Starting a Home Craft Business

Found a new hobby during the pandemic? Or perhaps you’ve been a long-time fan of arts and crafts and are now looking for a way to monetise this pastime. More and more casual crafters are now asking how to start selling handmade items. Whether you’re into knitting, soap making or baking, there’s a way to turn your passion into a way to earn some extra cash, or even a full-time job.

Many people are choosing to open up home craft businesses as a side hustle, and some dream of making this their primary source of income. However, the stages to starting a handmade business can be a bit daunting. Keep reading to find out more about how to start a handmade craft business with this simple guide.

Step 1 – Find your niche

The first thing you should do when starting a handmade business is to consider exactly what kind of product you are going to sell. Of course, this depends on what you like to make, so everyone’s answer will be different. But you should also think about what will sell best – and by doing a bit of research, you can find your niche market.

For example, you might want to open a baking business in your local area, but there are already many others already operating. If you notice that none of these are selling vegan cakes, then this could be a great way to break into the market and find your customer base.

Not sure how to do this? A quick search on Google in your local area is a good place to start. If you’re casting the net wider with an e-commerce business, then you can use Google Trends, MarketResearch.com or Etsy to find some more in-depth information.

Step 2 – Think about your target market

If you want to know how to start selling handmade items, then it’s essential you define your target market precisely. Write down a list of some of the most important characteristics, such as:

• Demographic factors like age, gender, location.

• Interests, likes and dislikes.

• The reason for buying your product.

• Consumer behaviour (such as where and how they shop).

With this information, you can tailor your home craft business to better suit their needs and habits. For example, if your customers are young, then you should focus on social media marketing over more traditional marketing methods.

Step 3 – Get branding

Those wondering how to start a handmade craft business that stands out should definitely prioritise branding. If you can build a strong brand strategy, then you will create a loyal customer base that trusts your products and, most importantly, makes repeat purchases.

Don’t worry if you have a limited budget. There are plenty of online logo makers and business name generators that can help you to find the right brand for your product. This is your opportunity to have fun with your business and find the right colours, copy and brand image to reflect your handcrafted products.

Step 4 – Set up an online store

Once you’ve got the right strategy and are happy with your business plan, the next step is to set up your online store. Having an e-commerce store will ensure that you make the maximum number of sales, and open up your customer base to different geographical locations.

There are a number of different options that you can choose. If you want the maximum customisation possible, then you could consider building your website from scratch. However, this requires a lot of experience or hiring a developer, which can be a prohibitive cost for new business owners.

A more straight-forward option would be to go to an e-commerce platform like Shopify, or perhaps open up a store on Etsy. In this way, you can build an online store in a short time, with no experience required.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.