Making Crafts Making Money

An exciting moment for any crafter is when they are able to take the love for crafts and turn it into real money. Selling your crafts enables you to make money doing what you love, along with the convenience of setting your own hours and working from home.

Starting with the basics and exploring all the exciting possibilities, this friendly guide helps hobbyists launch a successful and rewarding crafts business. Professional crafter and crafts show producer Caputo shares her first-hand experience on creating a unique and marketable line of products, taking care of business, and much more.

Have you ever wanted to sell your handmade crafts or artwork at local craft fairs, but have no idea where to start? Or maybe you've taken the first step and have tried selling your art at a craft show or two, but now you're looking for ideas on how to sell more, how to make your booth more appealing to customers and where to find more venues to sell your handmade goods? You've come to the right place! I've been selling my own handmade creations, as well as the work of other artists, at a variety of craft shows and other events since 2004. I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and now I'm sharing them here with you so that you can learn from my experiences! In this book, I'll cover the basics of getting started selling at craft fairs, as well as how to design a great looking booth, how to give outstanding customer service & sell more and even how to find and create additional events at which to sell your handmade work. WHAT IT INCLUDES: - how to define your target market - where to find good shows - how much should I spend on a booth fee at a show? - how to make your booth look great - promoting your show & getting your customers there - my craft show tips & tricks - dealing with crazy weather & unexpected events - theft prevention - craft show supply checklist - how to give great customer service - how to use craft shows to create after-the-show sales - alternative venues to sell your work, beyond traditional craft shows - how to create your own events to sell at - tracking your inventory - how to create a personal & business spending plan - big hunkin' list of craft show resources WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR: This book will be most useful for someone new to selling at craft shows. I do cover more advanced topics as well though, including how to define your target market, visual merchandising, inventory tracking, and creating a business spending plan. The book includes worksheets along the way to help you. The information in this book is based on my experiences, selling in the United States, mostly in Louisiana. However, most of the information contained here is useful to anyone around the world who is interested in setting up a booth at craft shows, festivals or conventions. WHY I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT: I did my first craft show in 2004. It was the Alternative Media Expo, put on by Antigravity Magazine here in New Orleans. I sold a few things, and learned a LOT of things. And I haven't looked back! I've done all sorts of events since then. I have sold regularly at the Frenchmen Art Market, and have done festivals around the New Orleans area including Bayou Boogaloo, Gretna Heritage Festival, Freret Market, New Orleans Earth Day Festival, and many, many more. As one of the founding members of the New Orleans Craft Mafia, I've even organized a variety of events, both with the group and on my own. As a group, we've created a monthly art market and the annual Last Stop Shop holiday market. On my own, I've also hosted home shopping parties, trunk shows and pop-up shops. In 2007, as one of the winners of Etsy's Upcycling contest, I even traveled cross-country to San Francisco to participate in Bazaar Bizarre at Maker Faire!

Are you a hobbyist who likes to work with wood? Is using a wood lathe your skill polishing platform? Have you ever thought of making money using this craft? Selling your wood lathe projects for profitable margins can be a very lucrative business for amateurs. This is not the only craft or hobby that can be converted into a profession or a means for earning a living.

Wish you could turn your talent for making lovely things into cash? Bored of the 9 to 5 and dreaming of starting your own crafty business, but not sure where to start? Then this is the book for you ! The Craft Business Handbook has ALL the information you need to get started making money from your crafts - NOW ! From setting up as a proper business, producing and pricing your goods for maximum sales and profit, to the various options for selling online, at craft fairs, trade shows and getting your products into retailers, right through to gaining magazine coverage, promoting your business online and managing your business as it grows, this is THE essential guide for any would-be crafty entrepreneur! Whether you're just considering getting started with a crafty business idea, or already selling your wares and looking for ways to grow your business ( think sales reps, fulfillment houses and more!), this handy book - written by craft business expert Alison McNicol - shares tons of insider tips, practical information, and shows how you too can achieve Craft Business success! PLUS - some of the most successful crafty business people around share their stories - how they started and grew their successful craft businesses - prepare to be inspired with in-depth interviews from some of your favorite crafty entrepreneurs around! About The Author Alison McNicol is a serial crafty entrepreneur who has launched several successful craft businesses, selling her products in stores worldwide. She is also the author of several successful craft and craft business books, and founder of The Craft Business Community.com, an online community that provides resources and networking opportunities for crafty entrepreneurs from all over the world. Alison is also author of Craft Business Heroes: How We Did It ( 30 Creative Entrepreneurs Share the Secrets of Their Success)- a companion book to the Craft Business Handbook, featuring 30 more interviews from leading craft entrrepreneurs - Amy Butler, Amy Karol, Sublime Stitching's Jenny Hart, Subversive Cross Stitch founder Julie Jackson and tons more !

Creating a Successful Craft Business involves strategy. Gone are the days where you can make your products, set up a market stall, sell your crafts and make money. The problem is there is too much competition from mass produced products. You need to find new ways of packaging your craft skills and passion into profitable products that don't involve long hours making items only to earn a minimal return. Or maybe you already have an online craft business, but it isn't generated the income you would like. I guarantee you, there are more profitable ways to leverage your craft skills and passion they what you are currently doing. 30 Ways to Turn Your Craft into Cash goes through 30 Strategies to find and develop a successful product for your Craft Business. If you are going to put energy into building your craft business, you want to make sure you have the right product. This book explores new and exciting ways to leverage your craft skills and passion beyond just making handmade items to sell. Every crafter has skills and knowledge they can share with others - they just need to know how to sell it. In this book you will discover new and exciting ways to Turn Your Craft into Cash. You will be able to create a Handmade Business that will allow you to make money from home. In this book you will learn: New ways to sell your handmade items and reach more buyers. How to package your craft skills, experience and passion into lucrative digital products that you can sell over and over again. How to position yourself as an expert so customers will pay more for your items. How to package other peoples' knowledge and experience into products that can make money for you. The book is broken into three sections. The first covers 12 different strategies for selling your Handmade items and includes links to the most lucrative online stores for marketing your products. The second section discusses 12 traditional and digital ways to package your knowledge and expertise into lucrative products. This section alone will revolutionise the way you look at your craft business and inspire you to create new money making products. And the third section covers 6 ways to make money from your craft passion, even if you're a novice crafter by leveraging the expertise and knowledge of other crafters. Over half the strategies covered in the book harness the power of the Internet and show you how to merge your craft skills and passion into profitable digital products that you can sell over and over with little ongoing effort from yourself. You will learn how to go from Sweat Shop to Ongoing Recurring Passive Income, in an Industry that you love. Many of these strategies are used outside of the craft industry to make millions of dollars. Now it is time to leverage these strategies in the Craft Business arena to create successful and profitable businesses based on more than just making and selling handmade items. Each strategy covers the upsides and downsides to implementing the strategy along with tips on getting started on each strategy. If you're tired of spending long hours at the dining room table making products you sell for minimal profit then this book if for you. Be prepared to change the way you look at your craft skills and passion. Be open to developing a new route for your craft business, then you will finally get paid, what you are truly worth, as a craftsperson. So grab your copy of 30 Ways to Turn Your Craft into Cash to get started creating your Successful Craft Business. BONUS Watch free a free video tutorial and download the free worksheets to create your very own 90-day fast track action plan to get your Craft Business making you money. All the details on the inside.

In a world where most products are manufactured by machines, Etsy offers an online platform for makers of handmade products and crafts to market and sell their goods to a vast network of buyers who demand unique, genuine products. To date, the site has attracted over 400,000 sellers who collectively have sold over 30 million items, generating more than $180.6 million in revenue. The only resource of its kind, How to Make Money Using Etsy--written by Tim Adam who has successfully been selling his products all over the world through his Etsy shop since 2007--guides readers step-by-step through the many stages of selling online. How-to topics include: Establish your Etsy shop Effectively photograph your products Post your products to optimize visibility and increase sales Brand your business Use social media like blogs, Twitter, and Facebook to connect with buyers and grow your business