Posted by on 10/18/2013 to
Crochet as a Business
Things to know before you start a crochet business
I get asked “I want to start a crochet business, what do I need to do first?” I know you think you asked a simple question, but you didn’t. You asked a HUGE question and the best answer I can give to that HUGE question is “It depends.”
That’s an answer that no one including my dog wants to hear, so let’s do some background work here first, because there are easier questions to answer and funny enough only you have the real answers.
What do you mean by business? Do you mean selling your finished crochet items? Do you want to be a
pattern writer? Do you want to be a designer? Do you want to be a contract
crocheter? Knowing what you want to do is the most important thing, and here’s
the deal, if you’ve never done something before then you might just want to try
it for a little bit to see if you really DO want to do that.
Don’t do anything because you think you “should” be doing it, that’s obligation or duty talking, and that is the way
creative people dry up and shrivel. Do things because they bring you joy and
everything else kind of happens around it.
Here are some top tips. . .
I
think the first and probably most important thing to remember is, don’t try and
do everything at once.
You
may have looked at other crochet businesses and thought that's what I need to
be doing but you will only find that you quickly become over-whelmed and
over-worked. Instead take a more relaxed approach and perhaps, sitting down
with a cup of coffee and a notebook, write down your strong points, what you
enjoy crocheting the most and start from there.
Start
thinking about your target market. You may want to do everything for everybody
but sometimes it’s best to just focus on one area, even better if no-one else
does much of it, such as boy's clothes or teen stuff. Start a folder on your
computer named ideas and start saving images on google of the things you like
or save items you like on Etsy for inspiration.
Once
you have your planned projects written down, start thinking about a name.
Perhaps this could be something personal to you, or related to the
items/patterns you wish to make. If you plan to move on to different things in
the future, think about if your brand will move on with you. Perhaps design a
logo if you have some technical skills.
You
don't need to worry about a website but it's a good idea to start setting up a
PayPal account if you don't already have one as hopefully you will want to take
payments. Open up some accounts on Ravelry and Etsy, these will also require a
PayPal account. And start a Facebook page if you haven’t done so already.
The
next step which I find is where most beginner crochet entrepreneurs are at is
they get this far but now they start worrying about how many Facebook likes
they have. Sadly these don't come over-night and people with lots of likes have
probably been around for quite a while and have worked up a good network around
the various social media sites.
Some
good tricks though to think about to get those numbers up is to promote free
patterns. Not everyone can afford to do this but it is an incentive for people
to join your page. You could sell patterns on Ravelry and say they are free on
your Facebook page if they like your page or offer discounts and coupons for
items you sell.
Show
off your work on other people's pages, share your ideas and thoughts on a blog,
tweet your thoughts and ideas on twitter and link everything to your Facebook
page.
But
when it comes down to it, Facebook isn’t the be all and end all. Your work is and the more you design and make and
show off, the more people will find you and the more likes you will get so get
working!
Photography
is another sore point I find. Many people assume they need a professional
photographer to show off their work. This is a fantastic opportunity but isn’t
necessary. It can also come with many pitfalls such as photographers taking
your work and not supplying you with images. Just get yourself a good camera,
find some natural sun light and work up your own photo shoots. You will be
amazed at how well you can do with just the basics. If you know of children or
babies then ask if you can take some photos with then. If you don't, perhaps
pick up some poly heads to show off your work, even dolls. The most important
thing to remember though is a good shot and sometimes just laying your
work down in a pretty setting is just enough, without the need for models.
There are hundreds and thousands of photos on Etsy that just show the product
without a model. The above picture is a fun way off showing off some wash
cloths, all types of objects can be used as props!
As
you build up your portfolio you will soon get used to how you want to work and
what works best for you. Do get ideas from other people's work but don't fret
about needing to copy everything they do. Think about your work, your style and
before you know it you will become one of those you use to envy.
Good
luck!
1 Comments
Denise
Date
10/19/2013
Great information. Thank you for sharing it.
Denise
Date
10/19/2013
Great information. Thank you for sharing it.