THE BLOG

Practical Tips for Starting a Craft Business

craft business cricut free svg svg cut files Nov 19, 2021

Hey do you love a crafting?

The process of coming up with an idea, working with your hands and seeing it all come to life! It’s so much fun, isn’t it?

Well…Have you ever thought about turning your hobby into a serious money making machine? You know the quote…."do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life". Well, if you’re on the fence and doubt keeps creeping up I’m here today to encourage you!

And not the typical 'rah-rah' - "you can do it" kind of encouragement I want to give you practical advice and tips to make your dream of crafting for a living into reality.

The first step is believing in yourself.

This is important step not to skip because our mind is our greatest asset (or weakness). It has the ability to talk us up, or talk us down. If you don’t have your mind on your side in taking a risk and dreaming big, then you’re going to be fighting against yourself, and never even have a real shot at this.

So how do we get our mind right?

Surround yourself with positive words. What we feed our brain is what it grows.
Find friends and family that are supportive and encouraging, and limit time around those who are not. Certainly don't confide your plans in the nay-sayers.
Find some podcasts or music that help boost your mood and confidence so when you’re headed into taking scary steps you can pump yourself up first.
Discover a method for rerouting the negative. Anytime a negative thought enters your mind recognize it, stop it and reroute it. Often times it’s one little negative thought that turns into so many more and soon we're on a downhill slide. If we can recognize when those thoughts start, and stop them right away, we have a much better shot at staying out of that dark place.

Find a mentor.

There are others who have traveled this road before you and they can give you so much insight!

You might start by sliding into DM‘s of some of your favorite makers online. Here’s the deal with that though, not everybody’s willing to answer questions and that’s OK! Those who have gone before you have worked hard to get there so if you ask them a question and they don’t answer, be OK with it.

However you might get lucky and you might find a nice maker who’s willing to answer your questions. If so, be concise and be polite. Take what they give you but don’t become overwhelming for them. If you can’t find anyone who’s willing to give you information for free, consider a paid mentor. Is there someone who offers a course on how to start a craft business? Or an Etsy shop? Or someone that offers 1-on-1 consulting? Sometimes paying a little bit of money upfront can fast track you to success.

Do your research.

Is there a market out there already for what you want to sell? What’s the going rate of products? What’s the level of competition? If there’s not other products like what you make, maybe you found a whole new niche that isn’t being served yet - that can be exciting! Take a look at the competition around you how they present their products, what their prices are, what kind of reaction they get from people. While we never want to copy somebody else, we can certainly be inspired by watching those who go before us.

Be clear on sales & profits

The reason for being in business is to make money. So you gotta know how you’re going to sell things. Are you going to sell on Etsy? Well, it’s a great platform and I highly recommend starting there! It can be hard to get found there because of how many sellers are there but their customer base is HUGE, so while you're growing an audience, it's nice to tap into Etsy's. What about selling on Facebook? Having a Facebook group? At a local farmers market or craft fair? And eventually maybe your own website?

And when it comes to making money, pricing is everything. But not for the reason that you think. You don’t have to be the lowest one in the market! Pricing is super important because if you are not making money or you’re not making enough money then why are you even in business? Many crafters start off a hard time charging what they need to for their products. But solid profit margin‘s are the cornerstone of any successful business. We as crafters often think we can 'just make that ourselves' and we aren’t willing to spend high prices on a handmade goods. If that's the case, YOU are not your ideal customer. So you cannot think "I can't charge that, I'd never pay that much."

There is a customer base out there who do not own a cricut or silhouette machine. They do not want to make things themselves and they have large disposable income. You have to remember who your target is (and it’s them). You’ll never be able to complete with Walmart or Amazon so the budget shopper is not your person.

All right, what have I missed? What other questions do you have? Pop over to Instagram and slide into my DM‘s, ask me any question you have about running a small craft business!