Many people
enjoy making hand crafted products as a hobby and some would
like to generate an income by selling what they make.
If you would like to develop a craft hobby into a craft business,
it is important to consider whether there is sufficient demand
for what you make, if you can sell what you make for a profit
and how you are going to find your customers.
Product choice will depend upon what your craft skills enable
you to make and what people want to buy. Good places to look
for inspiration include craft shops, gift shops and relevant
magazines. Also you could ask friends and relatives what things
they would consider buying. If you attend craft fairs, in
addition to seeing the work of others, you might make useful
contacts in the craft community and find new craft materials
suppliers and additional outlets for your work. You might
decide to improve a product that already exists or develop
something new, to meet an opening in the market. You could
enhance your existing set of skills and expand your product
range to meet market demand.
Pricing requires you to combine costs such as materials, tools,
packaging, distribution, stationery, utility bills and the
amount you pay yourself for the time you spend working on
the business. You should also take account of any tax that
you will have to pay.
Once you have calculated your unit cost and compared it to
the going rate for similar craft products, you can decide
how much you are going to sell your work for. Too high a price
could make you less competitive and reduce sales, whilst too
low a price could increase sales but reduce profits and even
cause your business to run at a loss. Your aim should be to
find the right balance, which provides you with a good cash
flow and a healthy profit. By reducing your costs or improving
your productivity, you could increase the profits needed to
invest in the growth of your business and help with finances
during any periods of low sales. |
Effective marketing will make potential customers aware
of your work and increase your chances of making sales.
If you provide work of good quality at a competitive price
this could lead to repeat business. Marketing your craft
work will be made easier if you have a clearly defined range
of products to offer potential customers and a strong brand
identity for your business. If you sell your work through
retail outlets they will want to position your product line
in a particular section or department and will increase
the cost of your products to cover their profits.
You could decide to sell your work online, either through
your own Web site or by using an auction company such as eBay.
Another good place to market and sell what you make might
be craft
fairs. They have the advantage of enabling you to meet
and talk to existing or potential customers and get feedback
on your range of products.
|
