Whether you draw, paint, sew, sculpt or weld, your work can be the key to starting your own small business. The success of websites such as Etsy, ArtFire and Zibbet is proof that handmade goods are in demand among consumers. By listing your work on these websites, you can have access to thousands of potential buyers every day. With careful marketing, you can generate sales in your own local community.
Instructions
1. Plan what you will sell and to whom. Online marketplaces for handmade goods are likely to attract young, white, college-educated, middle-class females who have no children and like decorating and accessories, according to Quantcast, so you might tailor your business to them. On the other hand, you might sell custom pet accessories if you live near a dog park. Keep in mind what your skills are because your business will run more efficiently if you already know make your product.
2. Choose a name for your business that is unique, easy to remember and describes what you sell. Search the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database to make sure your name is unique.
3. Ask the county clerk whether or not it's legal in your area to run your handmade-goods business from your home. If it is, you can work from home and conduct your business as you wish. If not, you might still be able to sell your goods online or through local stores that cater to your target market.
4. Buy wholesale supplies to make your product. Choose high-quality supplies so that you develop a good reputation among buyers, but choose the least expensive you can find to increase your profit. Make a supply of your products to keep as an inventory, or make as much of the product as you can before you will need customer input for custom orders.
5. Choose a place to sell your goods. The fees for selling in an online marketplace range from free to around $70 per year, while local stores might not charge you but require you to make a minimum amount of the product for them to buy at once; contact the store manager to find out. Selling directly to buyers in your community eliminates fees and minimum orders.
6. Add up your business costs, including the costs of supplies and store fees. Divide it by your the number of products you have to sell to determine the minimum price you can sell each for. Add to these prices to allow yourself a profit. Use comparable products as your guide as to how much customers are willing to pay.
7. Take a representative picture of each product in your inventory. Place them against a white background, such as a bed sheet or wall, to clearly show what you're selling.
8. Put your items up for sale. If you will sell in your own store in an online marketplace, open an account with the marketplace of your choice and add product pictures and descriptions to your store. If you will sell from your home, make flyers to place in areas where your target market is likely to go. Include your business name, what you sell, product pictures and your contact information. Ask a manager before posting your flyers anywhere so that they aren't removed as spam.
9. Respond to customer orders immediately. Place your products in adequate wrapping to keep them from being destroyed when you deliver them to customers.
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