Artisan Work
SageMommy.Com
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Have you been crocheting since you were two? Are your cranberry-macadamia
nut cookies legendary? In a mass-manufactured society, people will pay dearly
for those little homemade goodies that make a tract house a home. I have a
friend who makes beaded jewelry, and another who makes darling little cigar-box
purses. All of my artsy friends report that the secret to success is making a
unique product and then telling everyone—EVERYONE—they know about it. Then
your dental hygienist buys one for her sister’s birthday, that sister tells her twelve
closest friends, and there begins the word-of-mouth buzz for which small
business owners pray. So if you are crafty or creative, think about what you can
make that would sell. Check out craft fairs for ideas (and potential booth partners).
There are three options when selling goods: in person, auctions, and web stores.
Selling in person is the most time consuming method, but, depending on your
area, it may be the most lucrative. In addition to purchasing booths at craft fairs
and bazaars, you can take your wares to local shops and ask them to sell them
for you either on consignment or for a percentage of the profit. Marketing is
essential for artisan entrepreneurs; you should be wearing and/or using your
handmade items in the most public ways possible as well as telling everyone you
know about your business.
EBay may the largest and well known forum for your handicraft, but Etsy has the
advantage of carrying only handmade items. If you decide to opt for a web store, I
have found that Yahoo makes it easy to set up a merchant website and even
provides a certain amount of traffic, but there are many options that can be found
with a simple Google search. Paypal even has several merchant hosting options.
I can’t give lists of pros and cons or necessary tools because there is such a
diverse range of artisan products, but I can guarantee that hard work and
instability will be two cons, while loving what you do and being able to do it while
seeing your babies grow up will be two pros.
nut cookies legendary? In a mass-manufactured society, people will pay dearly
for those little homemade goodies that make a tract house a home. I have a
friend who makes beaded jewelry, and another who makes darling little cigar-box
purses. All of my artsy friends report that the secret to success is making a
unique product and then telling everyone—EVERYONE—they know about it. Then
your dental hygienist buys one for her sister’s birthday, that sister tells her twelve
closest friends, and there begins the word-of-mouth buzz for which small
business owners pray. So if you are crafty or creative, think about what you can
make that would sell. Check out craft fairs for ideas (and potential booth partners).
There are three options when selling goods: in person, auctions, and web stores.
Selling in person is the most time consuming method, but, depending on your
area, it may be the most lucrative. In addition to purchasing booths at craft fairs
and bazaars, you can take your wares to local shops and ask them to sell them
for you either on consignment or for a percentage of the profit. Marketing is
essential for artisan entrepreneurs; you should be wearing and/or using your
handmade items in the most public ways possible as well as telling everyone you
know about your business.
EBay may the largest and well known forum for your handicraft, but Etsy has the
advantage of carrying only handmade items. If you decide to opt for a web store, I
have found that Yahoo makes it easy to set up a merchant website and even
provides a certain amount of traffic, but there are many options that can be found
with a simple Google search. Paypal even has several merchant hosting options.
I can’t give lists of pros and cons or necessary tools because there is such a
diverse range of artisan products, but I can guarantee that hard work and
instability will be two cons, while loving what you do and being able to do it while
seeing your babies grow up will be two pros.