To want to grow my Craft Business

[speakout]

I make and sell craft items. At a stage where I need help to grow my business but unsure where to turn. I need website, branding etc. Will all that be expensive?

I have my own craft business and even with digital products didn't make anywhere near that! So well done that's amazing!

Hello OP, will PM you as this is what I do for a living - help to grow small independent craft businesses with a small budget :) so happy to give you some tips

As a PP has said, you've done really well in two years for that much profit, sounds like whatever your business is it has a lot of potential - it's quite hard to establish yourself and make a decent profit early on in your business in the craft industry.

£55k profit on an £80k turnover sounds too good to be true, tbh.
I am assuming this is gross profit, not net?
I would also assume that you are working out your 'profit' by working out the difference between the cost of the raw materials and your selling price?
If you keep your business at the level you are now, this is fine and gives you a good income.
To grow, it depends on whether you want to just make more of the same (although you sound as if you are at capacity now) or manage growth.
If you want to scale up to a bigger business, you will need to factor in a lot more than the cost of a website
How are you going to fulfil these orders? Staff? (Wages, NI, PAYE, pension)? Where will you store your raw materials and finished stock? (Rent, rates, utilities, insurance). You will also need to factor in a wage for yourself, because once you have all of these other commitments, you will not just be able to dip into your profits when you need to.
£80k is also edging towards the VAT threshold - will your products stand an additional 20% on their selling price or will your margins stand up to losing 20%?

Thanks nurse.

No family help.

You can take courses in branding and social media.
But what it essentially research to make sure your brand name stands out, develop a signature style, use Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Interact with people (not always pushing the brand more than 1 in 6 posts). Post on social media at least once a day, scheduling posts if needed. Make it easy for people to buy from you and find you (test drive website with non tech savvy people). Use hashtags.

I’m another who thinks you should pay someone to do the website and expansion for you.

What is your craft?

Archchancellor, a WordPress blog is a very different beast to a WordPress website. A WordPress website can be straightforward too, but for a business that's selling theres a lot more to be aware of.

With 55k profit, I'd be hiring someone to do the website. Your time will be better spent on doing things that make money.

Thanks

Just wanted to add - my friend is in online marketing and she’s seeing a real shift away from advertising through social media (as in, scheduled posts etc not paying for advertising space), she reckons the MLMs have killed it.

What’s your craft?

Sorry, just realised I’d already asked what your craft was, guess you’re keeping it under wraps!

Pumper, I’d be interested to know where the shift is going? Though understand if you don’t want to say.

I’m finding social media almost unusable because of sponsored posts etc. I personally don’t find Facebook an effective marketing tool for business in the way it was about four years ago.

It's OK I don't mind saying.

It's pagan/wiccan themed- kits. candles, incense, charms etc.

Hungry sorry but I don’t know! It’s my friends work, we were talking about it a few weeks ago because I feel the same as you, every second person on Facebook is now trying to sell me stuff - and she said they were noticing that at work too, that people are wise to it now and it’s not as effective as it once was.

If you're making that much profit, pay a graphic designer to do proper branding for you - with branding you get what you pay for. Once you have decent branding a website will be much easier - you can build a free one yourself but it will take a lot of time and may not look great. Best to find a web developer who will build you a site based on a framework since that will be the quickest option.

Thanks anyway Pumper. I’m back on the self employment bandwagon and struggling because you need a social media presence but getting the ‘right’ Engagement is difficult.

I've no social media presence at all. Maybe something to think about for the future.

Set a Facebook page, step one..... share it with friends etc and have them share it.

Plenty of logo designers etc on Etsy so that’s easy done or use something like WordSwag to create a simple typography logo.

Instagram is great for advertising products... but you need to link back to a website. Wordpress is easy to set up and reasonable cost wise plus you can easy find someone who designs Wordpress sites (Etsy again)

Have you looked locally also. Do you have local woo woo shops (places that sell crystals etc) that would stock your product?

I imagine if you are selling that much via eBay and amazon you are spending a lot on transactions fees?
Would selling from your own site save you money? Then pay a good website develop to build you a great website with great SEO.

X

I follow quite a few small independent businesses on Twitter. I'm more likely to buy from the ones who talk about their day to day lives, and engage with people who talk to them. I'm much less likely to bother with them if all they post are marketing posts and they never chat to others.

You do need a social media presence though. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are the absolute must haves.

The Design Trust has a very helpful website with lots of free resources.

Thanks some really helpful advice.

It has really helped me to clarify things.

In the long term social media is the way to go, but at the moment I am so deluged with orders that I really don't want to create any more.
My products are very profitable, this is not just a vanity project.
I am looking at ways of working smarter rather than harder.

Hidihihidiho no I don't supply locally, but do sell to a number of outlets in the US, Ireland and Japan. I also do contracts for pagan weddings, handfasting etc.

Outsource what you can to a virtual assistant. If something is outside your scope of expertise then pay someone to do it.... accounts, web design etc etc if you do it then the time it takes wil actually be costing you money x

I do need some help.

My elderly disabled mother lives with me, I am a carer, I also have two teenage kids. OH works very long hours and stays away a lot.
I have thought that domestic help would be a help, but my mother is freaking out about that.

She is threatening to leave home and already has her carrier bag packed - she said I would be s disgrace to the family .

Your DM is threatening to leave home if you get a cleaner?! Why?

Yes, she has a learning disability, ( not severe) She has been a surrendered wife all her life.
Last year I employed a couple of people to give my house a deep clean ( oven bathrooms etc_) I found her weeping at the bus stop.