Business Operation: This is essentially a home based, one person business that is relocatable anywhere. The products are produced by the traditional ceramics method of pouring liquid clay into plaster molds, popping the clay out of the mold, firing it in a small electric kiln (that can be plugged into a dryer or stove outlet) dipping the fired item into commercial liquid glaze, refiring it, attaching the appropriate decal, then firing it a final time. The cost per piece is quite low since many can be fired simultaneously depending upon the size of the kiln.

Marketing: Orders are coming in right now and are not being filled since I am not currently in operation, but I am telling buyers that a Spring catalog is in the works so they are waiting for that. The 800 clients are mostly gift shops and retailers around the country. The catalog will bring in a volume of orders and one should be done several times a year. The product is made after the order is received. So there is no inventory needed.

Sales: Gross sales have averaged $51,932 with the highest year being $76,000. Net is variable since there are no employees, this being a one-person operation. Cost of goods sold is on the zip disk provided with the books.

Included in the Sale: All molds to produce the items, UPC labels (which also reference the web site), the web site, an inventory of decals, customer list, zip disk with all customer records, list of suppliers, other miscellaneous items.

Why I am selling: I bought this business just recently with the intention of running it myself. However my other business has taken off and is taking up too much of my time (and making a lot of money) to devote the time needed for this. I do not want this to sit too long since the customer list will become stale. Right now everything is fine, but I can’t work on this until late in the year and I am afraid the sales would suffer.

Sales Price: I looked at various business valuation formulas and models and the best one seemed to be based upon sales volume. The standard of 1 to1.5 times sales would put it at about $50,000 to $75,000. Looking at other similar businesses for sale and comparing sales price with sales it should be at least half, or $25,000. Frankly I just want to get this into someone else’s hands quickly with little involvement by me since I do not have the time to work on selling it with a broker or deal with extensive negotiations. So I am willing to sell it for $ 9,500 with fifty percent down and the balance in 90 days if the sale can be consummated quickly. Everything is packed in boxes and ready to ship. The business can be run from anywhere in the continental US. Shipping costs are included in the price.

Other items Needed: The only other things a buyer would need to be up and running is a kiln ($500 to $1200 depending upon size) some slip (liquid clay – I will give you a supplier name though it is available locally everywhere) a sink or wash tub and dish drainer (to pour and drain molds) and a 5 gallon bucket to dip glaze, and some wax resist (a thin liquid wax to keep the glaze off the bottoms of the pots). Bread racks, available from bakeries, are good to use to stack the items while they dry, though simple wire shelving is good too. It would be necessary also to have a home computer with some version of QuickBooks to access the customer records on the zip disk.

So the whole business can be up and running very quickly and inexpensively and will bring in a nice supplemental part time income.