Leather goods as a field of visual arts has numerous viable ventures. These companies offer various career opportunities to many people in the Ghanaian community. Leatherworking students with their practical experience can set up their own small-scale industries to serve themselves and their families and, more importantly, even employ other people. These areas of leather goods business do not require large capital to set up a business. In fact, a person can start the business from home with a small table and some hand tools and materials. Let’s use this unit to highlight some of these business areas in leather goods.
Some of the areas of entrepreneurship in leather goods are:
1. Tan
2. Upholstery
3. Design and manufacture of leather goods
4. Trade in leather goods
1. Tan
This area of the company deals with the production of leather as a material. It is responsible for the processing of hides and skins into leather. The leather artist can establish his own tannery as a business where he would operate. Setting up a tannery, although quite demanding, generates a lot of income. The artist should think seriously about location, capital, and workforce, as these factors will greatly affect the success or failure of his tannery business.
2. Upholstery-
This sector of leather goods is concerned with the production of suitable furniture for the home, office and, more especially, the automobile. It is a very wide area that offers several avenues of work for leather artisans. They produce furniture, footrests and armrests, tablecloths, car seats, flower vases for decoration, etc. With careful planning, this business generates a lot of income for the leather craftsman.
3. Design and manufacture of leather goods.
This area of the company deals with the production of leather products. It covers your design as well as the actual productions of the items. This double company is a great income generating company. The leather craftsman may even choose to operate in one of them because each one of them promises financial prosperity.
Advancing technology has opened up a new way of designing leather products on the computer using art software programs such as CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Rhino, etc. A leather craftsman who is skilled in using any of these programs can earn a living. Before products such as bags, shoes, slippers, furniture and others are produced, preliminary designs are made by experts in this area of the company. The actual producers of these products also earn a lot of income. There are even specialties in the production of these items such as shoe producers, handbag producers, furniture producers, belt producers, etc.
4. Trade in leather goods.
This aspect of leather goods offers employment to various people, whether or not they know much about leather goods. They trade or offer leather products for sale. Most leather traders sell leather goods locally, especially in the country’s “hot” or prosperous market centers, while others export leather products out of the country to earn foreign exchange.
To be effective in this endeavor, the leather goods merchant must be well versed in costs, pricing, and marketing. You should know what leather products to sell, where to sell them, how to sell them, and when to sell them. Armed with this knowledge, you are on your way to success in this endeavor.
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