#Ad – This is a collaborative post
Have you ever thought of ways to make a little income on the side of your main source of income?
I know I have, I’ve tried so many different approaches to things over the last few years. Some have worked, some haven’t and some have just been a short term approach to make money.
If you are into crafts and are tempted to make your own Etsy shop but unsure of design, then I may have the creative solution for you.
Design Bundles has a whole host of options on their site that will allow you to bring your creative project to life, with thousands of designs waiting to come to life in your own shop. A few years ago I had a circuit machine and this would have been the perfect site for me to create my designs, it would have saved me so much time too. With options for designs templates to use on mugs, t-shirts and so much more, this is perfect for those who were considering getting a little shop up and running but didn’t know where to start.
If you are looking to get into your own creative shop, here are a few things you need to consider before you take the plunge:
- Set up costs – Most businesses take a little investment at least to get started. Even things like blogging cost a little money to get them off the ground. When you are thinking of your business plan, you need to ensure you take into account all things such as website hosting, stock, capital investment in any machines you may need. I know it may seem a little overwhelming to begin with, however, trust me on this. You would rather find out a plan is not viable before you invest your hard-earned cash.
- Where are you planning to sell your designs – If this will be online, you will need to take into consideration things such as postage costs, packaging and even costs of hosting your site. If you decide to sell on a marketplace such as Etsy or eBay you will need to remember the costs that they charge per sale.
- Design option – As I have said Design Bundles offer a great selection of designs for all sorts of things, this could take some of the efforts from you. For example, if you are looking to sell a range of mugs with inspirational quotes, you could get the designs from Design Bundles. Then using this design you could use your Cricut machine to cut, then you just need to do the final assembly before posting out your new product. If you are unsure of how things may look, before investing in the design you are able to get a mug mockup. If you are not looking for mugs but maybe things such as t-shirt designs to do, there are options for a mockup of these too.
- Stock storage – Lots of times I have had a great idea but then had second thoughts when I have looked at the options for stock storage. At one point I was using my Cricut machine to make some gorgeous Christmas lights using glass blocks. However, I stumbled across a small problem of storage! Not only storing the glass blocks but also the materials to make and pack my blocks. If like me storage is an option, you could consider drop-shipping your items. You can read more about dropshipping here. One thing to consider on dropshipping though is Etsy does not allow dropshipping on their site, so if you intend to start a business with dropshipping.
- You can even create your own designs with beautiful fonts for free. Some platforms, such as Creative Fabrica, even offer freebies that come with a commercial license. That’s amazing, right?
I know that it can all seem a little daunting at first when you are looking to go into business, but don’t let it put you off. Working for yourself can be such a rewarding time and can open so many doors that working for someone else can not. However, I always say to people to work smarter not harder.
If you are able to outsource some of the work and the cost adds up to the time saved, then do it. It is not something to be ashamed of when you outsource some support. For example, if the cost of you arranging dropshipping saves time on packaging and postage, that time can be reinvested back into marketing or brand building.
I would love to know if you have a craft shop or hobby that makes you a little bit of income, it is always something I really would have liked to do however the practical side of it did not stack up around my other commitments.
