Avocation business plans · Origami pilot

Give your paper craft
a practical business plan.

Your time is part of the price. Compare the things you enjoy folding, choose a manageable first offer, and see what a week of making could look like.

Build my plan ↓

Start with one offer

Find a product worth testing.

A personalized crane frame for an anniversary buyer is a specific offer. “Origami for everyone” is harder to test. Use the planner to compare a few ideas, then show a sample to potential buyers before building a collection.

Your folding bench

What should I make and sell?

All starting values are invented examples in US dollars, not market prices or earnings forecasts. Replace them with your own measurements. Each unit is one sold item; fixed fees apply once per item.

This interactive planner needs JavaScript. To compare products manually, subtract materials, packaging, postage, and selling fees from the price, then divide the remainder by total making hours.

1. Set your weekly boundaries

Total hours available Hours for selling and admin Target pay per hour ($) Weekly overhead ($)

Reserve time for photos, listings, customer messages, and travel. Overhead covers shared costs such as a market table or tools; do not count them again below.

2. Compare your product ideas

Include finishing and packing in minutes. Include seller-paid postage in costs; if shipping is charged separately, include that charge in the price too. Fee rates are your own assumptions.

3. Choose a small customer test

Who is the buyer? Where will you test the offer? Maximum test spending ($)

Save stores your inputs in this browser only. Reset clears the saved plan. Printing uses your browser’s print or PDF option.

Your working plan

A week at your folding bench

Product economics, before shared weekly costs
Product	Left per sale*	Left per making hour*	Price covering making pay**	Planned units

*After per-item expenses and selling fees, before your pay, shared overhead, and tax. **Covers per-item costs and making time at your target rate; does not cover admin time or shared overhead.

Your next customer test

Record actual making time, costs, inquiries, and paid orders. Continue only if customers buy at a price that supports your time; otherwise change the offer, process, or price and test again.

How the calculations work

Left per sale = price × (1 − fee percentage ÷ 100) − materials − packaging/postage − fixed fee. Making-pay price = (those costs + hours per item × target hourly pay) ÷ (1 − fee percentage ÷ 100).

Weekly cash remaining = total left from planned sales − weekly overhead. Target-pay surplus subtracts target pay for both planned making hours and reserved admin hours. All planned units are assumed sold. Unsold stock, tax, and startup equipment are not modeled.

The starter mix assigns one unit to each product that covers its making pay, in order of money left per making hour, while time allows. It is a small comparison batch, not a sales forecast or a mathematical optimum.

Make the first sale a learning step.

Measure a sample

Time folding, mounting, finishing, and packaging. Check that the finished piece survives the handling your customer will put it through.

Show a clear offer

Use one finished sample, a stated price, dimensions, and a delivery time. Track purchase decisions separately from compliments.

Review before expanding

Compare actual results with this plan. Add custom work, kits, or classes only when you have time and evidence to support the next experiment.