Craft and Home Business Ideas

Craft and Home Business Ideas

Budgeting for your seasonal craft income can be tricky when you first start, but it is profitable for your business’s well being. Working out both short and long term financial budgeting for your business can let you know when you are on track. It will help keep you in control of your business finances and change things when they need to be. Here we will go through some tips on what and how to budget for your financial plan for the next year or so.

What you budget:

When it comes to budgeting you should consider not only your income and expenses but also a balance summary so you can get a clearer picture of your business. Getting a complete summary of your craft business will help if you need to buy unexpected equipment or if you would like to add new products in the future. Another thing you will need to budget is your cash flow; it will help show you how purchases and expenses affect your money. Estimating your cash flow can be done through both your income and balance statements.

How you budget:

When you first start up your craft business, you will have to budget by estimating your sales and expenses making sure to include even the tiniest of items. It does sound a bit daunting to make a budget for something when you don’t know the exact outcome, because it is a new business but you can adjust as you go.

While you are in this start up phase you should do your financial budget once a month for the first year so you have a more detailed summary for future years. From the beginning of this first year you need to establish your money level for each category. The exact amount is important as this will distinguish and calculate your profits, as well as your operating expenses, receivable accounts and your inventory levels you need. To find out the total of what you have sold you will need to calculate how much it costs to produce the item, it’s usually done through percentages.

The next thing you will need to work out is your operating expenses, payable and receivable accounts and your inventory levels. You can work out your operating expenses by taking all of your expenses into account such as insurance, marketing, advertising, materials and other related fees and working them out with the current business taxes. You can work out accounts payable and receivable as well as your inventory by taking the amount of days into account.

You should write down all of your findings on your balance sheet so you can work out the rest of your assets and liabilities. To work them out you should also do them by categories.

You continue to repeat this process every month for at least the first year of your craft business’s life to create a consistent and accurate budget. When you increase your plan into a seasonal one you will notice that your budget and cash flow will start to vary with different seasons. If your business is one that takes in higher amounts of sales through the period leading up to and through the Christmas months, you should consider adjusting your plan. You can do this easily; the method of working out your budget is as follows: income budget, balance sheet then cash flow. This is because you need to know your net income before preparing anything else because of profit numbers and retained earnings.

There are many ways you can making your financial budgeting easier. There are many software programs on the market that was created for this reason. Some of the top selling ones are Win fast and Quicken.

If you have any problems or concerns when you are trying to work out your budget you should seek advice from a certified public accountant. It is advisable to let them help you through it for the first few times so you know that you understand the whole budgeting process. Once you get a hang of recording an affective financial seasonal budget you will gain many benefits. You will know that you will always be on top of your craft business and know where your financial levels are always and can change them if need be.

Craft and Home Business Ideas

Craft and Home Business Ideas

Selling on EBay has become a popular phenomenon. Many a time I’ve heard people mention that they bought their latest gadget from no other then EBay. For the craft lover who doesn’t know where to begin marketing their crafts, EBay would be a good start. It is the best way to get the broadest audience’s attention. EBay goes beyond your backyard and reaches people all over the world. With their advanced search engine, it allows someone who may be looking for a particular item to go straight to what their looking for.

For those who have heard of EBay but not actually gone searching, this is how it works. For a first time seller, you must create an EBay account which includes your name, address and credit card number (secure site). Once you’ve filled in the online forms, you will have your own seller account which will list your auctions. Each time you want to check your sales, you must log in with a screen name and password. When selling an item, you will go through a series of pages describing your item for sale. To top it off, you will upload a picture onto the auction site for others to view your craft. When listing a craft, you will be charged an initial fee which is a set amount for the listed price. For example: If you list a craft for .99 cent, your initial fee will be .25 cent. If you list an item from $1.00-9.99, your initial fee will be .35 cent and so on. Once your item has sold, you will also be charged a “final value fee.” This is calculated by a percentage of what your craft actually sold for. If someone likes your craft they will put a bid on it. If someone else comes along and wants the same craft, they will put a higher bid on it. At the end of the auction which is generally seven days, the highest bidder wins.

EBay also offers EBay stores, which allow you to sell many items in an online store. When listing an item, you usually list a BIN (Buy it Now) price. There is no auction involve. In your online store, you can list prices as well as pictures of the item. This is a good route to go if you plan on selling multiple items of different colors, shapes or use.

Be sure to list pictures. People love to see pictures of the items their bidding on. You even have the option of placing multiple pictures on your auction site. Try to get different angles when taking pictures. Get close-ups of any detailed work. When taking the picture, be sure to get it in the right lighting and best background. Appearance sells! 

When listing a price at auction, it’s best to start low. This will attract more buyers to your item. If someone is interested in your craft and they want to watch it to see the bids being placed on it, they can put it in their “watch.” You will know how many people are taking interest in your item because the number of watches shows up beside the item in your account.

When listing your craft, be sure to give plenty of detail. If there is a default in the craft, make sure you explain that in the description. Also describe the color and the size of the item. If you sell it in various colors, explain this to the potential buyer. Some people are looking for a certain color and you want to be open to them. If they like your item, they might come back for more in the future.

EBay isn’t for everyone. Sales are made by pay pal, cashiers check or even person checks, whatever you’re willing to accept. And the only communication that generally transpires between the seller and buyers is through email.

The most important thing to remember when getting started is to be honest about the item, and explain the craft in detail. People want to know all there is about an item that they may purchase. Explain the texture if you’re selling something that is wearable. Let them know about the special detail you’ve put into a painting. And if you’re expertise is pottery, elaborate on the special colors used for the craft.

Craft and Home Business Ideas

Craft and Home Business Ideas

Before Opening a Craft Business

1. Don’t Do it For the Money

It is important that you don’t go into the craft business for the wrong reasons.  If you are hoping to make a quick buck, then you’ve chosen the wrong industry!  It usually takes months to see a return on your investment and years to start to see major profits from your hand made craft (if you ever do see major profits).  Crafters do this because it is their passion, not because they expect to make a lot of money from selling their products.  That’s not to say that there isn’t money to be made – it just takes a lot of time and perseverance on your part.   

2. You Need to Start Small

When starting your new craft business, you should try to borrow very little or no money at all from lending institutions.  Having to meet monthly loan payments can under tons of financial stress to your new business.  Try to rely on your own savings for purchasing initial supplies and then try selling your products at local shows and to family and friends so you do not have huge operating costs right off the bat.

3. You Have to Do Your Research

To have a successful craft business you need to be prepared and take the time to research your product and your market.  You have to know what kinds of crafts you are going to produce and what supplies you’ll need.  Because this is a business, you need to try and keep costs low and you want to spend as little as possible on your craft supplies.  You might have to shop around a bit before you find the cheapest supplies.

Next you need to figure out your market.  What kinds of crafts are popular right now?  Who is buying there?  Where are they buying them?  It is important to figure out who makes up your target market and what the best way to connect with them is.

4. You Have to Find Your Niche

Making a splash in the crafting industry usually means setting yourself a part with a really unique craft that still has wide appeal.  As a hobby turned business crafter, you face more competition now than ever before.  Having a really original and unique product will put you ahead of the pack.

5. You Will Have to Market and Sell Your Product Yourself

It may sound obvious, but many excellent crafters aren’t the best sales people.  Remember that when you start out, you are most likely going to be selling your craft yourself at local shows.  You have to make sure that you are comfortable talking to people about your craft and make those much needed sales.

6. You’ll need a Strong Support System

When you first start out, you’ll really need to rely on your family and friends.  They will probably be your first customers and an excellent way of spreading word about your new project.  When you start showing your products at local craft shows they will also be able to help with manning your booth and with setting up and tearing down your display.

7.  Find the Little and Personal Touches that will Make All the Difference

Most people enjoy going to crafts shows because they have a chance to meet the artisans face to face and learn the story behind the craft.  This gives the purchase a much greater meaning.  That personal touch makes all the difference.  Little touches like gift bags or gift wrapping also have a positive impact on your customers and they’ll be more likely to be repeat buyers if they are impressed with your professionalism.

8. The Industry is Fickle at the Best of Times and Often Seasonal

There will be rough patches.  The crafting industry is fickle even at the best of times.  The amount of sales you make is also often seasonal because there are more people looking for unique crafts around the holidays.  You need to prepare your stock for these surges in demand, but you also need to be prepared financially for any lulls.

9. Other Crafters are Your Best Friends but They Can Also Be Your Worst Enemies

Other crafters are your best resources.  They can give you lots of tips and help you out of a difficult situation.  Meeting other crafters and learning from their expertise can be really beneficial.  They are also your competition.  There is only so much money that people are willing to spend on home made crafts so you need to set yourself apart from other crafters and try to steer clear of those crafters who are eager to copy your ideas for their own gain.

10. It Takes Time

Remember: good things come to those who wait.  Don’t get discouraged if your new home made craft business is not a success right away.  It takes time to establish your reputation and your customer base.

Craft and Home Business Ideas