Just wanted to start selling my crocheted items, art and hand made jewelry Mostly at artwalks/fairs/vendor events and online. I don’t know where or how to begin
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Your local branch of SCORE and SBDC could help.
The State of Texas would be happy to help you, too. Their list of things to do is geared towards bigger undertakings than yours, but the basic idea is the same.
As far as a business plan goes–you probably don’t need tons of info. Just make sure you know what your costs are, and keep track of how much money comes in.
Here are some things I learned the hard way. I hope my pain can be your gain:
- Before you make your first sale, set up a separate bank account specifically for your business. Deposit some of your own money to start. Then, all your revenue goes to that account and all your expenses come out of it–no exceptions.
- Get some kind of online bookkeeping thing (Quickbooks, Wave, Freshbooks, etc.) Before you even make your first sale, link that new bank account to your online bookkeeping. Once you start selling, keep up on categorizing your transactions.
- Once you’re off the ground and running, file your quarterly estimated taxes. Be generous in your estimations of your income. See an accountant if you have to. (I had to. It was worth every penny.)
- Set up your business name and URL as part of your marketing. Use Google Keywords to find out what terms people looking for your crafts use when they search. Come up with a few names that make it clear what you sell and include some of those key words. Then search for URLs with your prospective names and things close to your prospective names. Pick a name that has a URL that’s unclaimed and that’s unlikely to be mistaken for a different URL.
Good luck! Once you’re all set up, post a link here, so we can all see your stuff.