Are you keen to open a dyes and pigments manufacturing business but don't know where to begin? Then you're in luck because this guide will lead you through all the steps required to check if your business idea can be profitable and, if so, turn it into a reality.
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Our guide is for prospective entrepreneurs who are thinking about starting a dyes and pigments manufacturing business no matter how far they are in their journey - whether you’re just thinking about it or in the middle of market research this guide will be useful to you.
Think of this as your blueprint: we cover everything you need to know about opening a dyes and pigments manufacturing business and what key decisions you’ll need to make along the way.
Ready? Let’s get started!
Before thinking about starting a dyes and pigments manufacturing business, you'll need to have a solid understanding of its business model (how it generates profits) and how the business operates on a daily basis.
Doing so will help you decide whether or not this is the right business idea for you, given your skillset, personal savings, and lifestyle choices.
Looking at the business model in detail will also enable you to form an initial view of the potential for growth and profitability, and to check that it matches your level of ambition.
The easiest ways to acquire insights into how a dyes and pigments manufacturing business works are to:
Talking to seasoned entrepreneurs who have also set up a dyes and pigments manufacturing business will enable you to gain practical advice based on their experience and hindsight.
Learning from others' mistakes not only saves you time and money, but also enhances the likelihood of your venture becoming a financial success.
Gaining hands-on experience in a dyes and pigments manufacturing business provides insights into the day-to-day operations, and challenges specific to the activity.
This firsthand knowledge is crucial for effective planning and management if you decide to start your own dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
You'll also realise if the working hours suit your lifestyle. For many entrepreneurs, this can be a "make or break" situation, especially if they have children to look after.
First-hand experience will not only ensure that this is the right business opportunity for you, but will also enable you to meet valuable contacts and gain a better understanding of customer expectations and key success factors which will likely prove advantageous when launching your own dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
Undertaking training within your chosen industry is another way to get a feel for how a dyes and pigments manufacturing business works before deciding to pursue a new venture.
Whichever approach you go for to gain insights before starting your dyes and pigments manufacturing business, make sure you familiarise yourself with:
At the end of this stage, you should be able to decide whether opening a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is the right business idea for you given your current personal situation (skills, desires, money, family, etc.).
The next step to opening your dyes and pigments manufacturing business is to think about the ideal founding team, or to decide to go in alone.
Starting and growing a successful business doesn't have to be a solo journey and setting up a dyes and pigments manufacturing business with several co-founders is generally easier. The business benefits from a management team with a wider skillset, decisions are made together, and the financial risk is shared among the partners, making the journey more collaborative and less daunting.
But, running a business with several partners brings its own challenges. Disagreements between co-founders are quite common, and these can pose risks to the business. That's why it's crucial to consider all aspects before starting your own business.
We won't go into too much detail here, as this is a complex topic that deserves its own guide, but we do recommend that you ask yourself the following questions:
Let's look at each of these questions in more detail.
To answer this question you will need to consider the following:
Put simply, your co-founders contribute skills, capital, or both. Increasing the number of partners becomes advantageous when there is a deficiency in either of these resources.
Your business partners should share the same short and long-term vision, be it business expansion or social responsibility, to avoid future frustrations and simplify decision-making. Different views are natural, but alignment is ideal.
In any case, you should think of having an exit mechanism in place in case one of the partners wants to move on.
We wish you nothing but success when starting up and growing your dyes and pigments manufacturing business, but it's always wise to have a backup in case things don't go as planned.
How you deal with a potential failure can vary significantly based on the relationship you have with your business partner (close friend, spouse, ex-colleague, etc.) and the personal circumstances of each of you.
For instance, starting a business with your spouse might seem appealing, but if it doesn't succeed, you risk losing 100% of the household income at once, which could be stressful.
Similarly, going into a partnership with a friend can put pressure on the friendship in the event of failure or when you need to make difficult decisions.
There is no wrong answer, but it is essential to carefully evaluate your options before starting up to ensure you're well-prepared for any potential outcomes.
The next step in starting a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is to undertake market research. Now, let's delve into what this entails.
The goal here is straightforward: evaluate the demand for your business and determine if there's an opportunity to be seized.
One of the key points of your market analysis will be to ensure that the market is not saturated by competing offers.
The market research to open your dyes and pigments manufacturing business will also help you to define a concept and market positioning likely to appeal to your target clientele.
Finally, your analysis will provide you with the data you need to assess the revenue potential of your future business.
Let's take a look at how to carry out your market research.
Market research for a dyes and pigments manufacturing business usually begins with an analysis of the sector in order to develop a solid understanding of its key players, and recent trends.
After the sector analysis comes demand analysis. Demand for a dyes and pigments manufacturing business refers to customers likely to consume the products and services offered by your company or its competitors.
Looking at the demand will enable you to gain insights into the desires and needs expressed by your future customers and their observed purchasing habits.
To be relevant, your demand analysis must be targeted to the geographic area(s) served by your company.
Your demand analysis should highlight the following points:
Analyzing demand helps pinpoint customer segments your dyes and pigments manufacturing business could target and determines the products or services that will meet their expectations.
For example, your target market might include manufacturers of textiles, plastics, and paints who require high-quality and consistent colorants for their products. These B2B clients typically have large production volumes and rely on dyes and pigments to achieve specific shades and hues in their final products. They also value reliable and timely delivery, as well as technical support and customization options. Another potential segment could be businesses in the printing and packaging industry, who use dyes and pigments for vibrant and durable inks and coatings. These clients may prioritize cost efficiency and eco-friendliness in their purchasing decisions. Overall, your target clientele should be businesses that value quality, consistency, and customization in their colorant needs.Once you have a clear vision of who your potential customers are and what they want, the next step is to look at your competitors.
Amongst other things, you’ll need to ask yourself:
The aim of your competitive analysis will be to identify who is likely to overshadow you, and to find a way to differentiate yourself (more on this see below).
Market research is also an opportunity to look at the regulations and conditions required to do business.
Ask yourself the following questions:
At this stage, your analysis of the regulations should be carried out at a high level, to familiarize yourself with any rules and procedures, and above all to ensure that you meet the necessary conditions for carrying out the activity before going any further.
You will have the opportunity to come back to the regulation afterwards with your lawyer when your project is at a more advanced stage.
Market research should give you a definitive idea of your business idea's chances of commercial success.
Ideally, the conclusion is that there is a market opportunity because one or more customer segments are currently underserved by the competition.
On the other hand, the conclusion may be that the market is already taken. In this case, don't panic: the first piece of good news is that you're not going to spend several years working hard on a project that has no chance of succeeding. The second is that there's no shortage of ideas out there: at The Business Plan Shop, we've identified over 1,300 business start-up ideas, so you're bound to find something that will work.
The next step to start a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is to choose the company's market positioning.
Market positioning refers to the place your product and service offering occupies in customers' minds and how it differs from how competitors are perceived. Being perceived as a high-end solution, for example.
To do this, you need to take the following considerations into account:
Let's look at each of these in a little more detail.
When you decide to start your own dyes and pigments manufacturing business, you're facing an upward challenge because your competitors are already ahead. They have a good reputation, loyal customers, and a strong team, while you're just getting started.
Opening a dyes and pigments manufacturing business offering exactly the same thing as your competitors is risky and potentially doomed to fail: why would customers take the risk of choosing a newcomer rather than a company with a proven track record?
This is why it is advisable to avoid direct confrontation by adopting a differentiated market positioning wherever possible: in other words, by offering something different or complementary to what is available on the market.
To find a market positioning that has every chance of success, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
A way to benefit from a proven concept and reduce the risk of your project is to take over a dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
Buying a dyes and pigments manufacturing business allows you to get a team, a customer base, and above all to preserve the balance on the market by avoiding creating a new player. For these reasons, taking over a business is a lot less risky than creating one from scratch.
Taking over a business also gives you greater freedom than franchising, because you have the freedom to change the positioning and operations of the business as you see fit.
However, as you can imagine, the cost of taking over a business is higher than that of opening a dyes and pigments manufacturing business because you will have to finance the purchase.
Once you have decided on your concept and the market positioning of your future dyes and pigments manufacturing business, you will need to check that it meets the needs, expectations and desires of your future customers.
To do this, you need to present it to some of your target customers to gather their impressions.
The next step to opening a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is deciding where you want to set up your business.
Choosing the right location for your business is like finding the perfect stage for a play. Without it, your business may lack the spotlight it deserves.
Whilst there is no “perfect” location for your dyes and pigments manufacturing business, one that meets as many of the following factors as possible could be ideal:
This list is obviously not exhaustive and will have to be adapted to the particularities of your project.
Once you’ve considered the factors above, it’s important to think about the budget that your startup has at its disposal. You’ll need to find a location that meets your business requirements but is affordable enough, especially short-term.
If you opt for renting instead of buying your premises, make sure to take into account the terms of the lease, including aspects such as the duration, rent increase, renewal, and so on.
The lease contractual terms vary greatly from country to country, so be sure to check the terms applicable to your situation and have your lease reviewed by your lawyer before signing.
It's now time to think about the legal structure for your dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
The legal form of a business simply means the legal structure it operates under. This structure outlines how the business is set up and defines its legal obligations and responsibilities.
Naturally, the names and intricacies of business structures differ by country. However, they typically fit into two main categories:
Individual businesses are usually a good fit for self-employed individuals and freelancers who want limited administrative work. These types of entrepreneurs are commonly referred to as sole traders or sole proprietorships.
As mentioned above, the main benefit of being a sole trader is that minimal paperwork is required to launch and operate the business. Tax calculations are also relatively simple and annual accounts are not always required (and when they are, usually don't need to be audited) which saves a bit of time and money on bookkeeping and accounting fees.
Decision-making is also easy as the final decision is fully dependent on the sole trader (even if employees are hired).
However, being a sole trader also has drawbacks. The main disadvantage is that there is no separation between the individual running day-to-day operations and the business.
This means that if the business were to file for bankruptcy or legal disputes were to arise, the individual would be liable for any debts and their personal assets subsequently at risk. In essence, sole traders have unlimited liability.
This also means that profits earned by the business are usually taxed under the personal income tax category of the sole trader.
Another drawback is that sole traders might find it harder to finance their business. Debt (bank loan for example) is likely to be the only source of external financing given that the business doesn't have a share capital (effectively preventing equity investors from investing in their business).
Companies are more flexible and more robust than individual businesses. They are suitable for projects of all sizes and can be formed by one or more individuals, working on their own or with employees.
Unlike individual businesses, companies are recognised as distinct entities that have their own legal personality. Usually, there is also a limited liability which means that founders and investors cannot lose more than the capital they have invested into the business.
This means that there is a clear legal separation between the company and its owners (co-founders and investors), which protects the latter's personal assets in the event of legal disputes or bankruptcy.
Entrepreneurs using companies also gain the advantage of being able to attract equity investment by selling shares in the business.
As you can see companies offer better protection and more financing options, but this comes at a trade-off in terms of red-tape and complexity.
From a taxation perspective, companies are usually liable for corporation tax on their profits, and the income received by the owners running the business is taxed separately (like normal employees).
Normally, companies also have to produce annual accounts, which might have to be audited, and hold general assemblies, among other formalities.
Choosing the right legal setup is often simple once you figure out things like how many partners you'll have, if you hire employees, and how much money you expect to make.
Remember, a great business idea can work well no matter which legal structure you pick. Tax laws change often, so you shouldn't rely too much on getting specific tax benefits from a certain structure when getting started.
You could start by looking at the legal structures most commonly utilised by your competitors. As your idea evolves and you're ready to officially register your business, it's a good idea to confirm your choice using inputs from a lawyer and an accountant.
Yes, you have the flexibility to change your legal setup later, which might include selling the existing one and adopting a new structure in certain situations. Keep in mind, though, that this restructuring comes with additional expenses, so making the right choice from the start is usually more cost-effective.
The next step to opening a dyes and pigments manufacturing business involves thinking about the equipment and staff needed to launch and run your business on a day-to-day basis.
Each project has its own characteristics, which means that it is not possible to estimate the budget for opening a dyes and pigments manufacturing business without building a complete financial forecast.
So be careful when you see estimates circulating on the Internet. As with all figures, ask yourself these questions:
For a dyes and pigments manufacturing business, the initial working capital requirements and investments may include the following elements:
Of course, you will need to adapt this list to your company's specific needs.
To establish an accurate financial forecast for your dyes and pigments manufacturing business, you will also need to assess your staffing requirements.
The extent to which you need to recruit will of course depend on your ambitions for the company's growth, but you might consider recruiting for the following positions:
For example, you could recruit a production manager to oversee the manufacturing process and ensure efficiency and quality control. You may also want to consider hiring a chemist or chemical engineer to develop and test new dye and pigment formulations, as well as troubleshoot any technical issues that may arise. Another important role to consider is a sales representative, who can help promote and sell your products to clients and keep track of market trends. Having a well-rounded team with expertise in production, chemistry, and sales will help your dyes and pigments manufacturing business run smoothly and successfully.Once again, this list is only indicative and will need to be adjusted according to the specifics of your dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
You also need to consider operating expenses to run the business:
This list will need to be adapted to the specifics of your dyes and pigments manufacturing business but should be a good starting point for your budget.
The next step to launching your dyes and pigments manufacturing business is to think about the actions you need to take to promote your products and services and build customer loyalty.
Here, you'll be looking at the following issues:
The precise sales and marketing levers to activate will depend on the size of your dyes and pigments manufacturing business. But you could potentially leverage some of the initiatives below.
For example, your dyes and pigments manufacturing business might consider implementing a targeted marketing campaign to reach potential clients and showcase your products and services. You could also attend trade shows and conferences to network with industry professionals and showcase your products. Additionally, offering competitive pricing and promotional deals to customers can help attract new business. Creating a strong online presence through social media and a professional website can also help to increase brand awareness and credibility. By utilizing these sales and marketing initiatives, you can effectively attract new customers and grow your business.Besides your sales and marketing plan, your sales forecast will be affected by seasonal patterns related to the nature of your business, such as fluctuations during the holiday season, and your competitive landscape.
The next step to start your dyes and pigments manufacturing business: putting your financial projections together.
A forecast is a quantified decision-making document that shows the initial investment required to open a dyes and pigments manufacturing business and the company's potential profitability and cash flow generation over the next 3 to 5 years.
As you think about your dyes and pigments manufacturing business idea, the main role of financial projections will be to help you decide whether it makes sense to create the company.
Building a financial forecast helps determine the amount of initial financing required to start your dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
In fact, creating financial projections is the only way to assess the amount of initial financing you'll need to open your dyes and pigments manufacturing business, and to make sure your project makes economic and financial sense.
Keep in mind that very few business ideas are financially viable. At The Business Plan Shop, we've seen nearly a million business start-up ideas, and we estimate that less than one in four is economically viable.
Your forecast will therefore require your full attention and constant revision, as your project matures. It's also a good idea to simulate different scenarios to anticipate several possibilities (what happens if your sales take longer than expected to ramp up, for example), so you're ready for all eventualities.
When seeking financing, your forecast will be incorporated into your business plan, which is the document you will use to present your business idea to financial partners. We'll come back to the business plan in more detail later in this guide.
Creating and updating your dyes and pigments manufacturing business's forecast is an ongoing process. Indeed, having up-to-date financial projections is the only way to maintain visibility over your company's future cash flow and cash position.
Goto Ogilvy to know more.
Forecasting is, therefore, the financial management tool that will be with you throughout the life of your company. Once you've started trading, you'll need to regularly compare the difference between your actual accounts and your forecasts, and then adjust them to maintain visibility over your future cash flows.
Your dyes and pigments manufacturing business forecast will be presented using the following financial tables.
The projected P&L statement for a dyes and pigments manufacturing business shows how much revenue and profits your business is expected to generate in the future.
Your dyes and pigments manufacturing business's projected balance sheet provides a snapshot of your business’s financial position at year-end.
A projected cash flow statement for a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is used to show how much cash the business is expected to consume or generate in the years to come.
The easiest and safest way to create your dyes and pigments manufacturing business forecasts is to use an online financial forecasting software, like the one we offer at The Business Plan Shop.
There are several advantages to using professional software:
If you are interested in this type of solution, you can try our forecasting software for free by signing up here.
Now that your project of launching a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is starting to take shape, it's time to look at the name of your business.
Finding the name itself is generally fairly easy. The difficulty lies in registering it.
To prevent this guide from being too long, we won't go into all the criteria you need to take into account when choosing a striking name for your dyes and pigments manufacturing business. However, try to choose a name that is short and distinctive.
Once you have a name that you like, you need to check that it is available, because you cannot use a name that is identical or similar to that of a competitor: this type of parasitic behaviour is an act of unfair competition for which you risk being taken to court by your competitors.
To avoid any problems, you will need to check the availability of the name:
If the desired name is available, you can start the registration process.
It is common to want to use the trading name as the name of the company, and to have a domain name and a registered trademark that also correspond to this name: Example ® (trading name protected by a registered trademark), Example LTD (legal name of the company), example.com (domain name used by the company).
The problem is that each of these names has to be registered with a different entity, and each entity has its own deadlines:
How do I go about it?
Well, you have two choices:
At The Business Plan Shop, we believe it's essential to prioritize securing your domain names and trademarks over the business name. This is because you have the flexibility to use a different trading name than your legal business name if needed.
Regardless, we suggest discussing this matter with your lawyer (see below in this guide) before making any decisions.
The following step to start a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is to define your company's visual identity.
Visual identity is part of the DNA of your dyes and pigments manufacturing business: it makes you recognizable and recognized by your customers, and helps you stand out from the competition. It also helps convey your values, notably through the choice of colors that identify the company.
Creating your business's visual identity yourself is entirely possible: there are several online tools that let you generate color palettes, choose typography and even generate logos.
However, we advise you to delegate this task to a designer or a communications agency for a professional result.
Your corporate identity will include the following elements:
Your dyes and pigments manufacturing business's logo serves as a quick identifier for your company. It will be featured on all your communication platforms (website, social networks, business cards, etc.) and official documents (invoices, contracts, etc.).
Beyond its appearance, your logo should be easy to use on any type of support and background (white, black, gray, colored, etc.). Ideally, it should be easy to use in a variety of colors.
One of the challenges when starting a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is to ensure a consistent brand image wherever your company is visible.
This is the role of your company's brand guidelines, which defines the typography and colors used by your brand and thus acts as the protector of your brand image.
Typography refers to the fonts used (family and size). For example, Trebuchet in size 22 for your titles and Times New Roman in size 13 for your texts.
The colors chosen to represent your brand should typically be limited to five (or fewer):
Classic but a must-have, your business cards will be at your side to help you easily communicate your contact details to your founders, customers, suppliers, recruitment candidates, etc.
In essence, they should feature your logo and adhere to the brand guidelines mentioned earlier.
Likewise, the theme of your dyes and pigments manufacturing business website will integrate your logo and follow the brand guidelines we talked about earlier.
This will also define the look and feel of all your site's graphic elements:
The next thing to do in getting a dyes and pigments manufacturing business off the ground is to handle all the legal and regulatory requirements. We recommend that you be accompanied by a law firm for all of the steps outlined below.
One of your priorities will be to ensure that your company's intellectual property is adequately protected.
As explained before, you can choose to register a trademark. Your lawyer can help you with a detailed search to make sure your chosen trademark is unique and doesn't clash with existing ones.
They'll assist in preparing the required documents and steer you in picking the right categories and locations for trademark registration.
Moreover, your lawyer can offer guidance on additional measures to protect other intellectual property assets your company may have.
For day-to-day operations, your dyes and pigments manufacturing business will need to rely on a set of contractual documents.
Your exact needs in this respect will depend on the country in which you are launching your dyes and pigments manufacturing business, the number of partners and the envisaged size of the company.
However, you will probably need at least the following documents:
Operating your business legally may require licences and business permits. The exact requirements applicable to your situation will depend on the country in which you set up your dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
The lawyers who advise you will also be able to guide you with regard to all the rules applicable to your business.
Similarly, your accountant will be able to help you take the necessary steps to comply with the tax authorities.
The next step in opening a dyes and pigments manufacturing business is to draw up your business plan.
A business plan serves as a comprehensive roadmap outlining the objectives, strategies, and key components of your venture.
There are two essential parts to a business plan:
Your business plan helps guide decision-making by showcasing your vision and financial potential in a coherent manner.
Your business plan will also be essential when you're looking for financing, as your financial partners will ask you for it when deciding whether or not to finance your project to open a dyes and pigments manufacturing business. So it's best to produce a professional, reliable, and error-free business plan.
In essence, your business plan is the blueprint to turn your idea into a successful reality.
If you want to write a convincing business plan quickly and efficiently, a good solution is to use an online business plan software for business start-ups like the one we offer at The Business Plan Shop.
Using The Business Plan Shop to create a business plan for a dyes and pigments manufacturing business has several advantages :
If you're interested in using our solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here.
Once your business plan has been drafted, you’ll need to think about how you might secure the financing necessary to open your dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
The amount of initial financing required will obviously depend on the size of your dyes and pigments manufacturing business and the country in which you wish to set up.
Businesses have access to two main categories of financing: equity and debt. Let's take a closer look at how they work and what sources are available.
At a high level, the equity of your dyes and pigments manufacturing business will consist of the money that founders and potential investors will invest to launch the company.
Equity is indispensable as it provides the company with a source of long-term (often permanent) financing and demonstrates the founders' conviction in the company's chances of success, since their investments would be lost in the event of bankruptcy.
Equity investors can generate a return on their investment through dividends (which can only be paid out if the company is profitable) or capital gains on the resale of their shares (if the company is attractive enough to attract a buyer).
As you can see, the equity investors' position is extremely risky, since their capital is at risk and can be lost in the event of bankruptcy, and the company must be profitable or resellable before they can hope to generate a return on their investment.
On the other hand, the return on investment that equity investors can expect to generate by investing in a dyes and pigments manufacturing business can be very substantial if the company is successful.
This is why equity investors look for start-up ideas with very high growth or profitability potential, in order to offset their risk with a high potential return on investment.
In technical terms, equity includes:
The main sources of equity are as follows:
The other way to finance your dyes and pigments manufacturing business is to borrow. From a financial point of view, the risk/return profile of debt is the opposite of that of equity: lenders' return on investment is guaranteed, but limited.
When it borrows, your company makes a contractual commitment to pay the lenders by interest, and to repay the capital borrowed according to a pre-agreed schedule.
As you can see, the lenders' return on investment is independent of whether or not the company is profitable. In fact, the only risk taken by lenders is the risk of the company going bankrupt.
To avoid this risk, lenders are very cautious, only agreeing to finance when they are convinced that the borrowing company will be able to repay them without problems.
From the point of view of the company and its stakeholders (workforce, customers, suppliers, etc.), debt increases the risk of the venture, since the company is committed to repaying the capital whether or not it is profitable. So there's a certain distrust towards heavily indebted companies.
Companies borrow in two ways:
When creating a dyes and pigments manufacturing business, the first option is often the only one available, as lenders are often reluctant to lend on the basis of future cash flows to a structure that has no track record.
The type of assets that can be financed using the first method is also limited. Lenders will want to be sure that they can dispose of foreclosed assets if needed, so they need to be assets that have an established second-hand market.
That being said, terms and conditions also depend on the lender: some banks are prepared to finance riskier projects, and not all have the same view of your company's credit risk. It also depends on the collateral you can offer to reduce risk, and on your relationship with the bank.
In terms of possible sources of borrowing, the main sources here are banks and credit institutions.
In some countries, it's also possible to borrow from private investors (directly or via crowdlending platforms) or other companies, but not everywhere.
Multiple options are available to help you raise the initial financing you need to launch your dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
There are two types of financing available to companies. To open a dyes and pigments manufacturing business, an equity investment will be required and may be supplemented by bank financing.
Launching your dyes and pigments manufacturing business is the beginning of an exciting entrepreneurial adventure, and the culmination of your efforts to turn your idea into a reality. But this is also when the real work begins.
As you know, nearly half of all new businesses fail, so you'll need to do everything you can to make your business sustainable right from the start.
Estimating the future financial performance of a dyes and pigments manufacturing business inevitably involves a degree of uncertainty. That's why we recommend simulating several scenarios: a central case with the most likely scenario, an optimistic case, and a pessimistic case designed to test the limits of your business model.
Normally, your company's actual financial performance, observed after you start trading, should fall somewhere between your pessimistic and optimistic cases.
The important thing will be to quickly measure and compare this actual performance with the figures in your forecast to see where you stand, then update the forecast to re-estimate the future cash flows and cash position of your dyes and pigments manufacturing business.
This forward-looking financial management exercise is the only way to know where you stand and where you're going. And, when your figures fall short of expectations, to quickly implement actions to turn things around before the company runs out of cash.
There's nothing more dangerous than waiting until you have your accounts, which takes up to nine months after the end of your financial year (if you are in the UK, abroad your mileage will vary), to then realize that you're not on the right track and that your dyes and pigments manufacturing business won't have enough cash to operate over the next twelve months.
This is where using a forecasting solution that integrates actuals vs. forecast tracking, like The Business Plan Shop's financial dashboards do, can simplify the financial management of your business and help reduce the risk associated with your start-up project.
We hope this practical guide has given you a better understanding of how to open a dyes and pigments manufacturing business. Please do not hesitate to contact our team if you have any questions or if you would like to share your experience of setting up your own business.
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As a geologist, I get asked lots of questions about the safety aspects of preparing mineral pigments and paints, so I thought I’d write down what I have learned during my career as a geologist and answer some of the questions I’m frequently asked. Are mineral and earth pigments safe? Well, the answer is yes and no. Most materials are safe to use if you take the correct precautions on collecting, processing, storing and using them. The more you learn about the materials, the more you understand the risks. The same goes for all artists’ materials, including glues, resins, jesmonite, white spirit and so on. For stuff you buy over the counter, material safety data sheets are readily available. Obviously, this is not the case for stuff you might collect in the great outdoors. Here are some tips, and my personal feelings, about the risks of working with rocks and minerals and how to mitigate them. This applies to people working in sculpture and pottery as well as pigment processing. If you’re grinding rocks and minerals for pigments occasionally and in small amounts, there’s very little risk. However, if this is something you’re doing everyday, you need to take some precautions to protect your health. All dusty materials can affect your respiratory system, but some materials have more damaging effects than others.
What I’m writing here applies to rocks, minerals and biominerals (shells, bone) that you might find in your environment and are regularly used to make pigments or for carving. These tips do not apply to toxic or chemical waste products (which should be avoided at all cost), plants or animal materials (including dyes and lake pigments), or processed products like metals, plastics, resins and glass. Many of you will already know this and take precautions when preparing mineral pigments. However a lot of people are find this activity for the first time. So here we go …
Learn about natural materials and their risks …
Try to learn what you can about what naturally occurring materials are made up of. You can google most things and check their chemical formula. Also look at hazard sheets for similar materials sold by paint manufacturers. Find out what is dangerous and what is not and collect accordingly. Wash your material when you get it home to remove any dirt or potentially hazardous biological material. If you are working with relatively small amounts of these materials every now and again, there is no major hazard associated with them.
It’s all about what you wear …
I’m a lab and field scientist by background and health and safety is drummed into you ALL THE TIME in these environments. There is a reason why you never see scientists in labs wearing, shorts, T-shirts and sandals. In labs, we wear lab coats, face-masks and goggles. We don’t wear this stuff just to protect our clothes or to stop stuff splashing our eyes, we wear it to protect our skin, eyes and internal organs from ingesting dangerous materials. If you’re going to prepare pigments, think like a scientist and dress appropriately. Cover your skin, eyes and mouth. If you are really worried, wear ear-defenders too. As a field geologist we had to wear goggles when we were hammering or crushing rocks. These are proper goggles with a seal round your face (like a snorkel mask but without a breakable glass front) so nothing can get in. A visor won’t stop dust getting into your eyes. This is all really obvious stuff. If you do this, your risk of ingesting or absorbing dangerous substances will be really, really low.
My friend Jim using a rock saw and wearing appropriate safety kit. This is a water saw so there’s no dust, which is why he doesn’t have a mask on. A constant spray of pressurised water washes dust down into the trough. This water has to be disposed of via a sediment trap (and not straight into the drains).
Tidy up and wash-up …
Clean up your work-space thoroughly when you have finished working. Use a vacuum cleaner to get rid of dust. Oh, and have a shower when you’re done! Wash your hair while you’re at it. Don’t eat or prepare food until you’re clean. Really straightforward stuff, but again it hugely reduces risk.
If you are doing this a lot, invest in decent processing kit …
If you are making pigments commercially, and therefore grinding stuff every day, you should probably invest in some proper kit, i.e. mechanical grinders such as disc mills or ball mills AND a proper dust extraction set up.
When I was a grad student, I earned a bit of extra pocket money by rock crushing (as well as crushing tonnes of my research project rocks). You need to crush rocks to a fine powder to study geochemistry and geochronology. I would spend days, weeks doing this. It is quite a slow process. We had a purpose built space with different machines which gradually reduced the grainsize of the rock, starting with a sledgehammer and ending with a disk mill. Also we had a huge set of extractor fans to remove all the dusts. These were like enormous vacuum cleaners which we could move and direct so they were right over the source of the dust and suck it all up. I’ve done a lot of this and I was well aware that the more you do, the more you’re at risk. I still use the lab for grinding if I need to make a lot of pigment. So if you just grind up a handful of ochre once a year, there’s little to worry about (but wear a mask), but if you’re grinding pigments and making paints regularly, you should take precautions and ideally do it in lab conditions where there is protective equipment. Dust is the enemy!
What scares me?
There are a few things that I would not normally grind by hand at home, because they produce specific hazards. Obviously radioactive minerals are a no go. This is not a huge issue with modern pigments but can be an issue when working with some 19th Century materials.
Silicosis is a horrible respiratory disease which comes from long exposure to silica dust. It cannot be cured and it is cumulative; the more silica dust you breathe in, the worse it gets. Silicosis is a killer among workers in granite quarries who have constant exposure, but potters are also at high risk. Breathing in the silica dust scars the lungs and leads to breathing difficulties. Generally, it is best to try and avoid breathing it in. The great majority of rocks on our planets are silicates (sandstones, granites, basalts, schists, slates etc), basically anything that’s not a limestone. I would not advise grinding silicates unless you have proper rock crushing and grinding facilities including extractor fans, as described above. I admit that I have crushed slates and shales by hand, but they’re at the softer end of this spectrum, and I’ve been masked up, etc. But I still regret it. Silicate rocks and minerals includes lapis lazuli and clay-rich rocks. Get it crushed in a proper lab with dust extractors. It scares me when I see people crushing basalt, sandstones, granite etc. Also most silicate minerals lose their colour when finely ground, so it’s a bit of a waste of time. The only silicate mineral worth grinding (in my opinion) is lazurite (the blue mineral in lapis lazuli), but again this should be done in the presence of an extractor fan.
Serpentinites are also silicates but in addition they contain asbestos, so just leave them well alone. Soft, attractive and colourful though these rocks are, I would never grind them, and I don’t even like sampling them at outcrop. The lung cancer caused by asbestos, mesothelioma, is not necessarily dose related. It can be caused by just one, unlucky breath.
A polished slab of serpentinite, a rock predominantly formed of the serpentine group minerals, which can be asbestiform. Serpentinites are very variable in appearance, varying in colour from black, to grey, green, bright red and yellow. They often have a distinctive ‘snake-skin’ like texture and feel soft and soapy to the touch.
What’s an ‘acceptable’ risk?
Some pigment minerals are known to be toxic because they contain heavy metals, copper, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead etc. Some of these are super-poisonous, but they are also very important as pigments both art historically and in the present day. As this is what I research, needs must. Heavy metals can build up in the body, so this is dose related – and can do a lot of harm. Some can kill you. You can ingest them through breathing in dust or getting it in your eyes and ears, and some you can absorb through your skin. This risk can be massively reduced by not grinding or working with these materials wearing a vest top! Cover up, mask up, wear goggles. I would never grind large amounts of these minerals. Even though I’m a pretty good mineralogist so I know what I’m looking at, one cannot be sure of precisely what is present in a mineral sample. The unknown unknowns are a problem, microminerals or inclusions of poisonous stuff, or similar looking phases that might be hidden with a mineral. The worst of these minerals are the arsenic and mercury sulphides; orpiment, realgar, pararealgar, conichalcite, cinnabar, metacinnabar etc. and synthetic pigment equivalents like vermillion. Many of the worse pigment poisoners, like Scheele’s Green, Hooker’s Green and some varieties of cobalt violets (i.e. cobalt arsenate) are now banned. These materials are very bad for you, large enough doses can kill. They are also dangerous because they begin to break down thermally and at low temperatures, i.e. not much above room temperature and start releasing straight arsenic. Also, if you have samples of these minerals, don’t have them on an open display shelf, keep them in a sealed bag or box. Keep them away from sunny windowsills! When preparing them as pigments, do so in small amounts, and make sure your skin, mouth and eyes are covered. It’s probably a good idea to wear disposable gloves too. Make sure you was hands and face afterwards, and certainly before eating.
Cadmium pigments and lead pigments are a big risk in the same way, but at least you buy these in powdered form, so there is not the grinding hazard.
Copper minerals, i.e. malachite, azurite, atacamite, chrysocolla, conichalcite (a copper arsenate, so a double whammy, and it looks just like malachite) and lead minerals (to be honest rarely collected as minerals but the main ones are crocoite, galena etc.) are also poisonous, but you would need a much bigger dose to kill you, but they can have lasting damaging effects. Again, the rule is to try to avoid making pigments from these minerals unless you’re in a lab environment, and if you are doing this in your studio, do so in small amounts, cover up and wash afterwards.
The good news is, that once incorporated into a binder, these pigments are much safer, but care needs taking, especially with the very thermally unstable arsenic sulphides.
Something to be aware of is flushing pigments and paints made from these minerals down the sink. Try and avoid doing this!
Above: Conichalcite, a calcium copper arsenate hydrate. Quite a poisonous mineral, as minerals go! This is the nearest natural equivalent to the copper arsenate pigments which were really popular in the late 19th Century.
What’s OK (assuming above precautions are taken)?
Limestones and other carbonate rocks (these don’t contain silica, so no silicosis risk)
Biominerals (shells, coral, cuttlefish bone, bone etc) are carbonates or phosphates and don’t present any major risk, although they can absorb heavy metals during the lifetime of the organism, so this is something to be aware of. Boiling these materials in water before processing, for at least 10 minutes, should kill off any biological hazards and reduce the smelliness!
Iron-ochres and earths – however many of these do also contain clays, which are silicates and they can contain other heavy metal compounds. The purer the iron ochre, the safer it is. You’ve already got a lot of iron in your body, so you need to absorb an awful lot more to make yourself poorly from it. Nevertheless, iron poisoning is a thing. Breathing in a few particles won’t do you much harm, but it’s always best to avoid it. Again, this is more of an issue if you’re processing ochres on an industrial scale but cover up to avoid ingestion of materials and you’ll be OK. However, as dust is the enemy, even if these are not going to poison you, you need to avoid the dust, they can cause respiratory problems.
NB: Not all ochres are iron-rich. Other metals (cobalt, nickel, aluminum) can also form ochreous deposits.
FAQs – I’m happy to add to these!
What about heavy minerals and pollution in the environment?
This is an issue. But again it’s about reducing the chances of your body absorbing this stuff. The are trace amounts of heavy minerals that are pollutants in shells, bones, cuttlefish bone etc., so treat them with care and cover up whilst you are processing them. Clays can hoover up pollution, so take care if you’re collecting clays from industrial or former industrial areas. If you wash them and they smell funny or you get that oily, iridescent film on the water, then to be honest, I would leave it at that and dump them. They can contain some really nasty stuff, like benzene (this is a problem with the London clay in some Victorian industrial areas in London). Brightly coloured mine waste products should be treated with care too. The orange ochre mineral ferrihydrite that you see in streams is usually OK but check what was being mined there as these deposits can also contain arsenic and other horrors. Anything else, personally I’d leave well alone. It is waste for a reason and also sorts of nasty chemicals were used to process it.
Are you saying that I really should be only processing pigments in a lab environment?
No, not at all. Making these things at home is good fun. You just need to follow the basic safety advice; wear a mask and ideally eye mask, wear long sleeves and clean-up yourself and your space afterwards.
I’m still anxious about the risks some of these materials pose and feel I don’t know enough about them. Should I use them?
The simple answer to this question is no. If you don’t feel comfortable using a certain material then just don’t.
I’m getting conflicting advice about the risks of working with a certain rock, mineral or shell. How do I find out what the truth is?
Again, if this is making you uncomfortable, simply don’t use that material. But remember, the hazard is caused by getting this stuff into your body. If you do everything you can to avoid that, then you will reduce the risk. Try to rely on scientific sources rather than social media and hearsay to get more information.
Should I just completely avoid using seriously toxic mineral pigments like orpiment and vermillion?
No, but you should learn about them first and understand what the risks are. There’s lots of safety info out there. These minerals/pigments need handling with care. As I keep saying, you just do everything you can to avoid this stuff getting into your body. I wear gloves for handling orpiment. However, if you have no need to use these pigments they can be easily avoided. You can buy safe modern paints which have similar colours and properties.
Is it safe to teach kids pigment processing techniques?
It’s not safe to use the toxic mineral pigments mentioned above (copper, arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury etc. based pigments), but processing ochres and chalks will be fine and good fun; no more risky than making mud pies. Levigating clays and ochres in water is pretty safe too. Make sure they’re supervised, old enough not to know not to eat it and make sure they’re wearing a mask if they’re working in dusty environments.
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