Invest in Your Craft Business

Now that you’ve done the research and have established a business name and logo, it’s time to invest into your business. You may already own what you need, have recently started buying things or you might not have anything at all. Regardless of your progress, it’s time to make a list of all your equipment, materials and supplies that you’ll need to keep your craft business running. 

Brainstorm all the things you will need for your business. Think about equipment, materials, supplies and software. Write down what it costs to buy things brand new and used. Add everything up and don’t be alarmed by the number. Starting a business is expensive, but you don’t have to get everything all at once. Start shopping around various websites and even online yard sale pages. Once you have an idea of exactly what you need to get started, you’ll be able to see how much you can invest into your business right now by comparing the prices of everything. 

If you cannot invest into your business right away, it’s perfectly fine to take the time to start saving up for what you need. You can also try to buy the bare minimum for now until you are able to start bringing money into your crafting business. You can also consider a small business loan or business credit cards if you need help getting things up and running, but I wouldn’t recommend starting your business with a debt that is owed. If at all possible, try to purchase everything you can with your own money because it will be less stressful in the long run. You will feel a lot of pressure to sell things when you owe money to someone else, and this can suck all the fun out of starting up a business.

A quick tip about buying supplies and materials that I recommend is to check wholesale and resale stores. If you can buy your materials in bulk from a company, you will generally save more money. Some businesses will require that you have a tax ID, which you can set up through the IRS. I will discuss this in greater detail soon. Buying anything you need in bulk is an awesome idea, but you’ll also need to be sure you have the space to store it. 

Create a Work Space

This leads to the next point: you will need a solid work space. This can be difficult for people who hardly have any space in their home to begin with. Brainstorm a room or area in your house that can double as a work space. Some crafters have no other choice but to take over their dining room or living room to get things started, whereas others are fortunate enough to have an extra room or garage to dedicate to their business space. If you have the money to spend, you can also purchase a shed to turn into a business area in your back yard or you can even pay rent to start up a store front in your nearby town or mall. I suggest to start with what you have, and work your way up to a bigger space later if you need it. For now, just dedicate an area for workspace only so that you can start to keep everything organized.

Shipping and Packaging

Another investment you’ll want to consider at this point is in shipping and packaging supplies. If you know exactly what size the items you make are, you can start looking at the most economical way to package and ship them. You may only need poly mailers to get started, or you might consider getting into contact with a company to get custom boxes made. You can figure out the price to ship your items later when you actually get things rolling, but it’s a good idea to have on hand what you need to ship anything you make. Consider things like bubble wrap, a scale, tissue paper, packaging tape and a label maker for printing shipping labels. 

To really make your business stand out, consider investing in stickers to put on your packaging that go with the branding of your small business. Putting stickers with sayings like “thank you for shopping my small business” or stickers with your logo on your package can make your business really stand out from the competition and it makes you look more professional. Your customers are more likely to return if you take the time to make everything look really nice. 

Other Considerations

Not only will you need to invest in the supplies and materials to get your craft business up and running, but you should also consider purchasing classes that may help you in the long run with your business. You can take classes online or in person for just about anything you can think of whether it’s to learn graphic design skills, additional business skills or new software that you’ll need to run your business.

A few other things to consider when investing in your business are the cost of hiring employees or help like a babysitter, buying signs, banners, displays, t-shirts and even business cards, and the cost to promote and advertise your business. There may also be other miscellaneous things you’ll need to purchase so it’s important to do a brainstorm session so that you don’t forget anything. Being able to see exactly how much money you need to invest into your crafting business will help you greatly in the long run because you’ll see how much profit you’ll need to make your money back and it will help you to get a good idea of what it’s going to cost you up front. 

After you’ve invested into your business, be sure to keep track of all your expenses. Save every receipt because you can use them as tax write offs the following year. Also, keep track of what you spend in a log book so that you can compare prices later when you buy supplies and materials so that you know if you’re getting a great deal.

You may not be able to invest into everything you need all at once. Everyone has to start somewhere. Get by with the bare minimum right now, and as your business brings money in, reinvest it back into your business.