i'm a cobbler, 25 years in this trade. i had a master with 40 years of experience who knew everything about shoes. he retired 2 years ago. i tried to find another master but only found ones at a 'dry cleaning' level.
Now i sew shoes myself but i can't keep up. there's demand, no production. should i find a partner for a workshop in the city, or should i move to the city? there's no easy decision here.
From a management perspective: measure capacity, measure demand, if there's a gap, find a partner or hire staff.
Legally, in this situation you should have a written contract with the customer. Terms must be clear. Advice: lawyer.
If customer satisfaction is a priority, you can find customers willing to pay a bit more. But it takes patience.
Start with this structure: make it clear to the customer 'i will do it this way', then do it. Good luck.
bro, i'm in the same situation man. whatever you're gonna do you'll do it eventually. honestly i guess a solution will be found.
Data analysis: As demand increases, capacity usually drops by 30-50%. That's your situation. You need to increase capacity.
Regulatory requirements: your business needs to have these and those permits. Ask your accountant.
Here's how it went for us. Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.
When making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best. If I were you, I'd go this route.
I went through the same thing. If it's your first time, start small; scaling comes later.
Good luck with that.
There's one point I'm curious about. Everyone rushing into cobbler quality gets stuck at the same point.
If I were you I'd go this route.
Do you think this works at any scale? The longer you delay cutting the team, the more people it affects.
This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.
Doki · Corporate website · 2023
I'm in the same situation, that's why I'm asking. Processes without records never improve because you don't know what to fix.
The biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say. If you post the result here it will help others too.
I partly agree, partly disagree. btw if its your first time, start small; scaling comes later.
Proven by experience.
Let me speak from the other side; I'm on the supplier side. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.
That's all, sorry if I went on too long.
Doki · Mobile app · 2023
I went through the same thing. Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.
I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.