Craft displays are a fun, creative part of your handmade business. But before making any decisions about them, I recommend that you make a list of what you need from your overall display system.
That's what I did when I was struggling to devise the best way to show my handmade jewelry at the events I do. And as a result, I wound up with my perfect setup.
Here's what my craft displays need to do for me. Your needs will vary, depending on your craft and the events you do.
What I Need from My Craft Displays:
* Between jewelry-selling events, my display system must serve as storage for my jewelry inventory. My house is small, and I don't have space for storage containers plus displays.
* My entire craft display system needs to fit into a small part of my hall closet at home. It also needs to fit in my car (a Honda CRV). And there needs to be enough space left over in the car for my EZ-up tent and tent weights when I do outdoor shows.
* My craft displays need to be quick to set up and take down. At many of my venues, such as home parties, I can't expect to spend two or three hours setting up. I need to be fully set up in 30 minutes or less. And after the event, I need to be able to pack up quickly so the event host can get their space back to normal.
* My setup needs to be lightweight enough for me to carry myself, since I do most events alone. It also needs to be easy to take from my car to my booth and back again, without needing help.
* The craft display components have to be modular and adaptable for a variety of booth spaces, jewelry party homes, trunk show venues, private showings, etc. I need to be able to set up in a standard 10 x 10 foot booth as well as in the living room of a party host's tiny apartment.
* My craft displays need to look professional and enticing - but not distract customers' attention away from my jewelry (which is what I really want them to look at!).
* My system also needs to be a professional way to show my jewelry to shops and galleries, where the busy owner has a limited amount of time scheduled to see all of my work.
How My List Resulted in the Perfect Craft Displays for Me
Once I had my list of all the ways my system needs to serve me, it was easy to start narrowing down the options.
I based my system on black plastic jewelry trays with compartmented liners. I can load the trays with my jewelry, and then stack the trays inside carrying cases. For storage between events, I cover each trayful of jewelry with a cut-to-fit piece of no-tarnish cloth to keep my jewelry shiny.
For private jewelry showings and venues in small places, I simply pass the loaded trays one at a time to my customers, and we consider my pieces in small batches.
For shows, I use tiny, folding easels to prop my trays up off my tabletops, and angle them up for better viewing. When folded, the easels fit nicely inside the carrying cases on top of the trays.
Once you've got your list of what you need from your craft displays, you'll have the fun of devising exactly the right system for showcasing your handmade items.
Kamis, 31 Agustus 2017
Senin, 14 Agustus 2017
Starting Your Own Handmade Soap Wholesale Business
Now that you have mastered the art of soap making, it is time to start selling your soap. You can start with a wholesale or retail business but wholesale might be advisable for starters because there are lesser people to deal with. Starting your own handmade soap wholesale business should not be difficult and you can still earn a profit this way.
Soaps are a daily necessity for everyone and handmade soaps have the edge in the market because people can choose which type or kind of soap is good for them. If you can sell them at $5.00 on retail then you can sell them faster at $3.00 to $4.00 on wholesale and still make a handsome profit depending on your costs.
1. Make your business legit. If you are seriously thinking of selling your soaps then you should have your business registered and secure a business license or permit. Have your business cards ready because people would surely like to know how and where to get in touch with you.
2. Advertise your business. Even if you are going to sell your soaps on wholesale it is still best to advertise by giving out fliers or postcards with photos of your products professionally taken and laid out. These printed ads will help promote your soaps and give your probable customers a glimpse of your homemade soaps.
3. Price your soaps properly. Calculate the costs of all the ingredients you used for making a batch of your soaps including all other costs such as electricity and water. A basic sample computation goes this way: Total costs for a batch divided by the number of bars produced to get your cost per bar. From your cost per bar you can now determine how much you will price your soap at wholesale.
4. Save money in packaging. Selling your soap on wholesale may lessen your costs because usually those who buy on wholesale are the ones who do the packaging before they sell these soaps on retail. However, if you need to package your soaps you can use your calling cards as tags or labels and attach them to your soap bars with different colored ribbons.
5. Contact resellers. Do not limit yourself to selling your soaps to family and friends, craft fairs or walk-in customers even if you can make a sizable income from this. Go to resellers to whom you can sell on wholesale or you can go to soap stores who can carry your line of soaps on consignment. In this way you lessen your marketing costs and even if you sell at a lower price you get almost the same income based on the quantity you sell at one time.
6. Know your customers. Look for areas or places where people flock to get natural organic items. This crowd will cater to natural organic soaps and soap products and it will not be hard to sell to them because your homemade soaps are exactly what they are looking for.
7. Go online. Nowadays doing business online is the in thing and the cheapest way of setting up a business. You only need a domain name, an internet service provider and a simple website design which will display your soap products and you are on your way to answering your customers' needs. Get a free PayPal account and you will be able to transact and accept credit card payments.
8. Be honest and prompt. Be sure that you are always honest in your dealings with your customers and that you deliver the items requested on time. Even though how good your products are if your customers feel that they are being short changed by you or if you do not deliver on time then they will not continue to deal with you. Remember that reorders are the life of your business.
Although handmade soaps are more expensive than commercial soaps and are considered a luxury, people nowadays are staying away from the traditional soaps that we know of. Selling your soaps on wholesale will allow your customers to also apply their crafting skills to package these soaps as gifts to family and friends or as souvenir items during events like weddings or birthdays. Allowing your customers to enjoy your soaps by allowing them to buy them at cheaper but with quality prices will surely bring success to your business sooner than you expect.
Soaps are a daily necessity for everyone and handmade soaps have the edge in the market because people can choose which type or kind of soap is good for them. If you can sell them at $5.00 on retail then you can sell them faster at $3.00 to $4.00 on wholesale and still make a handsome profit depending on your costs.
1. Make your business legit. If you are seriously thinking of selling your soaps then you should have your business registered and secure a business license or permit. Have your business cards ready because people would surely like to know how and where to get in touch with you.
2. Advertise your business. Even if you are going to sell your soaps on wholesale it is still best to advertise by giving out fliers or postcards with photos of your products professionally taken and laid out. These printed ads will help promote your soaps and give your probable customers a glimpse of your homemade soaps.
3. Price your soaps properly. Calculate the costs of all the ingredients you used for making a batch of your soaps including all other costs such as electricity and water. A basic sample computation goes this way: Total costs for a batch divided by the number of bars produced to get your cost per bar. From your cost per bar you can now determine how much you will price your soap at wholesale.
4. Save money in packaging. Selling your soap on wholesale may lessen your costs because usually those who buy on wholesale are the ones who do the packaging before they sell these soaps on retail. However, if you need to package your soaps you can use your calling cards as tags or labels and attach them to your soap bars with different colored ribbons.
5. Contact resellers. Do not limit yourself to selling your soaps to family and friends, craft fairs or walk-in customers even if you can make a sizable income from this. Go to resellers to whom you can sell on wholesale or you can go to soap stores who can carry your line of soaps on consignment. In this way you lessen your marketing costs and even if you sell at a lower price you get almost the same income based on the quantity you sell at one time.
6. Know your customers. Look for areas or places where people flock to get natural organic items. This crowd will cater to natural organic soaps and soap products and it will not be hard to sell to them because your homemade soaps are exactly what they are looking for.
7. Go online. Nowadays doing business online is the in thing and the cheapest way of setting up a business. You only need a domain name, an internet service provider and a simple website design which will display your soap products and you are on your way to answering your customers' needs. Get a free PayPal account and you will be able to transact and accept credit card payments.
8. Be honest and prompt. Be sure that you are always honest in your dealings with your customers and that you deliver the items requested on time. Even though how good your products are if your customers feel that they are being short changed by you or if you do not deliver on time then they will not continue to deal with you. Remember that reorders are the life of your business.
Although handmade soaps are more expensive than commercial soaps and are considered a luxury, people nowadays are staying away from the traditional soaps that we know of. Selling your soaps on wholesale will allow your customers to also apply their crafting skills to package these soaps as gifts to family and friends or as souvenir items during events like weddings or birthdays. Allowing your customers to enjoy your soaps by allowing them to buy them at cheaper but with quality prices will surely bring success to your business sooner than you expect.
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