With the constant demands and distractions of modern life, many people are turning to activities from simpler times as a way to calm their minds and take it easy. Once seen as activities for grannies, crafts such as knitting and sewing are now hip, and new websites are popping up with modern takes on these traditional hobbies.
Crafting is fun, but the cost of supplies can add up and there are only so many scarves you can give away as gifts. If you still want to keep crafting, you may want to consider transforming that hobby into a small business. You may not make a living off of it, but it can be a fun way to make some spending money!
Establish a goal.
Is your idea to actually start a business or simply sell what you make? Do you want to start making specific crafts based on what you think might sell better, or do you just want to make what you want to make and hope an audience will come? Neither is the wrong approach, but you should decide what you want to do so you don’t find that you suddenly don’t enjoy your hobby anymore.
Find a place to sell.
You can find out about local craft fairs or even farmer’s markets where you may be able to sell your work. You may also meet other craftsters to connect with! Can’t find anything nearby or don’t want the commitment? No problem! There’s a home for your stuff right on the Internet. Check out Etsy.com, which is a little like eBay but for homemade items only. It’s easy to set up, and then you can post your work and forget about it until you receive an email saying you made a sale!
Create a simple budget.
Look at what you normally spend on crafting supplies on an average month. Right now, this is a net loss. Once you start your new business, you’ll want to keep a record of how much you spend on everything from supplies to postage as well as how much money is coming in. At the end of the month, tally it up. Hopefully you’re in the black now, but even if it doesn’t seem like that much money, it might be worth your while to continue especially when you…
Consider tax deductions.
You may be able to turn those supply costs into tax deductions. You may even be able to include some costs of running a household office, such as postage, part of your Internet bill, and more. Talk to your accountant to find out what works best for you.
Learn more about turning your losses into profits at Quizzle.com, where you’ll find helpful tools like a Debt Payoff Planner that shows you how to get out of debt faster so you can save more of your hard-earned cash instead of paying it out in interest to credit card companies.
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Its amazing how much money you can make by crafting if you have a great plan and a little talent. I have a friend who paints pictures of birds and other animals on 12″x12″ planks of wood. Nothing complicated and each takes about 20 minutes (and a couple of dollars worth of supplies) to make. She sells them for $30 each. For very part-time work, she nets about a grand a month, just doing what she loves.