subject: Want To Start A Craft Business [print this page] Want To Start A Craft Business Want To Start A Craft Business
Want To Start A Craft Business
So where do you start thinking about making money with craft?
There are a few simple rules that could have you well on your way to making a decent living with your beautiful handmade craft items.
There's a rule to all good business ideas and that is "Find A Market First". There's no point making twenty beautiful frilly little mice if no wants frilly mice! Check out craft forums, auction sites, top craft websites, craft magazines, social media websites, local markets etc and get an idea of what people are buying and looking for.
Make a summary of how much money it will take to buy the materials needed and account for your time and effort, then gauge how much your items should sell for (once again by doing your homework as the previous point explains). Even making a sample item instead of a hundred of them and test the waters first!
Research the best wholesale prices you can get (Often a business tax file number (an ABN number if in Australia) will get you discounts on products). Then see if buying in bulk will save you in the long run, once again making sure you've done your homework first, that there is a market and you're capable of making a saleable product.
It would pay to check what insurance you may need for public liability situations, eg: having a market stall and someone tripping over, if your products could harm someone such as a child choking on a button etc. I don't mean to scare you off the idea but it pays to look into this side of business.
Researching your options to selling your goods, such as local markets, a website, local craft and other related shops will sometimes gladly display your goods for a fee or percentage of the sales. Taking into account the cost of stalls, petrol, website hosting etc.
These are just a few points to help you along your way to becoming a profitable crafter. Crafting is such an inspiring and fun thing to do as a hobby or to make money and there are so many different styles of craft that the possibilities are endless. As the saying goes "Variety Is The Spice Of Life" and if you were making craft items for profit and became bored after a while you can easily pick up a new craft skill and turn your hand to that.
I hope this article helped give you a few ideas of where to start in the craft business for a little pocket money to a fulltime living.
For more information visit: www.cobbylanecraft.com
