Home Based Craft Business

Starting a Home-based Craft Business.

Home Based Craft Business

Finding the right balance between work and home can be demanding. This push and pull is most often felt by working moms who find there is never enough hours in the day to devote to both a career and a family. For this reason, many moms have given up full-time work to start their own at-home business. They find something they are good at and enjoy doing and use it as the basis for their business. One successful business that many women have had success with is making home-based crafts.

Have a Plan

Every business needs a plan. You need to decide if you are going to make jewelry, scrapbooks, miniature dolls, pillows or wall hangings. Whatever it is you can do, and do well, is your product. Once you make a decision, you need to figure out your production costs so you can then calculate how much to sell your creations. If it costs you $10 in material to make one miniature doll, you want to mark it up enough so that you can get a decent return on your

investment. However, do not mark it up out of the realm of reality. Not too many people are going to pay $30 for a miniature doll. See what other people or stores charge for similar items and work from there.

You may feel like your craft is unique and something everyone wants. But others may not think the same. Consider showing your product around to friends and family, coworkers and acquaintances and see if it generates interest. If family and friends will not make the investment, then it may be safe to say that strangers might not either. There is a reason manufacturers test their products before they go on sale to the masses. You do not want to spend your money making something that no one wants.

Marketing Your Craft Product

You have a product, you made a few dozen of them and now you want to sell them. How do you get the word out to potential customers that you have this great item? The Internet and social media have made it easy to market a business. Set up a Facebook page and/or a website showcasing your craft. There are many resources available that can show you how to set up basic websites for very little money. If you know someone who is well versed in setting up this type of thing, enlist their help.

Do not rely solely on technology for marketing. Many towns, schools and religious institutions hold craft shows, flea markets and fairs where vendors can sell their products. Make sure you set up shop at these types of events. It is a great way to get people to see your craft and purchase it on sight. Hand out business cards with information on how they can order more of your creations in the future.

Do This for Love, Not Money

Do not go into this thinking you will be making millions. Be sure you really love what you are doing or else there will be little enjoyment in doing it at all. You will have good weeks and bad in terms of sales and if you do not have the love of what you are doing, those bad weeks may be a lot more difficult to get through. If you want to take baby steps and maybe start by doing some assembly work at home – there is an employment directory that lists companies that hire for this type of work. I personally do not publish this 2012 Home Employment Directory – but it appears to be legit.

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