How To Start A Business & Make Money Selling Crocheted Items
If starting a business and making money by selling your crocheted items is one of your goals / resolutions in the new year, you’re in the right place. When I started thinking about actually turning my hobby into a business I had no idea where or really how to start.
Last year after months of careful research, I finally took the terrifying leap and registered my business with the IRS, and opened a business bank account.
Today, I wanted to share the resources that I found that have helped me to make a reasonable attempt at the whole business thing.
I still sometimes feel like I have no idea what I’m doing, but these resources have helped me a lot and to be honest still do.
Starting a business and making money by selling crochet can be as simple as opening an Etsy shop, but to grow and be successful there is a little bit more to it than that. For the purposes of this post, I’m assuming you have already thought about opening an Etsy shop (be sure to check out THIS post for some other options/alternatives). Maybe you already have and are looking to expand.
My Favorite Resources
Many of these resources will work for any kind of business, but most are more tailored to selling physical items rather, than running a blog/website.
**This post contains affiliate links, if you choose to buy something from this page, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. These help support the blog, and as always all thoughts & and opinions are my own.**
Creative Contracts – Legal Contracts
Lawyers are expensive (but necessary). When I started the process of making my business into a reality, I utilized Brittney Ratelle’s free Legally Legit Workbook, and blog posts. Brittney is an attorney who focuses on creative businesses as a guide.
She offers legal contract templates for pretty much any situation, but the Wholesale Retail Agreement and the Model Release contract bundle are some that can be very helpful for running a product based business (her free quiz is great for determining what ones you might need). She has a huge sale 2x a year, but you can get 15% all year round off using my code “yarnbending”).
A Crafty Concept – Patterns & Resources For Crochet Businesses
Ashley is a great source of information for starting and running a crochet business. Her social media calendar is a great resource (its available for free if you sign up for her email list, or you can buy a physical copy of it HERE). All of her patterns are easy to follow, modern + fun, and are typically best sellers at markets. Some of her most popular patterns include the wildly popular Claire Bun Beanie, and the Bittty Boho Bag. Alongside all of these, she has many great tips on how to market the finished items, as well as free printables.
Also, the Ash & Tay Facebook group is a great & free way to connect with other business owners.
Knotty Boss – Printable Labeling + Displays
Labeling is an important part of branding and making your pieces look professional. I’ve shared before how to create your own wrap labels, but if you’re not a graphic design wizard, you can find a lot of printables for different products in Knotty Boss’s Etsy shop. She also has some printables for displays such as coffee cups for cup cozies, printable heads for headbands and hats, and hands for gloves & mitts.
Taylor Lynn Crochet – Craft Fair Strategy
Like Ashley from A Crafty Concept, she offers crochet patterns and suggestions for items that sell well. If your focus is more on craft fairs and in person sales as opposed to online sales, Taylor has lots of helpful tips for craft fair displays, as well as tips for growing your crochet business on social media.
Lightroom – Photo Editing
I take all of my product and blog photos on my iPhone (which appalls some of my photographer friends). While Apple has some decent built in editing features available in the photos app, I run all of my photos through Lightroom. Lightroom is part of the Adobe suite and is like a simplified version of Photoshop. The best part is that it’s available for free in the App Store, with a premium paid version also available.
IRS Self-Employment Guides – Tax Information
For me (and I think most small business owners) figuring out taxes was and still is one of the most intimidating parts of staring a small business. For things likes this, I’m a big fan of going to the source. The IRS has many tutorials and guides specifically for small business owners and self employed individuals. You can also apply for an Employer Identification Number or EIN (which is sort of a business Social security number) for free on their site.
