My Road to Pricing: How does this crazy lady price her products?

So I wrote a book on my thoughts about pricing and the road it took for me to get to my pricing. There are MANY advice websites out there to get you on the right track to your pricing. This is NOT one of those websites. This is how I get to my pricing.

Let me just say, for almost everything I price at $10.00/hr. In West Virginia the minimum wage is $8.75/hr (for 2016 it was $8.00). I am considered a "skilled" worker. Most fiber artists are between minimum wage (or even below it) to $20/hr. My wage is enough to make it "worth it" for me to stay in business as a side income for our family. I am a stay at home mom of two children (you can see their ages above and yes, please say a little prayer for my sanity). I am not a Momepenuer, I started my business in 2011, about 3 years before my first kid was even born, and even before I was married! This isn't a business I do because I wanted extra money; I want an income and this is my CAREER. I have a Masters in Human Osteoarchaeology, which has nothing to do with the fiber arts.

Alright so you know my hourly wage, a lot of artists don't divulge how much they make but we are technically freelancers, and they say how much they want for a job done why not be open to my customers?

So I have a wholesale account with my yarn base supplier, so do A LOT of my competitors, including the larger brands have suspiciously similar bases. This next year I am expanding my wholesale base, that brings better ranges of bases. I will be retiring a lot of my older bases to move on to newer more exciting bases. I have at least 35 bases. That's an amazing amount, but I love the fiber arts and as a buyer as well as a seller I want to offer range. However, it stretches me a bit thin, don't get me wrong I DON'T buy all 35 bases, I watch the market and I have stand-ins when market preferences change.

I have a business license and I pay taxes. Yep, I am a legit business and I pay "into the system" like I am supposed to do. I have done so from the get go. I am trademarked and copyrighted as well.

I have an Ashford traveller, a Hansen MiniSpinner, an Ashford Blending board and drum carder, two stainless steel pots, some dyes and reactive agents (read citric acid), tongs, a nina spin dryer, a wood stove, SOAK fiber wash, ball winder, papa bear skein winder, and labels/business cards. Plus shipping supplies and cleaning supplies. So if you want to start a business, gain slowly your equipment and you don't need "the best" but it does help to have higher quality.

Get to the Prices you say? I have been, all what I have listed is: Wage, base price, and overhead. Thats pretty much the normal calculations for pricing. My next post will really have my actual calculations in them.