10 Ideas to Create a Successful Craft DIY Business

1. Take the Leap.
   
   
   
   

   I think the most important advice is, you'll never know if you don't try! Have you got passion? Do you enjoy what you make? Have people complimented you on your items? All very good reasons to just give it a go.
   
   The number one reason most craft businesses never make it, is because their owner is too scared to take the plunge, too scared of failure. Don't be! If failing is the worse thing to ever happen to you in your life then you're pretty darn lucky :P

   
   




2. Do some ground work
   
   
   

   You have to be passionate about your business. Try to get out of the head space of just items on a table at a market. Try to get into the head space of a larger corporation. Start looking at all those larger companies out there that millions buy from each year. What is there image, what colours do they use, what is there brand name? Start a folder with a bunch of clippings that you can go back to over and over.
   
   Also start a savings fund, although start up costs can be relatively small, there will be a point where some extra money may be critical in advancing your business

   
   
   




3. Start thinking about your own name
   
   Brainstorm for some catchy names, ask family and friends for input. Make sure the name is short, catchy and easy to remember. Also make sure that when you google it, a hundred other names don't come up, because you'll end up having to try and compete with all those other names already out there!
   
   





4. Start thinking about your own image
   
   Who are you planning on selling too? Start thinking about the colours you would like to use, or the look of your logo. Look at your competitors sites, what have they done that you could imitate from? If you're confident in design, create your own, or if not, do a search for a graphic designer to help you out. There are some inexpensive graphic designers out there who can offer you a design logo package for under a 100 dollars. If that seems expensive just remember that the logo design will be yours for life :)
   






5. Build up stock
   
   Make sure you actually have enough things for people to buy from. Nothing worse than having only a few items!
   
   






6. Photograph your items!
   It doesn't matter if you only have a cheapest digital camera, as long as you've learnt to use macro and utilise natural sunlight, you can really create some fabulous results. Start looking around at your favourite craft sites, why are they your favourite? Often a big reason is how well, presented their products are. Start paying attention to the background. Have they used a white background or maybe something more fancy?
   
   

   If you do a google search on light boxes, there are some easy cheap tutorial out there for the hand-made variety. This will heap to achieve a natural light upon your products!

   
   
   




7. Start writing product descriptions
   
   When you start to write the description, it's useful to picture your target audience in your head. Perhaps you knit shawls and your target audience is in the older generation bracket. Imagine who your average customer would be and as your writing the description imagine you're talking directly to her about why she should buy it. Don't just list colour, size and materials (although these are very important) but list why it's good, and what would be in it for the customer if they bought it. Again check out how other successful sites do it.
   







8. Make sure you do all the boring things!
   
   It's the least favourite part but you have to make sure you're registered as a business and you have programs in place to keep in track of expenses and orders (for tax purposes) Staying ahead of it at the start will save major headaches come tax time!
   
   






9. Set up your shop
   
   Maybe you have a large budget and can afford to have your own website, great! But if you're not in that category why not try a site like etsy.com. It allows you to create your own little shop space. It's a great alternative and you'll be able to build up a customer base from and perhaps start saving for your own site.
   
   






10. You could be giving away 100 dollar bills, but....
    
    If nobody knows you're out there, whats the point? You have to get the word of mouth out there, start with family and friends and tell them to pass on the word to other people. They'll be the most keen in the start to help you out! Add your site's link to your email signature. This will be sent out at the bottom of every email and is a nice friendly way of getting the word out there. Wear your products everywhere, people will comment on how pretty something is and then you can let them know about your site! Contact craft blogs and let them know about your site. Send out samples and press releases to magazines. There are so many ways to advertise on a cheap budget and you only need to do a quick Internet search to find many more!
    
    

Never see your mistakes as failures, for really they are just another opportunity to really learn and remember, you'll never know if you don't give it a try! Most importantly, good luck!

I started my own site, www.peachypan.com, with not much clue of anything and I've grown so much as a person and as a business owner and it's definitely been a remarkable experience.

-Fee

www.peachypan.com