A lot of creative hobbies produce items that a lot of other people actually willing to pay for. Why not convert this hobby into a business? Yeah, you heard it right!
If you’re into knitting, woodworking, quilting, crafting, or sewing – you could be making things in your free time that you can sell at a profit. Initially start with this as a side business, wait for your side business to get enough popularity to convert it into full time business.
If you want to see if your hobby can be converted into a profitable business, here are the steps you need to take.
Step 1: Market Research
To start, you need to confirm that there is public interest for the items you are selling. Search for your competitors and look around in your market to get a glimpse of what your competitors are offering. Spend some time search for people selling similar items.
Take a note of how much your competition is charging for their products, knowing how your competitor running their business helps in learning how to run yours.
Here you will know is it worthy to convert your hobby into a business or not. You many find price of your item is too low in comparison to the amount of time it takes to create that item, then your returns may not worth it.
Step 2: Determine your pricing
This is a tough step, you have to make a balance between how much people are willing to pay but at the same time, you are making a good money out of it so to worth making your hobby into business.
Research you have done in part 1 would help you in 1st part of this equation. Knowing prices of other people charges gives you an estimate what people are willing to pay. You should not aim lower end of your pricing, nor the higher end as brands with higher prices have put a lot more efforts and time in marking their products.
Decide your price somewhere between low and high ends.
Step 3: Brand name & logo design
It is a word or phrase people will recognize you and your products with. Its better if you can come up with brand name that communicates what you do. Brainstorm and google to see if your brand name is already taken or your brand name is unique. For logo design, it is the first thing that comes in mind of your customers, but you don’t have to worry, CreativeAlif offer you very flexible and affordable logo design packages.
Step 4: Purchase web hosting and register a domain
Either you move out and use traditional marketing methods to promote your new business or get a web presence and promote your products online. Your web presence will ultimately provide good results in long term and saves a ton of your advertising money. With your website you can promote your individual products or a category with just a few clicks. Your web presence will also increase customer’s trust level knowing you take things seriously.
Website hosting isn’t free but it also doesn’t cost much. See our affordable website hosting packages.
Step 5: Build your website
Hiring someone to build your professional website can elevate your brand image that can help you selling your products online. We promise, its not as costly as it sound, don’t believe us? checkout our website design packages.
Your website is your brand’s face to the world, so make it look good or get a help from a professional website designer.
Step 6: Promote
At this stage, you have your brand ready with your website and products now you need to let people know about it. Start promoting your business by creating a social media profile for your brand and promote it to your friends.
Overtime, if you wish to take your business to new horizons, start looking at future marketing methods like SEO, Content Writing and paid advertisement. To start, don’t get too deep with paid marketing methods, it can come later when you decide to grow your brand.
For now start focusing on delivering your initial orders, if everything went well, your customers will do so some of your brand promotion for you.