actually sold all of my molds, which now I am kind of regretting. One more big thing was with the hand injection coming into the picture, it is really hard to seperate yourself from other people. We used to "hand pour" which takes a lot more skill to come up with double and triple pours. Now a guy who has only done this for a day or two can make a perfect bait. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it is a tough business. I will start pouring again one of these days, but only for myself and friends Good luck.

Couldn't have put it truer myself.....Summer time not that bad for me, but this time of year, that's about all you do. ESPECIALLY with a new baby in the house. He's getting me behind...lol

No

The competition is fierce, costs are high, especially in terms of time. Return is low for start-ups. Unless you have an "in", it will be VERY difficult to find anyone willing to give you shelf space. I suppose a few pepople make it working the internet, but thousands don't! On the other hand, we have several sponsors that are doing well. Perhaps they will see this thread and share some "hands on" advice.

I also forgot to mention that plastic has gone up considerably since I started. Every little price hike cuts into your already low profits. Also, MonteSS is dead on with the price of custom aluminum molds. They run you a couple of hundred just for a simple 1 piece 5 cavity mold for the initial mold. If you want a more complicated bait like some sort of creature bait, then the price will more than likely be double that. One of the biggest factors in making money is saving time. So figure you need several of each mold to up production. I had at least 10 of each mold, and 15-20 of certain molds that I sold a lot of. I liked to pour at least 5 bags of baits at a shot. That is just something personal and you obviously don't need to do it that way. If you get yourself into some local tackle stores, start out with just a couple of baits in 3-5 of the most popular colors. This way you are not overwhelmed at first. Some small stores might want only 5 bags of each color while other stores might want 25 bags, it all depends. I will tell you this right now though, stores take a huge chunk of your profit. You have to sell to them at wholesale so they can get a piece of the pie too. If you can, try to sell on the web. This way, you get to keep all of your profit. Just my 2 cents.

and don't forget about the special FED tax for the tackle industry.

If you look at it right, theres money to be made. But its in how much

tax you can save for owning a small buseness of your own. Plus your

fishing time bait,Fuel,Items can be a tax write of also. But remember

you have to show a profit in there also.Or its just a hobby. It has

saved us thousands per year in taxes we were paying. Plus fishing

trips are a tax write off for us. so if we spend 5 days somewhere we

get so much per day per meals and rooms or in our case camping fees...

So much per mile for the auto. Also if your running it out of your

home you can take off a % of all that also.

But also remember you have 10% Excise tax on each item you sell or

even give away as samples. This comes off the top. Then State tax, Fed

Tax and more tax. There will be days you think why am I even trying to

do this .

If you go this route, keep it fun or it will eat your lunch.

I think you also need something unique to offer. And custom molds are rediculous to have made.

....Bill

I believe this is the key. Well this and determination. Before jumping in full speed ahead make sure that it truly is something that you are passionate about. The luremaking starter kit is a good first step. Next you should go around and speak to some of the tackle shops to get an idea of what it might take to get some custom baits in their store. It may also be a good idea to purchase a book on tackle making. Like with any business start-up you want to set some goals and then layout a plan to achieve them. Just my .02

The best thing to do is keep it small and sell to local anglers. There is a market for small timer, a lot of anglers may want a waorm like a powerbait ribbon tail worm for example, but they may want it to float so it stands up on the bottom under a bullert weight, well you can get a mold that is close and by using stright plastic with no salt the bait will be more bouyant. Believe it of not you coul make a few bucks on the side catering to anglers looking for custom stuff that either don't have the time or space to do it themselves. You'll never get rich but it ill give you plenty to do plus you can make stuff for yourself so you aren't buying from stores. The more you get into it the more molds you'll get and in a few years you find you have a nice little "hobby" serving the weekend tournament anglers looking for something to give them an edge and word gets passed around just by guys talking. If nothing else, it should be fun, as long as it is fun then keep going.

Being an accountant I'll warn you on your intent of the business. If the Feds view it as a hobby and not as a legitimate business venture and you have a loss for the year that loss is not deductible on your tax return but if you make a profit it is included in your income on your tax return. Just another thing to consider.