Art & Craft may be something you do on the side to keep your hands busy or an integral part of your life. Whatever the situation, it’s also something that can bring in the big bucks if you play your cards right.
Craft items are amazing keepsakes and are all the rave right now. There’s a massive market for it seeing as everyone wants a cool knit sweater, but no one wants to sit down and make one.
In this article, I’m going to show you how to turn your (very lucrative) art & craft hobby into a successful business. Starting a business is a daunting task, but with these super helpful tips, you can start yours with full confidence.
1. Have a Business Plan
A business plan is basically a map of how you want your business to go. It should include your plans for starting and running your business; how you plan to get materials, how much profit you should make, expansion plans, etc. Your business plan doesn’t have to be sophisticated, just reduce to writing whatever hopes and dreams you have for the business and make it realistic.
2. Start Small
It’s easy to get caught up in wanting your business to be successful and spread yourself too thin too soon. This can be disastrous. Starting small gives you room to experiment with different business models and make mistakes before they’re too costly.
Starting small doesn’t have a lot of allure, but business is one of those areas where you shouldn’t go big at the beginning. You want to hit the ground running not crashing.
3. Label Your Items
Labeling is the written information on the packages of a product. This is especially important for sewing projects and crafts. It can also be a tag or logo on your items. The written label on the package covers important information which needs to be communicated to a customer.
Labeling allows you to build a brand and product identity. By labeling your items, you can quickly grab the attention of your audience. Labeling can be used to encourage potential buyers to buy your items. Labeling can be used as a means to set your items apart from one another. In the long run, labeling aids the continual growth of a business.
4. Market! Market!! Market!!!
This is so important, I had to type it thrice. The place of marketing in growing your business cannot be overemphasized. If you have good quality items and no one knows about them, you’re not going to make any sales. It’s good to have a publicity strategy before you start, but if that seems too complex, you can simply start by talking about it with your friends. The best form of publicity is still word of mouth to get those close to you to model your items and tell others where to get them.
Your online presence is also important. Pinterest and Instagram are the most popular and the most effective social media platforms among crafters and artists because of their visual nature. These days, almost any small business should have a website. On the website, you can place your handmade items with detailed description and optimize your store and blog for organic search.
5. Start Selling
It’s not a business until you start making sales so put your items up for sale. To find customers, you can start with your friends, relatives, neighbors and pretty much everyone else in your circle.
Craft shows, fairs, and exhibitions are a mainstay of many who create crafts either as a hobby or as a business. To start selling at these shows, you should display your arts and crafts that will catch people’s attention, check the competition, and make sure everything adds value to what you’re selling.
6. Selling Handmade Crafts Online
An excellent way to get customers is to take your business online. Selling online has many advantages, some of them are; it is easy to set up, selling online is budget-friendly, it allows you to provide in-depth information about your items, it gives you easy and expanded access to the market, and it creates potential in your business for growth. There are several platforms where you can sell your craft items; one of such platforms is Etsy.
How to Thrive on Etsy
Etsy is an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and supplies, as well as unique factory-manufactured items. The major benefit of selling on Etsy is that you can easily find customers who are looking to buy those craft items that you make.
Here are a few pointers to succeeding while selling on Etsy;
- Stock your shop: stock up your shop with as many items as you can immediately after registering on Etsy, this will give you a professional look. Be sure to add new items monthly and take quality photographs of your items.
- Write detailed descriptions of your items: the details provided about your craft item is what will help a potential customer make their decision to buy. When creating a description, ensure that you read up on and take advantage of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Put a lot of thought into the titles and tags and keywords that you use for the description of your item to gain visibility.
- Choose the appropriate packaging and shipping processing: Research different packaging and shipping options to find ones that will best suit your business and your buyers.
- Market Your Product: take advantage of social media platforms. Use them to advertise and spread knowledge about your products. Social media platforms can be used for marketing, and to establish a personal relationship with your prospective buyers. This makes the potential buyers more likely to buy your craft items.
All the tips mentioned above are all part of a strategy that can aid the growth and success of business primarily on the Etsy platform. Branding strategy is key to the continual increase in business.
Takeaway
Like you, I can’t wait to see your business grow into the success it’s meant to be. You have what it takes to run a successful empire, and with these tips, your job just got a whole lot easier.
The first step to having a successful business is starting one, so start today.
Businessman holding blueprints
