For Profit: Your Craft Business

How to Start and Run a Profitable Craft Business

An Introduction to the Crafts Business

Welcome to the For Profit section of The Artful Crafter. Here I discuss the craft business in some detail and share some of my ideas on how to make more money selling your crafts.

My first career was as a special education teacher. After 15 years of teaching I earned an MBA degree followed by CFA (Certified Financial Analyst) certification. After 15 years in finance I was a vice-president and portfolio manager of a major insurance company before I was downsized.

Tired of the rat race, I opted for early retirement. Looking for something to do with all my free time, I started an at home craft business and am now making a nice supplemental income from it.

As a crafter and a businesswoman, I feel I have some valuable insights into the craft business that I can share with you.

Introduction: Getting Organized to Sell Your Crafts for Profit

At some point in your progression from crafting for fun to crafting for fun and profit, you go from handcrafting individual items for yourself and friends to filling quantity orders for a broader marketplace. That's the time to take a very business-like approach to your craft business.

This needn't be daunting. You don't need an MBA or management experience - just a bit of common sense. If you're going to do this for profit, you need to understand The Four M's:

• 1. Meet your market;
• 2. Minimize your costs;
• 3. Maximize your selling price; and
• 4. Market the heck out of your product.

Simple, right? But very few people get it. Look at the high failure rate for any new business. The craft business is no exception.

It takes effort to be successful, but the task is hardly impossible.

I will cover each topic in detail. You can read the Four M's and lots of other articles having to do with the business of crafting by going to our Craft Business Article Directory.