Do you have a talent for painting, stitching, or printing? Are you artistic and also have a nose for business? Then starting a craft specialty store might be just your entrepreneurial option. Some estimates show that the craft market will get close to $51 billion by 2024, and you can stake out your part of that market if you play your cards right.
There are many people out there with crafting talent, but not everyone can run a successful business. Luckily, it has never been easier to reach a large market with your goods through the power of the internet.
In the past, a crafting business had to rely on local markets and events to make money. Now, you can do markets and events and boost your sales by marketing to consumers worldwide. Here are the steps you can take to start your business and create a successful specialty crafting store in Texas.
Find a Niche
Before getting started, do some market research to see where there might be some gaps. You can stick to the types of crafts you do well, but there may be a need for a certain subsection of that craft, for instance.
As an example, your craft might be making candles, but there are a lot of candle-makers near you. However, you can make candles from non-toxic ingredients or with unique scents that will draw new customers. You don’t want to do the same thing someone else is doing since you’ll be at a disadvantage.
Develop a Business Plan
Many crafters who want to become entrepreneurs think that if they just make and sell a certain amount of product every month, they will find success. However, they often don’t think any more profoundly and then get disappointed when reality hits. For example, many crafts take time.
If you need to make 500 a month to make a profit, then that means making 16 a day without any days off. Is that feasible? Plus, you need to factor in the cost of materials. Creating a business plan will force you to think about these questions and give yourself a realistic path to reach your goals.
Research Suppliers
Good crafting requires suitable materials and supplies. If your craft has been your hobby for a while, then you probably have a favorite store that you use to purchase what you need. However, when you are running a business, margins are crucial. Therefore, you must find what you need for as low a price as possible.
That means looking everywhere, whether it’s online or at places a little farther than your local area. While you certainly want the lowest cost, you can’t sacrifice quality, so you must balance both factors. Choosing the right supplier can make or break your business, so choose wisely.
Get Insured
Every business needs insurance. You might think that a crafting business is very safe, but there are always risks. For instance, one of your creations could harm a client in some way if there are sharp edges or a child swallows a small piece. If you have a storefront, then a customer could suffer an injury from a trip or a fall.
Running a business in Texas requires being responsible for certain things, and protecting your business is one of them. In addition, any kind of lawsuit could threaten the viability of your business as legal costs rack up time. Plus, you may end up having to pay damages. You can get compensation for all those costs with the right insurance.
Branding
Getting your branding right is of utmost importance for running your specialist craft business. The fact is, people are more likely to purchase from companies that they trust and can feel a connection with. Before you start developing your branding, think about the target audience for your products.
What are they like, and what other interests might they have? For example, will they respond to humor and comedy or to vintage colors and designs?
Once you have your target audience in mind, you can then create branding in the form of your business name, logo, and colors. Your brand’s personality should follow through in every contact you make with your customer, including social media and the decor of your storefront.
Effective branding will tell the audience what you are about with one glance, and consistency will prevent any confusion.
Develop Your Website
Your website will serve several purposes. For one, it should showcase your brand and provide updates about your business to your audience. You can have photos of your products, tutorials, and anything else that helps highlight your work.
Your website should also be a place where customers can make purchases if they want to. You can offer a pickup service or even delivery. If you are going to market around the world, then your website is where your customers will make their selections and provide their shipping details.
Finally, make sure that it is optimized for search engines so that you can bring in traffic from people who are conducting web searches for your types of products.
Marketing
Having effective SEO is a great start for your marketing efforts. This will help bring in organic traffic and motivate buyers.
Social media can be a powerful tool as well. There’s a good chance you don’t have a huge marketing budget, so that targeted social media ads can go a long way. If you are marketing around the world, choose some markets you think might be receptive, and target some advertising to those locations.
Make sure you are active on social media and reply to comments and concerns. Customers will be more likely to spend their hard-earned dollars with a company they are connected with, and social media can allow you to do that.
There’s nothing better than earning money for doing your hobby. It’s something you already enjoy, and you can do that for a living instead of working for someone else at a job that might not be rewarding. However, just because you love it, it doesn’t mean that you should do the work to make it sustainable and successful. So, follow these steps to build the best specialty crafting store possible.
