For me blacksmithing is a family business. Craig is my father and I grew up in the shop. Dragon Forge LTD is 30+ year old business. He was able to be involved in a construction boom in Colorado that started in the late 1980s- 2000 that took place in the high end ski areas of Colorado and that really set the roots for the company. Our shop has been in the same building for 25 years. We rent 3/4 of a building. When times have been tough, Craig has it worked out with the landlord and we have built wall(s) up to divide the property so the landlord could rent out those parts. Luckily the renters dont last long and when work comes back, we rent that space back and take down the wall(s) again. This has only happened twice.
High End clients: typically the client themselves find us. They are building a home and it might be their primary, second or event third home. Because of how I presented the content of Dragon Forge LTD, they typically like the "look" and want something of that style. We excel at traditional joinery yet budgets will determine the quality, thus comes fabrication and other modern equipment which speeds up the process. The shop it's self is in constant transition as tools become available, break, sold, etc. Two years ago I proposed that I could get a bay in the shop and have a mini studio in the shop and not share equipment with anyone else. Took me about 5 months to sell Craig on it and when he gave me the approval, I had one week to get it done. So nothing is permanent as we are always evolving into a more efficient setup.
I dont know they exact break down of how much everything costs off the top of my head but we did figure out a shop rate of $100-$125 an hour to cover our costs. So while talking to a client we can give a rough budget proposal of how much something would cost given we know what we are looking at and can estimate the time it would take. Works the other way as well. For example if someone proposed a sketch we can give a rough quote. The devil is in the details and if they come back to change details, it affects the total budget. Also the relationships with contractors, interior designers, architects are priceless as we have a trust and history of doing quality work and keep on top on communication. You want to get a $300k job? You have be able to be trusted, relied upon and do what you say you can do while getting it done when they want it. We also do not work with certain clients/contractors as we have been burned and lied to as well. Goes both ways and at times can be a little bit of a dance. So to answer your question of how to sell to high end clients, we let the work/clients do the talking as our work history is deep and consistent. If we can get them in the shop, we most likely can get the job. Doesn't hurt to be a likable person and show some personality with the work.
My involvement with Dragon Forge LTD, other than when I was a kid through my teens, really started while I was in college. Marketing for the company was terrible and I have a bachelors in "Commercial Arts." It has always been a constant evolution of ideas, tactics and keeping up with trends (example would be Adobe flash was popular for websites in 2006, iphone can't see flash sites and was becoming apparent how popular it was going to be so I had to change platforms, social media grew and started becoming a marketing tool, etc.) Because of that our work has expanded beyond Colorado and we do work across the US and even a little in Canada. Also I don't work a typical 9-5 schedule. I love the work, the jobs, the process but I can't say its easy. Always improving, always adjusting, always learning.
DragonForgeLTD.com for those interested.