Set up a craft business to make your hobby pay

The last year has been particularly challenging, with more people spending time at home than ever before.

If you have been inspired to take up craft projects during lockdown, and been busy creating personalised gifts for family and friends, setting up a craft business can be a great way to make your hobby pay – whether as a side project or a potential full-time business.

Craft and ‘artisanal’ goods are popular, both in the UK and abroad, but competition can be high. Make sure your products stand out from the crowd and are recognisably yours.

One way of doing this is to add customised labels to your products. For clothing and fabric creations, custom clothing labels can be designed and made to either sew or iron onto your creations to make them really stand out from a crowd.

You can even design your own iron on name labels for the kids school uniform, for when they return to school.

My friend makes handmade, bespoke teddy bears and she uses label tags, attached to their leg. It is a great form of advertising and if the item was bought as a gift, it points the recipient to the website, so they can recommend to their friends and family.

Your craft items might be beautiful, but marketing and selling your products creatively is perhaps the most important part of running your business.

There are lots of online opportunities for craft businesses. Etsy is the best-known craft ‘marketplace’, and lets you put yourself in front of customers who are already interested in craft products, but also consider Not On The Highstreet and even eBay to sell.

You can also set up your own online shop, or facebook selling page which can be done very cheaply – or even for free.

With restrictions hopefully being lifted soon, you will also see the return of craft fairs and local events, where you can introduce yourself to the local community and create a conversation about your products.

Have you considered setting up your own business thanks to lockdown?