Why Right Now Is The Best Time To Start Your Online Craft Business
I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve had time to write a blog post. Life has been absolutely crazy lately. April was a record breaking sales month in my handmade business. I’d been hovering around $10,000 in sales for what seemed like forever and I finally was able to surpass that! Yes, even during this world crisis. I’ve been so busy that it’s been a struggle to keep up with the orders coming in.
Why right now is the best time to start your online craft business
The world and the way people shop has completely changed. With people unable to go to stores other than necessary ones, they have turned to buying more things online. The large store chains are getting so many orders it’s taking literally a month sometimes to get your order. That’s why there’s such a great opportunity for us small craft businesses right now.
People also can’t see their loved ones so they are sending gifts. Mother’s Day sales contributed to my April sales in a big way. Father’s Day is right around the corner and I’m already seeing sales come in for that. Many people are sending gifts directly to their friends and family so if you can offer gift wrap that’s a great idea to earn a few extra dollars on an order and give your customers the opportunity to make their gift extra special. Just be sure to take into account the extra shipping weight the gift wrap might add along with the gift wrapping supply costs when setting your price for gift wrap options.
Craft businesses that make money right now
Everyone is spending more time at home so they’re buying things to make their house feel cozy. This is an awesome opportunity for you if you sell or want to sell home decor items in your craft business.
Home organization handmade items are also perfect to sell right now because having more time at home with nothing to do during spring cleaning season makes us all want to get our homes in order and organized.
Kids are also at home all the time now and parents want to keep them entertained. If you sell something handmade that can help with this, parents will eat it up.
With social distancing keeping us all from our family and friends, people are looking to make a connection. This is the perfect opportunity to give them that through your craft business. Big box stores aren’t taking phone calls or answering emails because they’re so overwhelmed. You can offer a personal touch that people are so desperately seeking right now by responding to questions quickly and adding a personalized note in your orders. Everyone wants to be seen or heard and know that they matter. Give them that and it will take you far.
What is the best craft business to start?
Think of how things are different now and what people would need or want to buy online to come up with ideas of what you can sell in your craft business.
A few things to consider when brainstorming handmade product ideas for your craft business:
- People want to make their homes nicer since they are there constantly
- Families are spending more time with their pets
- More people are working from home
- Children are at home all day every day
- It takes forever to get things from big box stores (even Amazon)
- Adults are bored at home
- People are looking for ways to socially connect
Take these things into account when coming up with ideas for crafts that will sell right now. How can you fill a need that people have? That can be a physical or emotional need.
Set your craft business up for success in the future
No one knows exactly how any algorithm works, but I know on Etsy and Amazon the more sales you make, the more they start showing your products to more people. This gets you even more sales and it just snowballs. That’s why this is the perfect time to start your craft business. Just think how far this super busy time of people buying online could take your handmade business into the future!
One important thing to keep in mind is that it can be difficult to stay stocked up on supplies for your craft business right now. Be sure you have multiple sources where you can get what you need to keep your business going. And order your supplies well in advance because they could take a long time to get to you. I’ve been unable to find a few of my supplies which caused me to have to remove some of my items from my shops unfortunately. One of the items was a best-seller so that’s disappointing.
When I first heard that some people were losing their jobs I was a little panicked that my shop wouldn’t be making as many sales. I figured people would be spending less. What I didn’t think of was that people use online shopping to fill a void in their life, that the only way to get some things is by purchasing online, and that customers want to support small businesses during this time. Right now is the best time to start a craft business or take the opportunity to grow your existing handmade business to new heights.
Leave me a comment if you’re seeing record-breaking sales in your craft business or if you have any questions about running a handmade business during this time of crisis.
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