Start Your Own Craft Business from Home
A nice benefit to starting a craft business is that you can spend your time doing something you truly enjoy doing - something you might have even done before without getting paid to do it! Many small craft businesses can be run from home, so you can be around your family and kids.
Obviously, to be a successful artisan, you need to be creative. However, you also need to have some business savvy, which many crafters overlook and then fail miserably. By "business savvy", I mean you need to know and understand your production and operating costs, how to profitably price your products and how to advertise and sell your products where consumers will find them.
Doing some basic market research and putting together a simple business plan before launching your craft business will give you the information you need to know whether or not your craft business has the potential to succeed - and what you need to do in order to make money. It's as simple as that.
As the internet grows, artisans have more ways to market and sell their merchandise online. Don't think that you will be forced to attending craft fairs every weekend. Many artists are not born salespeople and prefer to work independently - not in large crowded social scenes. The internet has enabled artisans to do what they're good at without having to become professional salespeople at the same time.
Obviously, to be a successful artisan, you need to be creative. However, you also need to have some business savvy, which many crafters overlook and then fail miserably. By "business savvy", I mean you need to know and understand your production and operating costs, how to profitably price your products and how to advertise and sell your products where consumers will find them.
Doing some basic market research and putting together a simple business plan before launching your craft business will give you the information you need to know whether or not your craft business has the potential to succeed - and what you need to do in order to make money. It's as simple as that.
As the internet grows, artisans have more ways to market and sell their merchandise online. Don't think that you will be forced to attending craft fairs every weekend. Many artists are not born salespeople and prefer to work independently - not in large crowded social scenes. The internet has enabled artisans to do what they're good at without having to become professional salespeople at the same time.
Start a Candle Business
Enjoy making candles? Start-up costs are low and risk is minimal. You can start part-time from home and grow your business as profits grow. Operating a handmade candle business is generally not a huge money-maker - most artists operate their businesses part-time to generate a nice side income. That is not to say that you can't make a substantial income - you would simply need to hire additional staff, outsource work or put in more hours yourself.To start attracting clients, you can start selling on a consignment basis at gift stores, but you can also sell online, by mail order and at craft fairs. Since candles are a popular generic gift item for most any occasion, in addition to being a useful home decor item, you can offer your candle products to a variety of different markets.
Start a Greeting Card Business
To be successful in the greeting card industry requires creativity and the ability to get market exposure.Designing greeting cards can be really fun - but you need to be able to get your cards into retail stores, get customers to a website or create visibility of your products through mail order catalogs, events or other marketing strategies.
Focus on making your cards desirable and extremely unique - so that they are memorable and customers will actively look for your products. Choosing a unique and memorable business name and business logo can help in this respect as well.
"How to Create a Greeting Card" Class: Each class includes definitions, instructions and assignments. The class focuses on card design and layout with font and image selection applicable to any design software, so you are not limited to the desktop publishing software that you use. You can also get a greeting card designer program with pre-designed card templates for faster creation.
Start a Jewelry Business
Imagine how fun it would be to create jewelry designs all day and make money doing it!OK, running a successful home based jewelry business is actually more than just making jewelry, but with Margaret Hefner's help, you can turn your jewelry designing dream into a reality. With step-by-step expert advice, it may not be as overwhelming as you think.
In the past, many designers got their start by selling on consignment to local boutiques or at craft fairs. However, now the internet enables jewelry makers to sell their merchandise to a worldwide market virtually instantly. Sites like Etsy and Ruby Lane make marketing even easier by providing e-commerce platforms to jewelers so that they don't even have to set up their own websites.
Find out how >> Start a Jewelry Design Business
Start a Soap Business
Imagine working at home in your own comfortable artist studio making soaps for almost any occasion. This craft business has really taken off with the growing popularity of natural, organic and herbal soaps with therapeutic qualities.Unique soaps are a popular gift item, and since soaps get used up, you have the opportunity to build a stable source of residual income from satisfied customers. Plus - you can sell soaps year round, another nice benefit.
If you enjoy making soap as a hobby, you can start selling soaps part-time, on consignment to local gift shops and beauty salons. You can also launch an online store for very little money. Offering free samples at local events like farmers markets can get customers hooked on your product. See what techniques work best for you, and then run with it!
More information: How to Start a Soap Business
Start a Scrapbook Business
If you enjoy creating scrapbooks for yourself or friends, why not turn your scrapbooking skills into a profitable business? This artsy work is an ideal way to take a fun and creative activity and produce income for yourself, while helping others organize their memorabilia and give memorable gifts.Not only can you make scrapbooks to sell, you can get paid to instruct others to design scrapbooks.
A big part of succeeding in any craft business like scrapbooking is to keep operating costs low. This means paying as little as possible for supplies and materials without sacrificing quality. Here is a list of places where you can get wholesale craft supplies.
Not sure how to price your crafts? You're not alone. Knowing the value of your products to your buyer will help you determine the right price to sell at. Here's an article.
If you're deciding whether or not to go into business for yourself. Advice from expert scrapbook designers can be extremely helpful (since they have real-life experience working in the field).
Start a Photography Business
If you enjoy photography, there are so many ways you can money in this field - doing something you love. For example, you could become a wedding photographer, do sports photography, wildlife photography or open your own portrait studio.All sorts of organizations, businesses and individuals make up a huge market from which you draw photography clients from. First, choose a type of photography to specialize in. This way, you'll get attention from people looking for your particular service. (i.e. pet photography, graduations, photo items like holiday ornaments, newborn photo service, etc..)
Although not required, extra training and certification always impresses customers and be an easy way to have a "step up" on your competitors. As a part-time gig, this may not make much of a different, but if you decide to go full time, you may want to consider the benefits.
Start a Cake Decorating Business
There is a growing market for gluten-free products, organic baked goods and healthier desserts. With a cake decorating business, you can start small, from your kitchen or other baking establishment. You can make deliveries to customers or sell to retail stores or markets. As your business grows, and if you choose, you can open a cupcake shop and sell your cupcakes direct to customers.The permits and licenses you'll need will depend on the city, county and state your business operates. Each state has its own requirements. Your cooking space will be required to pass an inspection by the Department of Health. Upon approval, they will license you. You may also be required to maintain a standard recipe for product labeling purposes.
Specialize in a specific niche rather than trying to make everybody your customer. It's too easy these these days to buy a cake at your local grocery store to compete with average cakes. When you start a cake decorating business, think unique designs, ingredients and themes: baby shower cakes, wedding cakes, children's birthday cakes ... and maybe cupcake bouquets?
Cheap (but Good) Craft Business Start-Up Guides at Amazon
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Sue Barrett is the Director of Business Solutions at Home Business Center, Inc. and Founder of The New Business Idea Blog. When she's not helping people... more »
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