Advice: Starting a kit building business...

[SuperDave]

Hey fellas,

I'm thinking about starting a kit building business to do in my extra time. I would start with a few Dalton Extra 300s (going to talk to Tony about getting on his builder list). Might do some basic finishing as well. I like to build and this would give me a way to do it on someone else's dime.

My idea is not to take orders and be under a time crunch, just build then sell when I get one finished.

Can anyone offer some advice on the subject? Pro's and cons?

Dave

[why_fly_high]

I would start by NOT going to the Shootout. It will be boring and no one there will care about your plane o having you build one for them.

Dan

[SuperDave]

	Quote: Originally Posted by why_fly_high
	I would start by NOT going to the Shootout. It will be boring and no one there will care about your plane o having you build one for them. Dan

Nice one! Dan, we gonna get together for a cold one?

[why_fly_high]

We'll have to play it by ear, I won't have my own vehicle. I would like to.

Dan

[yakwrecker]

Dave ,
I would just build and then sell it when your done. If that isnt your full time job then it will be very tough to start pumping out planes that are on a deadline and you will probly burn out before you make a good profit from the whole thing. I build a plane for a guy this year, he gave me the kit and I CLEARLY told him that im in school and it will be done when its done, within resonable time of course. Im still getting paid and its at my pace and my luxurey for time. But GO for it, good luck.

[Twizlair]

	Quote: Originally Posted by why_fly_high
	We'll have to play it by ear, I won't have my own vehicle. I would like to. Dan

No worries
We got the MAN VAN for this road trip
Four seats plus room for all the foamies and beer!!

[Twizlair]

Now we need a DD!

[airborneSGT]

I did some building on the side when I first left the military. It seriously burnt me out and all I did was ARF's and a little covering. Some people would be great to deal with, others....well thats another story. For me it really killed the enjoyment of the hobby and of building.

I do the same sort of thing now as the previous post mentioned. I just build ARF's or kits and fly them for a little while or just sell them when I am done. The ones I really enjoy I keep.

Any hobby you make a business out of will quickly kill the enjoyment out of it.

[sweetpea]

I think you'll be fine as long as you don't sell before its done.

Get em to the ARC point. Then cover to the customer likes or sell it ARC.

Keep it simple and it will remain fun

[jmiracle]

i think it comes down to setting expectations with the person you're building for....and being realistic with yourself about how quickly you can pump out a finished airframe.

I've been approached about doing custom building as well....while I'm not totally against the idea, I don't think I could realistically handle building more than 1 airframe a year for someone else....mostly because I know I'd burn out if I did them back-to-back, and I still want to reserve some time to build something for myself every now and then!

[SuperDave]

I figured I would give it a try. I will definately not sell them or advertize them until they are finished. That way, if I want to take a break I can... when I want.

[gareth.ky]

I was going to write a whole thing about this but I have a better idea:

Ask Walt