Etsy - A Great Place to Sell (and Buy) Your Crafts

One of the hardest things about starting a running a successful crafts business is selling your product. Most likely you wanted to get into a crafts business because you are good at making your crafts, and you are very creative. But, the business end of a crafts business can leave you dazed and confused.

And, when you start talking about selling your crafts online, the confusion reaches a whole new level. There's learning how to put up a web site, finding out how to set up a shopping cart to take payments, and then driving traffic to your web site. And then, you have to create text that makes people want to buy.

One option for setting up a web site is eBay. But with eBay, you are competing with everything from cameras to heavy equipment to real estate. eBay is HUGE and getting bigger (and more corporate) every day.

Now, there's a new site that caters specifically to the needs of the crafting industry. Called Etsy.com, this new site allows crafters of all sizes to quickly, and inexpensively, set up an online store to sell your crafts.

I'll be analyzing sites like Etsy.com and eBay for my new crafting business book due out in a few weeks. With all of the options out there, my goal is to cut through the confusion and let you know the pros and cons of each type of online selling solution.

Watch this space for more news.

Happy Crafting!
Chuck

Thanks to Everyone Who Asked About the New Puppy

I wanted to thank everyone who asked about our new puppy, Ginger. Ginger is a Golden Doodle - a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle. She will grow to about 40 - 50 pounds, and she has hair (so she doesn't shed). And, as you can see, she's just about the cutest thing in the world!

So thanks for asking about Ginger. She's doing great, but I'm a bit tired. Having a new puppy in the house is almost as tiring as having a new baby. I forgot all about the middle of the night potty breaks, and the early morning feedings. But, the kids have already fallen in love.

Here's a picture of Ginger:



I've got some great crafting business news coming up soon. I've been working on a complete Crafting Business Guide, so stay tuned for details. It shouldn't be more than a few weeks!

Happy Crafting!
Chuck

Pretty amazing handwork

I came across this story from the Asheville, NC Citizen-Times newspaper, and I'm pretty excited. It seems that Western Carolina University is creating a database with 100s of photos, brochures, and other digital information about the history of crafts in Western North Carolina. Starting on September 1st, you'll be able to see a digital archive of articles, letters, and photos about craft-related items dating from 1895 - 1945, a very big period of revival for crafts in the United States.

For those of you looking to get started in a crafting business, and are not really sure what types of crafts to focus on, this new site could give you some great ideas. Remember... sometimes what is old becomes new again. You can take a look at some of the crafts that were popular 50 - 100 years ago, and put a new twist on them. This could be a great way to find your crafting niche!

You will find the Craft Revival Project online database at www.craftrevival.wcu.edu. You can read more on the story on the Citizen-Times web site by clicking here.

Happy Crafting!
Chuck

Quilting Business - Can I Make a Living at It?

by Chuck Smith

A lot of people wonder whether or not they can make a living at a machine quilting business. I'm not a fortune teller - I can't really determine whether or not you've got what it takes to succeed in a machine quilting business. Only you can make a business successful.

In this article, I've answered a couple of reader's questions about the viability of a machine quilting business and also some business basics.

Since I was 12, I have wanted to make a living from home. I have been sewing for about 40 years, quilting for about 3 years, and people seem to really like my quilts. My question is: Will I be able to replace the income from my job, with a quilting business? It seems to me, that I would need to do more than make one quilt at a time and sell them in order to make $1,000 per week, which is what I will need to be making before I can quit my job. What other things could I do that would generate more income?

-- Brenda Farland --

Here's my response to this question...

Hello Brenda,

Your question is a tough one. Since I'm not familiar with the quilting market in your area, or what types of quilts you make, I would have a tough time gauging whether you would be able to make $1,000 a week or not.

What you could do at this time is some market research to determine the what type of quilting market you live in. For example, how much do the types of quilts you make sell for in your area? Do you have something different to offer that would allow you to sell your quilts at a premium price over other quilts? Is there a lot of competition? What about demand?

Once you have a feel for the market, you can then figure out how much you need to charge in order to make your quilting pay. How long does it take you to complete one of your quilts? What are your material costs? What would you like to make for an hourly wage? All of these questions need to be answered before you can determine if you will make money, let alone replace your current wages.

There are some pricing articles on www.QultingBusiness.com that may help you with your calculations. I know there is some work to do, but if you are truly interested in making your quilting pay, then it is well worth the effort.

Good luck,

Chuck

Here's another question:

I am interested in starting my own quilting business. I have just recently lost my full-time job. I do have a Professinal Quilters Long-arm machine and have been doing some quilting for family and friends. However, I do not have a Master Card or Visa Card, I do have a check card. Is it possible to do this with a check card? Thank you and I will be looking forward to your reply.

-- Karen Smith --

And here's my response to this question:

Hello Karen,

Having just a check card will not stop you from starting a machine quilting business - it just means that you will need to be a lot more conscious of your budget (since you cannot carry a balance).

In your case, since you have a quilting machine, you have the single biggest expense already covered. What you would need to do next is to go through the process of making your business official.

To do this, you would need to register your business and make sure you have all of the local requirements settled before opening. These requirements include, but are not limited to, insurance, getting a bank account, registering with your local government (town or county depending on where you are), and getting customers.

This may sound overwhelming, but there is a lot of good information about starting and running a small business available at the US Small Business Administration's web site at www.SBA.gov. There, you will find some great information that will help you decide how you want to run your business (or even if you are ready to make that step).

Good luck,

Chuck

PLEASE NOTE: I am not an attorney, so I am not giving any kind of legal advice here. You should always consult with an attorney when dealing with any kinds of legal matters.

Chuck Smith is the owner of QuiltingBusiness.com, the web's only site dedicated to helping you make money with your quilting. Visit QuiltingBusiness.com today to sign up for the FREE email mini-course: "7 Unique Ways to Make Money with Your Quilting."

Bead Design, An Enjoyable Pastime Or Business?

by K Snow

If you are the creative type who loves working with arts and crafts and are interested in making some money while doing something you enjoy, then you should consider taking up bead designing as a career. Not only can beads be used to design jewelry for classy formal parties and beach wear but they can also be used for designs on apparel and shoes. This increases the scope and possibility of developing further.

To start with, you could buy your first set of beads from a craft store round the corner. The good thing is that beads are relatively inexpensive as a raw material. Even though the choice might seem endless to start with, you may soon start to feel the need for more elaborate and up-to-date materials. Since the craft store does not specialize in beads, it has many other items to store in its inventory; there will be a limited amount of bead materials available.

You next stop in the search of more and better bead materials could be the online bead stores. These websites provide a plethora of options for the beads specialist and it will definitely be some time till you need to look for other options.

If you are looking at making bead designs for a considerable amount of time and not planning to give it up as a fad, then you should build and maintain a relationship with the online store since you will need to do a lot of shopping from there. Remember to check the store's reputation before parting with any money; do a quick search online to see how others have been served by them.

Once you have figured the trick of sourcing the beads and your raw material parcel has arrived, you can now let your imagination flow and create designs for various items that can be adorned with beads. Skirt tops, long skirts, jewelry, head gear, handkerchiefs, spectacle chains and the list goes on. Unleash your creativity and discover that you can produce delicate designs to go well with a business dinner or bold designs using large, colorful beads for a beach party. Once you get comfortable with the bead options that are available, you may want to mix and match your designs with other related material like shells, buttons and the like.

The designs done, you can use the wonderful medium called the Internet to sell the designs you have created to other apparel manufacturers and even to end consumers.

About the Author

For a collection of articles about arts and crafts offering tips and insights visit http://craft-tips.com