Start Your Own Craft Business in 10 Simple Steps
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Choose Your Craft:
Your craft should be something you enjoy and that you have experience doing. Here are examples of some
craft-type businesses:
- Make a Plan:
Planning is essential to the success of any business. Even a basic plan outline counts - you do not have
to write a 100-page business plan, especially if you don't need financing. Keep it simple.
You can see a free sample business plan for a decorative pottery business, which will show you how to put
together your own plan. Essentially, you want to plan out company goals, a budget, financial timeline and
marketing objectives to follow.
- Define Your Customers:
By making an effort to research your target customers before you start selling your products can not only help
you save time and money reaching potential customers - it can also help you perfect your craft so that you are
able to sell more. Get inside your customer's shoes and understand his/her thoughts and concerns. This can
ultimately help you give your customers exactly what they are looking for.
- License, Tax ID and Seller's Permit:
Get a business license from your city or
county office. Business owners generally need a license, even if operating from home. Visit your local office
or download an application at the city's website.
Apply for a Federal Tax ID Number. It
is recommended to apply online. It can take up to five weeks to get your EIN if you apply by mail.
Depending on your particular business, you may need a seller's permit or resale certificate. Find out more
here: How to Get a Seller's
Permit.
- Get Supplies and Equipment:
These will depend on what type of crafts you are making and what equipment you need to create your products.
Some wholesale craft suppliers include Oriental Trading, Create for Less and of course eBay.
- Set Up a Merchant Account:
Open a business bank account. Keeping personal and
business finances separate is important and makes running a business much easier. Set up a credit card merchant account. PayPal is free to
sign up with, there are no monthly fees and you can use it on your website.
- Set up an Accounting System with Billing & Invoicing:
Accounting software will let you do your own business bookkeeping without having to hire a bookkeeper.
Quickbooks Pro and
Quickbooks Simple Start are popular programs for small business owners because they can do so many
tasks, are relatively easy and are an affordable solution. See also: Invoicing Software
-
Build a Website:
Shopify.com has a high-tech do-it-yourself website store builder that offers the
latest features, including:
- An iPhone app, that lets you run your store from your phone
- Statistics reports, that let you see where your customers are coming from.
- A customer support function right on the site.
- Promotion tool that lets you create coupons and other buying motivators.
You can also compare prices and features to another good online store software program called
BigCommerce.com . In either case, you can try out both solutions free
for 15-30 days risk-free.
- Set Your Prices:
When it comes to deciding on a price, you want to evaluate the cost involved in creating your products,
including overhead expenses and your time. You also want to look at what your competitors are charging and
how their products differ from yours. You don't want to price your crafts out of the market, but at the same
time you don't want to under-value your products. More information on setting prices.
- Sell Your Crafts
You don't have to wait for customers to find your company website or online store, You can sell online in
several heavily-trafficked craft marketplaces. See Etsy.com, Artfire, HandmadeCatalog.com, Artsefest.com and SellCraftsOnline.org.
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