Maybe you’re skilled with a pair of knitting needles and can churn out a different scarf every couple of days. Maybe you are an expert with watercolours and can make stunning posters on weekends. Maybe you are great at finding damaged items online and flipping them so that they look brand-new.
Whatever your talent, you can make a profit off of it. All you need to do is find the right online platform to sell your goods.
Starting out Small:
You still have a full-time job to contend with, so you don’t have time to dedicate a lot of hours to selling your crafts. You don’t want to bite off more than you can chew and have to quit right after you start.
A good way to casually sell your crafts is to create an account on a selling platform. Etsy is a popular marketplace for a wide variety of crafters and artists. One small snag with this choice is that certain locations require you to register as a business before you open an Etsy shop and put your items up for sale.
If any legal requirements are too much of a hassle, you can always start an account on the selling platform eBay. As a new seller, you will be limited to a certain number of items to sell in the span of a month. So, you may only be allowed to sell five items a month until they approve you for more. The option could work well if you have a packed schedule because of your primary job, your studies or other responsibilities.
Looking for Something Bigger:
You don’t want to sell one or two items in a few weeks — you want to turn your hobby into a business. Ideally, you’d like to make enough money on the side to quit your current job and turn your crafting into a career.
If you want to start an online business, you should search through the top ecommerce sites in 2019 and see which one works best for you. If you’re not even sure where to begin, Shopify can help you through every single step of setting up and they have 24/7 customer support to answer questions. The platform WooCommerce will be more in your wheelhouse if you have any previous experience with creating or designing websites.
Don’t think of this plan as a complete daydream. Many successful business owners started off crafting in their basements and selling their creations online. For instance, the company Coal and Canary started selling their hand-poured candles at the local farmer’s market before growing their brand online. Now, their business is booming. Their candles are being placed in award show swag bags and glossy magazine spreads. Your goals are entirely possible!
Your hobby could be the key to your success. You can use your crafty items to make some extra cash on the weekends, or you could turn it into a full-blown online business. With the right platform, you could make a good living off of your knitting needles or your watercolours.