Building a business is more than having a wonderful product. You must consistently and successfully market the product while you create it.
Photo courtesy of chrissy.farnan
Know Your Craft and Turn It Into a Product
Pick a few of your favorite crafts that you enjoy to make and you are good at making. Use these products as a starting point for creating your brand and make some prototypes. Start with three products in two to three different colors. Make some extra crafts so you can ship them immediately as soon as you get your first order. Make sure that your product is free of copyrights.
Build a Brand Around Your Craft
Your brand is your businesses identity. It needs to target an audience and be appealing to them. If you are making hand blown glass vases, for instance, think of the person who will be buying the bases. Take it a step forward from the typical female client, and make some basic vases that can exist in both a feminine and masculine home.
Get Licensed and Professional
File for a business license and open a business Paypal account to give buyers peace of mind when buying online.
Get a Website
Your web site should be aesthetically pleasing, professional, and do major justice at showcasing your crafts. While there are a lot of free web building programs out there, from a business standpoint, you should have one professionally made and avoid free sites. They are ridden with pop-ups, links, and blinking ads that pull from your product and are distracting. You can hire a web designer and pay anywhere from $80-500 depending on the size of your web site. For a small site, it will be significantly less.
Market Crafts Locally and Online
Market your product the best you can. Go to stores around town and ask to speak to their manager. They can tell you whether or not they are allowed to carry items that are not directly offered by them. Independently owned shops, like other craft stores, book stores, and coffee shops will be more inclined to have local talent showcased in their stores. Approach them first and offer a small incentive. This can be a small share of the profits, or a discount on your product.
Multitask Between Crafting and Marketing.
Never stop creating. Create and market simultaneously. Marketing never stops, and your production should never stop. Whenever you create a new craft, take a pictures and upload it onto your website. Use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to get your business out in cyberspace. Join blogging networks that share similar interests. For example, join another craft site, like Etsy.com, where you can upload and sell your products, and network with other artists and creators.
Be Professional and Patient
Be absolutely serious about your craft and your crafts. If you are not 110% excited about your craft business, then you should consider keeping it as a hobby. Starting a business is a lot of work, and a lot of planning. Stay organized, follow all the rules, and stay busy promoting and advertising.
