How to Start a Craft Business - CreativeHomeStyle.com

How to Start a Craft Business:
Turn Your Craft Hobby into a Business

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If you love to craft, and are wanting a fairly simple way to earn extra income, why not combine those two interests into your own small home based business venture? Just imagine it - making money with your favorite pass time...

The world is packed with amazingly talented people. Are you one of these gifted individuals? Perhaps your passion is making wedding favors, crafting christmas decorations, sewing fabulous original wardrobes, creating marvelous hand knitted items, furniture making, creative paintings, photography, jewelry art, greeting card design, doll making, creating original toys, designing baby clothing, candle making, quilting, calligraphy, fancy soap making... whatever it is, it can be turned into your own crafts business.

Crafting is actually a great way type of home business to start when you are on a shoe string budget. Here are some tips to get your small craft business started:

You can start small by showing and selling your creative work to people you know - friends, family, co-worker, neighbours and acquaintances.
Arrange home parties to sell your crafts, similar to the concept of Tupperware(R) parties, for example. Kick off your program by hosting the first party yourself. Encourage attendees to agree to book parties of their own with you by offering a special gift that is only available to party hostesses. Make sure you pick something really exciting for the gift - it's got to be something that everyone will want to have.
Later on, once you have enough products, rent a booth at local flea markets or crafts shows to sell your work.
Run small classified ads in the local newspapers to promote your craft products. This is especially a good idea around Christmas time when people are looking for clever and unique give ideas.
Contact local merchants and small retailers and offer to sell your wares wholesale, or suggest that you can leave your products in their store on consignment. Consignment is a great option because the retailer has no risk - they only pay you for the product when it sells; if the product doesn't sell, they don't pay a think and you will take it back and replace it with something else.

Jenn, a mother of two, turned her flower arranging pass-time into a thriving business. She started by doing flowers for the weddings of friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. Word of mouth spread about her talent, and soon complete strangers were calling her to ask them to do the flowers for their weddings. Soon she was receiving enough orders to keep her very busy. Eventually, with the help of a self-study course on How to Start a Wedding Floral Business, she was able to quit her job as a lab technician to pursue her real passion, wedding floral design, full time.

Sue, a divorced medical technician, makes fabulous hand-sewn designer handbags, and has recently started making jewellry as well. She throws house parties to sell her designs on a part time basis to supplment her income, and also takes custom orders from small classified ads she runs in local newspapers. Reaction to her work has been extremely positive. Soon she intends to market her one of a kind creations to boutiques and stores in her area.

The crafts industry is enjoying a lot of popularity. In this day and age of mass production, people like the idea of buy products that are handmade or one-of-a-kind. It makes them feel like what they have purchased is special, and that, in turn, makes them feel special for having it.

So now back to you. If you are already spending a lot of time on your favorite crafting projects, use the ideas we've shared here to get your own small crafting business rolling.

Be sure to visit our Crafting section frequently for inspiration on new crafts and projects to try.

Where to Next?

Back to Crafts Index