What Should I Make And Sell?
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When I sit at my desk ready to work, the first question I ask myself is, “What should I make?” Choosing what to make and sell depends on a number of factors such as the time of the year, holidays, special occasions, who the recipient is, the complexity of the project, and how much it costs. With so many reasons to celebrate, there are always projects to make. Think about the 5 Ws when you begin crafting – Who, What, When, Where, Why?
Who?
Think about who the gift you’re making is for. Who do you normally shop for during the holidays and what kinds of things are these people usually interested in? Do they love pets, wine, their family, home decor, hunting, fishing, coffee, etc? Think about common interests that people have to help you choose the perfect design to put on your blank.
What?
What should you make for the person in question? Let’s think about Mother’s Day coming up. When I think of what I usually buy for my Mom for Mother’s day, I think of clothing and flowers. Instead of handing her a bouquet of flowers, make her a personalized flower pot with your kids hand prints on them! This will turn into a special keepsake for your Mom to cherish year after year. Flower pots also make adorable gifts for teachers!
To create a great gift, you need a great design and a blank to put it on. Creative Fabrica’s massive design library makes coming up with ideas a breeze. Pick your favorite SVG, pair it with one of these blanks, and start selling! I love Creative Fabrica’s ALL ACCESS plan. For a low monthly membership fee of $29/month, you gain unlimited access to ALL of their fonts, crafts, graphics, and embroidery projects. Type in a keyword like “wine” into their search bar and you’ll see page after page of project ideas. Check out this list of 30 of my favorite blanks to turn into one-of-a-kind gifts!
When?
What time of year is it and what holidays/special occasions are coming up? My best selling holidays are Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Christmas. I start holiday planning months in advance. For example, it’s March 10th right now and I’m currently selling Easter merchandise and will continue to until a week before Easter. I’m also brainstorming things I can make for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. I like to have 2-3 good projects for each holiday.
There’s many special occasions to create gifts for besides the main holidays. You have birthdays, weddings, graduations, new baby gifts, etc.
Where?
Now that you have a project in mind, where should you sell it? There are so many different places where you can sell things.
Your own website
Creating your own website is a great way to launch your business. With your own website, you won’t have to pay any sellers or listing fees like you do on other platforms such as Etsy. Having a website streamlines the order process, making it quick and efficient without the need for back and forth communication with potential buyers. They simply click an item in your store, type in the needed information, and pay. Learn more about how to create your own website here.
My favorite place to sell is on Facebook. With 2.5 BILLION monthly users, reaching customers is easier than ever. You can post to your own page, a business page you create, marketplace, for sale groups, town groups, etc. Encourage your friends and family to share your posts.
Etsy
Another great place to sell is on Etsy. As of 2019, more than 2.5 million sellers sold goods through the Etsy platform. Even more impressive than the amount of Etsy sellers is the amount of Etsy buyers. In 2019, 44.8 million buyers shopped on Etsy (https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/etsy-statistics/). Etsy does charge a variety of fees, such as listing fees and transaction fees. Read more about Etsy’s fees here. However, Etsy has millions of shoppers on their platform waiting to buy from you, making it a great place to sell!
Why?
This question is kind of a no brainer. Because you want to make money! Because you want to build your business! Because you want to be your own boss! Because you want to share your great products with the world! So what are you waiting for? Get started today!
