from a thread following NAHBS 2006:
>We need to find out who the major players are,
>i.e. I.F., Seven, Serotta, Waterford, etc and see
>who has the best business model for the small guy.

dw - all the guys you listed may not be the model for
the small guy. imo, these cats succeed because they do
something none of us do: they are production shops that
batch-build frames, most of which are pre-sold to retailers
worldwide. that's a great gig and worth envying, but the
essence of "our" plight, assuming there really is a "we",
is that each of us never does the same thing from one day
to the next. there are no standing orders, no catalog models,
and most of the small builders are not really business minded
go-getters. my feeling is that the solution is attitudinal.
one must realize and accept that it's a near impossibility
to make money from hand labor, especially one's own. read
that again: "it's a near impossibility to make money from
hand labor, especially one's own".

i have found that the only way to do "all this", remain happy,
be able to have a creative outlet, etcetera, is to strike a
balance between producing frames and selling service(s). whether
it's softgoods, tools, completely assembled bicycles - or my
freaking toenails fercrisakes! - one must realize that these
resources must exist and be tapped. what else can i say about it?

as far as this thread's origins go, bruce was an effin' pioneer
wrt to this shit: he had the all-world favorite touring rack in
the early 80s, he had bicycles made for him in japan for abit
in the early 90s (iirc), and he embraced price-point sku's by
making tig welded frames in house to supplement frame sales.

these, and similar, diversions are the kinds of things a working
framebuilder must embrace in order to make a better living. making
money "just" from selling one frame to one client month after month,
year after year, will likely not work. if it has worked for someone,
would that someone please chime in to this post -
e-RICHIE