Most people consider crafting as a hobby, but it could be profitable. So How to start crafting business from scratch?
Don’t worry! Our experts have broken this guide into a few easy steps for you! Follow each step through details to build a craft business. You’ll earn more profit in crafting and Scaling your business with our business hacks!
Start with LEGAL REQUIREMENTS and then focus on the business plan & strategy. Work on your products, design, and items and open an online store. Keep marketing expenses low while selling online.
Keep reading to create a successful online craft business!
How To Start Crafting Business?
Setting up a craft business takes more work than it sounds. It revolves around hobbies but needs more attention, like a business. That’s why read this step-by-step GUIDEBOOK for the best understanding. Let’s start!
STEP 1: Identify your niche
What sort of crafting do you want to do?
Handmade jewelry, Knitting, WOODWORK, or anything else. Most people have developed this skill as a hobby for years. You can’t compete with them as a complete beginner.
Narrow down your niche first and learn about skills side by side. Don’t expect to create artistic miracles in a week. It takes time and focus on the target audience.
STEP 2: Research the market
After deciding on the niche, analyze your POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. See the performance of other businesses in the same niche. Better to focus on small businesses and new businesses in the niche.
For example, you opt for making jewelry. Study any new business in this niche with a handmade crafting service.
Go to Etsy or any other platform to see the market leaders. Check their sales volume and whether there is any demand for this item. I noticed SEVERAL SELLERS and their order volumes. It gives a good idea of the demand and supply curve.
STEP 3: Create a Craft business plan.
After having market research, see where the gap is. What sort of crafts do you offer and flourish?
It needs detailed market research with the right niche selection. So Better pay attention to the last two steps of your business. Now you need to DECIDE on a few things.
Are you going to sell crafts online or offline?
Explore ONLINE MARKETPLACE options like Etsy shop or Amazon. Set up your website to have full control over your store. Shopify is best for building an eCommerce website.
Artists’ most famous business strategy is showing their work first. Later on, they built a dedicated audience around their art. You also build a community around your CRAFT VIDEOS.
STEP 4: Set up your brand identity
Choose your business name to have a CERTAIN IDENTITY. Comply with all legal requirements to operate your craft business legally. You must have a business bank account because it solves a lot of confusion.
It enhances the management of your business structure. First, open a limited liability company (LLC) and get your business licenses. DESIGN YOUR LOGO & Packaging materials with the help of any professional.
Choose sole proprietorship if you don’t have another partner. This makes your decision-making process easy in LEGAL STRUCTURE. Pay taxes from your LLC and business on your business details.
STEP 5: Set up your workspace
Now you have a business name and identity, so next, what? Have a separate space for your crafting. It is the most underrated advice for NEW ENTREPRENEURS. Keep your craft supplies and design in a separate workspace.
Pro tip: Keep iconic backgrounds that encourage people. Take this as a full-time job if you don’t have any other job.
STEP 6: Source materials and supplies
Find crafting supplies from a wholesale dealer. Purchasing supplies is a detailed process. Go to the Online b2b Marketplace like Alibaba or DHgate.
Chinese suppliers are cheap and easy to negotiate. US or Western suppliers have high rates of the SAME PRODUCTS/supplies. It is due to their expensive storage and shipping prices. Better to outsource from China due to good rates.
Go for an inspection service to have quality control. Hire a sourcing company if you are not experienced to get better rates.
You should hire a sourcing company for raw supplies. Final products are available on B2B marketplaces, but Raw materials are not.
STEP 7: Develop your product
Get your supplies now. It’s time to work!
First, organize your supplies and working schedule. Dedicate a time slot especially to develop your products. Get your design ready every time.
Creativity does not have a fixed time, so note ideas whenever it comes to your mind. Handmade products are the MOST EXPENSIVE, so don’t compromise on process and pricing. Get feedback on your products from social media.
If people like them, then mass produce them through dedicated time. Try to automate processes with productivity strategies. Yet you can’t automate the whole process of a handmade product.
STEP 8: Set pricing and profit margins
Handmade products are the most expensive. First, calculate how much time it takes to produce one item. For example, a product takes 1 hour to create one item. Price your one hour in the pricing. It is up to you how much you charge for one hour. Let’s make a full pricing chart.
Sourcing material costs + Your time + MARKETING Costs + Business expenses + Profit Margin = Final price
It is up to you to decide your profit margin. You must not have a high-profit margin. Just take the necessary profit to sustain it.
Build your brand name first and focus on GETTING CUSTOM REQUESTS. Real money is in Custom requests.
STEP 9: Marketing strategy
Start marketing but keep it slow and steady. Invest time and energy to create an organic identity for your brand. Boost it with paid marketing but first focus on the organic part.
Collab influencers and make TikTok videos. My TikTok for You page has many craft-making videos. Eventually, I ordered one. So the same thing happens to your customers too. Invest in your organic marketing strategy first before paying one.
STEP 10: Sales channels & Scaling up
Online websites, Facebook or Insta Shop, and Etsy stores are sales channels. Keep your primary sales channel website. Then connect all other sales channels through it.
There must be links to all shops on your site. Better to make sales on your site as you don’t have to pay hefty commissions. Almost all sales channels have some commission or fees.
Keep exploring more and more ideas. Provide the best CUSTOMER SERVICES and scale your business.
4 Tips For Starting A Craft Business From Home
Crafting is more of an artistic skill. Focus on your business skills as well as crafting skills. Break the myth that artists are not good business people. To break this myth, I got something for you. Let’s dig deep into them.
- Exploring different Ideas
Think like your audience or customers. No doubt, if I’m doing SOME HOBBY, I keep it around my ideas. Yet it is a small business with customers. Listen to your customers like every other business DOES!
Get their feedback and explore DIFFERENT IDEAS. Some of them may need crafts around any special thing. Look what they want!
Explore new ideas in your niche market to attract customers. Don’t alter much if your item is getting good sales. Keep experimenting with new ideas and eventually add them to your main catalog.
- Have a dedicated crafting space
It’s the struggle that every working from-home person has to face. Keep your dedicated space for productive sessions. Procrastination destroys your business as you are the one-person army.
You have to handle production, marketing, shipping, etc. How can you do it without focus?
At last, you would be overwhelmed and won’t have the drive to continue. Keep your productive space separate from your living and RELAXING SPACE. It creates an aura that attracts you to work rather than sit.
Go out of that space whenever you want to relax. Keep your timetable of work and every business task. Your handmade business flourish after implementing this strategy.
- Focus on organic growth initiatives
Some people need to spend less on marketing. They want to expand exponentially with huge marketing costs. In the meantime, their focus on business experiments is low.
In the end, it turns out to be a disaster. Take your first six months as an experiment to check the market demand. Learn about your target market & Audience. Grow social media accounts doing organic posting.
Collab micro-influencers for more followers. Go to local exhibitions and fairs to show your crafted items for sale. You earn a good name & teach public dealing.
- Accepting custom requests
Custom requests make you redesign all your crafts as a business entity. Use both your artistic and business skills to catch good clients. Most of the time, these are high-paying gigs.
You earn GOOD PROFIT and build relationships with them too. It generates more leads toward your ideal customers & finds potential clients.
SAFE + EASY Importing from China
We do the hard work in China, so you don’t have to: Product sourcing, quality control, shipping, and more.
FAQs about How To Start Crafting Business
Can you start a crafting business with $200?
You start crafting as a hobby with 200$ and then do a business. It won’t be professionally stable but something that offers experience. Market your crafts in local fairs and marketplaces. It leads to more clients and customers.
How long till you see profits?
It depends on your marketing and crafted items. Are they really convincing and easy to sell? If yes, then you see profits in a short time. Don’t overspend on marketing, as it’s a huge business expense. Control your expenses and keep selling stu; you see profit quickly.
What crafts sell best on Etsy?
Handmade jewelry, Handmade home decor items, and customized items are best to sell. Handmade items, no matter in which niche, have more sales. It is due to its value with the time spent on making it.
Do you make things in bulk or by commission only?
Decide your business model first, like do you want to do wholesale or retail. In commission, people sell/make items individually and make a profit. Bulk production means you need to put so many resources first.
How much profit should you make on crafts?
Making a craft means you put your time into it. This is not selling a premade item with a fixed profit. You must invest time in creating and selling these crafts on platforms. First, price your time and add this as a cost. Raise the costs if it’s a customized item. There is no single rule of pricing for crafted items.
What’s Next
Crafting needs supplies, and what’s a better place to get them? China and overseas raw material wholesale markets get you the best prices. Import a variety of materials for your successful craft business. The problem comes with quality CHECKING & FINDING the right materials for craft businesses.
How do you get supplies for your online craft business at good prices?
Leelinesourcing has a network of wholesale suppliers of crafting materials. Contact us to discuss your quality standards and product range NOW!
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