Start a Crafts Business...Online!
By Kathy Wilson
Many women have a talent with one type of craft or another, and may have even thought about turning their crafting into a business. Craft businesses are one of the top new businesses started by women each year. However, a traditional crafts business requires you to sell at craft shows and bazaars, carry an inventory and make so many of your craft items to sell, it stops being a hobby, and starts being, well, work! Consider starting a crafts business online, and stay home while making money from what you already know!
Step one: It’s best to find a niche for your craft business...there are already a lot of general craft businesses out there, make yours more specialized. Perhaps your craft is metalwork, or hooking rugs. Go with what you love.
Step two: Create a website. This is easier than you might think, and ANY woman can learn how to do this. I use a program called Homestead, and they set up your website, your domain name (that’s your internet address) and give you easy software to design your site. You even get templates you can choose from, add your own text and images, and your site is born!
Step three: Educate yourself! Learn about business online of course, at sites like Women-on-the-Net.com. But also keep learning your craft. Visit the library or bookstore. Look for classes, and visit other sites on the web to keep up on new techniques and to continue to refine yourself into an expert! Don’t let the term “expert” scare you...everyone has something they are really good at, and this is your thing. Own it!
Step four: Learn how you can create income online with your crafts. Start a free newsletter and put a sign up box on every page. Use affiliate programs from good craft suppliers to offer supplies for your craft on your site, in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Sell advertising on your site and use Google Adsense. Create instruction ebooks and sell them online. Offer project sheets that can be downloaded and printed out for a small fee. There are MANY ways to make money from your crafts business online, and Women-on-the-Net.com can show you how.
Step five: Go to www.Women-on-the-Net.com and sign up for our free newsletter, browse the articles, and make a plan. Then get started today!
Kathy Wilson is an author, columnist, and editor of Women-on-the-Net, where ANY woman can learn to make money on the internet, with what she already knows! Visit her site now at http://www.Women-on-the-Net.com and start a new life with your own business today! Also visit her other successful sites at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com and http://www.TheGardenGlove.com .
