I was at a big craft show a couple of weeks ago. When I attend shows as a customer, in addition to seeing the results of everyone’s creative talent and seeking out new treasures, I also like to think about the booths from a business perspective. Why did they set up a booth in a particular way? Is that setup working for them? Why did they choose to make a particular type of item? How are items priced? etc…etc.

One booth that really stood out to me at this show belonged to a jewelry artist. The organizers at this show do a good job of balancing the categories, so there was an unreasonable number of people selling jewelry, but the ones who were, for the most part, all had sterling silver items (it seems a lot of people who make handmade jewelry - myself included - tend to gravitate toward sterling silver). There was one jewelry artist who had a booth of mostly copper jewelry, and although her designs were quite similar to some items made of sterling silver at other booths, the copper really stood out among all of the people selling silver jewelry.

Her booth was packed any time I walked by it; I spent a few days at the show, so I walked by more than a couple of times. A simple choice about materials used was all it took for this person to distinguish herself from her competition and ensure her booth was crowded throughout the show.

If you create one of a kind pieces, you will rarely repeat the same design twice.  Here are 6 considerations to keep in mind when choosing this business model for your craft business:

1. There will be plenty of room for creative expression, and you will be engaged in less repetitive work in the studio.

2. You’ll need to be comfortable with exploring new ideas and techniques for creating your work.

3. You won’t repeat your designs, so you’ll need to have endless great ideas if you go this route with your craft business.

4. You will most likely need to network and build business relationships with galleries to have success in this venue.

5. You may have a fairly erratic work schedule in which you work long hours to complete a specific project, and then have slower periods.

6. You income may be less predictable and you may need another source of income to supplement your earnings.

Your choice to create production crafts or one of a kind crafts will impact most of your other decisions related to selling crafts. Take some time to determine which approach best fits your needs and work preferences so you will create a craft business that truly meets your expectations.

I’ve never come across any mass produced soap that smells as great as handmade soaps. Lately I’ve been enjoying some amazing handmade soap from Sacred Circle Herbs. I came across their booth at a local art and craft show, and I’m convinced they had the best smelling booth at the show.

Right now I’m working on their Chocolate Mint soap. It’s one of the best chocolate soaps I’ve found because it’s not too chocolatey. The smell is distinct, yet it’s not too strong, so you don’t feel like you’re actually bathing in chocolate.

The Lemongrass Soap was my other purchase. It’s lemony, but also earthy; right now it’s sitting in my dresser making my clothes smell great.

Truth be told, I had originally planned to put these soaps away to give as gifts, but they kept calling my name. So much for early holiday shopping.

When you are selling crafts, at some point you will likely make a choice between creating production work and creating one of a kind pieces. If you choose to become a production craft artist, you will develop a line of items that you make over and over.

7 Considerations When You Choose a Production Craft Business Model

1. You’ll need to ensure your product is marketable and influenced by current trends and customer preferences. That means you may make design decisions because a particular style sells well.

2. You must be happy doing repetitive work and enjoy the production process. You’ll spend a lot of time creating the same design. If you don’t like the production process, rather than rejoicing in a big new order, you’ll dread the though of a huge order coming in.

3. You will most likely sell your crafts primarily at retail and wholesale craft shows, and perhaps online.

4. Because you’ll be making the same items many times, you’ll give up a certain amount of artistic expression that you would have if you made one of a kind items.

5. Once you create some effective routines, you’ll be able to create a predictable work schedule for your time in the studio and your time spent marketing and selling crafts at art shows.

If you think you might want to start your own craft business, there are plenty of reasons why working from home at your craft business can be a great opportunity.

Flexibility

Unless you commit to opening a retail store that requires fixed work hours to sell your crafts, you’ll have enormous flexibility in your work hours when you are selling crafts. If you’re not working at a ‘day job’ while you’re launching your craft business, you’ll be available during the day for family. A home craft business can be a good solution if you want to spend more time with your family but need or want to make some income and stay active in the business world.

Work to Your Strengths

You get to structure your own working conditions. If you are more focused in the afternoon and evening, you can chose to work at those times. As long as you’re meeting your customers’ needs, you can work in the way that works best for you.

Money

As an employee, you are limited by the wage your employer is willing to pay and the going rate for your particular field of work. As a business owner, you are only limited by the brains and motivation that you put into building your business. When you start your own craft business, the more effort and smart planning you put into your business, the more you benefit directly from your own work.

Responsibility

It’s your business. There’s no boss hanging over your shoulder, causing you stress or undermining your bright ideas. If you think a project is a great idea, you get to make it happen. You get to build something from the ground up that is your own and a reflection of your values. Any business success is always your success.

Making Money Doing Something you Love

If you are creatively inclined, then making money with art can be a very rewarding benefit of starting your own craft business. When you get to do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work.

No Commute!

As someone who used to waste 10 hours and $70.00 per week on gas commuting to work (this was when gas prices were about half what they are now), I still love the feeling of rolling out of bed and ‘commuting’ about 25 feet to my home office and studio.

$70.00 per week in gas is a $3500.00 per year expense just to get to work. 10 hours per week traveling to work adds up to 500 hours - almost 21 days - per year that I now get to spend with my family instead of sitting in traffic.

Part Time Flexibility

You can start your own craft business on a part time basis. Unlike some other types of businesses, you don’t have to jump into it full time right away. If you’re not ready to or interested in giving up your day job, or if you have other responsibilities that require a lot of your time, you can grow a craft business in a way that meets your other personal, financial and career needs and goals.

Relatively Low Costs

Compared with a business that requires a formal retail or office space outside of your home, the amount of money required to sell crafts can be relatively low. You’ll need to be very careful and strategic about where you spend your money and the nature of your product if you need to operate on a shoestring, but it is possible to launch a craft business on a budget.

Limited Child Care Expenses

Working from home allows you to limit your child care expenses. Although I still have child care needs, I was able to take my son out of dull time formal daycare when I started to work from home. That decision saved us about $6500.00 per year in child care expenses, and I know in some locations child care is much more expensive than that.

Fewer Expenses

Although you’ll need to find a way to finance your business expenses, in other ways, there are fewer expenses associated with working from home (compared with working out of the home). There are some big, obvious expenses associated with working out of the home that may be eliminated if you choose to work from home instead. You’ll have fewer travel expenses if you currently commute, and possibly less child care costs if you have kids. Those expenses alone totaled about $10,000.00 for my family.

There are also the little expenses that add up, like all of the office gifts that you’re expected to contribute to, a work wardrobe if that’s expected in your line of work and eating out costs when you’re too tired from your work day to make lunch or dinner.

Since working from home eliminated my “going to work” expenses by over $10,000.00, I can make $10,000.00 less per year in net profit and not feel an effect in my standard of living. These kinds of savings can help out in the early years of your craft business when you’re just starting out.

There are many fantastic potential benefits inherent in running a home craft business. Working from home is not without its challenges though. If you think you’d like to start your own craft business, I would suggest that you learn everything you can about selling crafts first so you can think through the benefits and challenges of starting a home craft business. That way you’ll make a well informed choice that is a good fit for your needs and expectations.

More tips on getting started with your craft business

At some point in the growth and development of your craft business, you’ll need to determine whether you plan to target wholesale contracts. There are pros and cons inherent in selling wholesale, so it will be important to think through your options to decide whether venturing into wholesale craft sales will fit with your resources, your work preferences and your long term goals and vision for your business and yourself.

If you wholesale your crafts, you’ll be selling your work to a buyer who intends to resell your items at a higher price, usually at least double the wholesale price. Before selling crafts wholesale, consider the following:

1. You’ll need to ensure you have a large enough production capacity to manage large orders. Since you’ll be selling crafts for less per unit, you’ll make this up on volume. Therefore, it’s important to ensure you are ready to manage that volume.

2. You’ll sell your items for a lower price than you would if you sold directly to retail customers (usually half of retail), but you’ll sell your items in a higher volume to fewer buyers.

3. When you attend shows, you’ll bring only a range of samples of your line of product, not endless inventory. You’ll take orders for items that you will then produce and deliver at a specified date. Many professional craft artists say that it is nice to know that items they are producing are already purchased.

4. Feedback on work will come from professional buyers; your contact with the end retail customer may be quite limited.

5. You’ll typically attend fewer shows than you would if you were selling on a retail basis, and you’ll spend more time in production in your studio.

6. Your sales will consist of larger but less frequent purchases. That means you’ll have to be good at managing your money because income will not come in a steady flow.

If you decide that pursuing wholesale contracts is not right for your craft business, your focus will be on retail craft sales. When you sell your crafts at retail shows, you will be selling your work directly to the end customer. To determine if this strategy works for your own craft business, consider the following:

1. You’ll sell items at a higher price than you would if you sold on a wholesale basis, but you’ll sell smaller quantities to more customers.

2. You’ll need to bring plenty of inventory to craft shows, so you’ll need to make plenty of items ahead of time to sell at retail craft shows.

3. You’ll get direct feedback from and contact with your customers, which can be very satisfying and important to some craft artists.

4. You will make all of the money from the sale of the product (as opposed to approximately half when you sell wholesale), and since you’ll attend more shows, you’ll have more frequent influxes of cash.

5. Retail craft shows provide opportunities for interaction with customers and with other professional craft artists. This interaction can be important to some people who work alone and can provide important opportunities to network with colleagues and to understand your customer.

6. You will very likely attend more shows that you would if you were selling wholesale, some craft artists enjoy attending art and craft shows and see this in a positive light, while others do not enjoy the time spent away from the studio.

7. Time spent at shows will take you out of your studio. You’ll need to ensure you have enough time in your studio for production and balance this with number of shows you chose to attend.

Selling crafts retail or wholesale is not an either/or proposition. Some craft artists choose to incorporate both strategies into their craft business. If you have a clear understanding of your work preferences and your vision for your business and your lifestyle, you’ll be well prepared to make smart choices about the business strategies that will work best for you.