[Nfb-krafters-korner] Starting a Business in Crafts

Sat Oct 2 21:19:44 UTC 2010

Hi Eleni,

Have you gone to any crafts shows in your area and checked out others who
are making and selling any or all of the products you want to sell?  How
much are they selling them for?

Do you know how much material it takes to make one item verses 10, 20 or 50?
Once you know how much material you need for one and for some larger number,
you can figure out your high and low costs for materials.  Keep in mind that
if it takes only a half cup of something to make the item and you have to
buy a gallon, then you can only consider 1 32nd of the cost for that one
item, and you will have to make 32 items before you can recover your costs.
Don't forget to include shipping, advertising, business license, permits,
and other such costs.  Then comes figuring out how much your time is worth.
As a beginner, it might take longer to produce each item, and with
experience production time might be reduced.  Is it possible to make more
then one product at a time, and would this reduce your production time, i.e.
3 hours to make one product burses 5 hours to make 3 items.  What percentage
of your profits are you able to put back into your business?  How much money
are you needing to be able to pay yourself.  Do you plan to be able to cover
your monthly living expenses?  If so, what peaks and valleys do you
anticipate seeing in your sales trends?

See if you can find any small business resources in your area.  Local
colleges & universities as well as your local Chambers of Commerce might be
able to help you, or at least point you in the right direction.  Don't limit
yourself to a business owned by a person with a disability.  There are
resources for small women owned businesses.

Good luck!
Annette

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eleni Vamvakari
Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2010 3:58 PM
To: nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Starting a Business in Crafts

Hello to everyone,

  I'm sorry that this is so long but I really am serious about this.
So hopefully, someone can help me.  As I stated in my introductory post, I'm
very much interested in starting my own business.  For now, I intend on
making soaps and candles but wish to eventually expand into baskets and
other wicker items like mats, toats and more, maybe even chair caning.  I
may even create other cosmetic products like shampoos and lotions.  I'm also
interested in making brooms and/or brushes but am not really sure what the
market is for those right now, since most people whom I know buy the
synthetic versions.  The first two seem the quickest, the cheapest and the
easiest.  So I've been asking questions of Joyce and she's been giving me
excellent advice about making candles and soaps, from places to get
materials to tips and tricks that I can use as a totally blind crafter.

  At any rate, I recently read that there is something called a plan for
achieving self-support (PASS) offered by Social Security.  The site
explaining all of this is here.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/11017.html

I receive SSI so am eligible to apply.  If they accept my plan, I can get
extra money to put towards my business.   I could use it to advance my
knowledge of these trades, particularly wicker working, for the materials to
make the soaps, candles, baskets etc., and maybe even the brooms, since the
supplies for the latter are extremely expensive.
 I could even use some money to go to local stores to buy my supplies so
that I can reduce the need to pay shipping.  if I desire.  But the process
for setting up the plan, filling out the form and especially for creating a
business plan, seems extremely difficult.  I can easily answer some of the
questions but others are confusing.  I need to know, for example, who my
customers will be.  I'm thinking some will be online consumers and others
might be found at craft shows.  If I get lucky, I might even sell to stores!
But I'm not sure right now.
I also need to know what my items and services will cost.  As I don't know
the amount of customers that I'll have nor the competitive prices, I can't
answer this accurately.  Then, they ask how I'll pay for it.  Isn't that
what this money is for, to get me started?  Of course, once I start making
an income, then I could use that to pay for supplies etc.  They also ask how
much I expect to make within the next four years.  How can I properly answer
this without having had the experience of selling these items and in an
economy that is in crisis?

  They say on the site to seek professional help.  So I've contacted my
vocational counselor from the New Jersey Comission of the Blind as well as
the woman who runs the local job club.  The latter is on holiday so hasn't
returned my e-mail and the former I will need to contact again on Monday,
since I haven't heard from him either.  But I was told that some of you have
had experience in this regard.  Would anyone here be able to help me with
formulating a plan or at least with some ideas as to how to get this
started?

  How much product should I buy for the first batch so that I can test the
waters but not be overwhelmed or underwhelmed with too much or too little?
Where are the best places to sell my things?  I've considered craft shows
but heard that these can be quite expensive to attend, and right now, I
don't have much money.  I know there's always EBay but I'm not sure how
popular these types of items are on there.
Craigslist seems like a good option, provided that I can ship the items to
my customers.  Etsy, I think, is overloaded with those kinds of things so I
really don't know how mine would sell when compared to others.  I'm still
seeking a mentor who works in basketry or at least advice as to which books,
tapes or videos are the most accessible to a totally blind basket weaver.
So any help there would be appreciated.

  Finally, last night, I came across something called the BOS (Blind Online
Success System) which is a free program teaching the basics of business
marketing.  They were mentioned by the ACB and by the APH, so I'm pretty
sure that they're not a scam.  Their site is here.

http://blindonlinesuccesssystem.com/info

Has anyone worked with them, and if so, is it worth it for me to do so given
my plans?

Thanks,
Eleni

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