Make Money Crafting

You need money? Okay well, crafting is not the avenue to quick riches. But it is possible to make a decent living with your hard work and patience. Here are some basic tips:

• Start in January, or as close to the beginning of the year as possible. That way you'll have plenty of time to start making money and declare it for next year's taxes on good old April 15.
• Before you go out and buy a ton of supplies, apply for a business license with the state and the city.
• Be professional about crafting, accounting, and marketing. It is a business, now and not a hobby.
• Keep good records of expenses, correspondences (including electronic ones), and contacts.
• Polish your craft until it is the best it can be.

Those are some general tips, what can you do that is more specific?

• Start a website
I know I make it look easy, but it's not. It does take some work, but hey, I love it! I use and recommend Site Build It! as the best e-commerce solution I've seen.


• Write and sell crafting articles
I heard one tip that you should have at least ten articles in the mail at any one time. Phew, tough odds. You could make them better by finding a magazine (or e-zine) editor that is looking for your particular topics. This betters your chances of getting an article published. Check Writer's Market for submission guidelines. You can buy the print version here on Amazon or the online version here Writer's Market or check the reference section of your local library.


• Teach a class
Check if your local community college, trade tech school, or adult center does not have classes for the crafts you already know. Put together a prospectus and a syllabus, include how you are experienced and what are the benefits of such a class, then submit all of this to the extension classes office.


• Selling crafts
This is my least favorite, mostly because it is the most work. This is also where the majority of the competition is. But working this area does mean just crafting possibly exploring and expanding your techniques. Do your research first. If you have something that is truly unique and profitable, then work this as your niche. Here are some very good books from the professionals Craft, Inc. and crafting as a business. There are also websites that are dedicated to selling crafts and many of them understand the value of crafting much more than auction sites. My favorite is Etsy. Here's my Etsy shop where you can buy featured crafts on this site Help-U-Craft outlet. Etsy features so many beautiful things and so many talented crafters, but not only that it's a community. I love getting their emails of crafts organized according to theme or color.


• Auction Websites
We all know about Ebay and Craigslist but did you know on Ebay there is an area where people can request crafted items? Ebay craft requests has requests for supplies and specific handcrafts.