Over the years many people
helped me out as I was starting my crafts
business. Whether it was
helping to keep my craft booth from blowing away in the middle
of the night, or giving me advice on the best way to display items. All
was greatly appreciated and this book is a way for me to give a little
back to the craft community.

Our crafts are hard enough by themselves. Let alone all the background
stuff that goes into a business. My suggestions in the book take into
account over 20 years of experience. Many things that I originally
opted for doing myself, but later found it was actually more economical
to pay people to do.

Crafters and artisans typically try to do everything themselves, after
all we are handy people. Our crafts business dictate that we have many
skills to
make our final products. So it seems only logical that we do everything
with our business as well. The truth is that there are many people that
have the skills to help us for very little cost.

The topics in the Ebook are not specific to one type of craft but deal
with common topics universal to all crafts.

Lets take a brief look at each one of the chapters in the Ebook

Introduction

This gives a brief overview of who I am and the struggles with my craft
(blacksmithing) which is not a high demand craft so has to be marketed
carefully and ingeniously. I also introduce the concepts covered in the
ebook.

Retail

Retail is the back bone of the craft industry. I discuss operating your
own retail store, gallery, studio, indoor and outdoor craft shows. I
explain how to qualify your customer, and how this can save you time
and dollars. Especially at a craft show.

Wholesale

Wholesale is a viable alternative to retail and has much fewer hassles
associated with it. You do sacrifice  some money to have the
reduced problems. I discuss finding and setting up for wholesale trade
shows. (This is a very different beast than a retail craft show.)

In this chapter I also discuss consignment which is another type of
wholesale. How to avoid losing your merchandise if your consignment
store happens to go out of business.

Custom Work

Cutom work is working one on one with the customer to create exactly
what they want. You could be making a stained glass piece to fit a
space and their decor, or custom wood table, the options are endless.
Custom work requires extreme consideration of the customers needs and
finances. Contracts are also important to protect you and your customer.

I also discuss what you can do if you recieve a bad check. This refers
to the other catagories as well.

Teaching Your Craft

Once you become proficient with your craft you may opt for teaching.
This can be both lucrative and rewarding as you help people become
proficient working with you medium.

Advertising

Advertising in one form or another is what drives our income. It may be
face to face, word of mouth, or an internet presence and many others.
Which ones have I found to be right for the crafts market. As a
subsection of advertising I discuss in some detail photography and how
important it is for your advertising.

Book Keeping

Book Keeping is no-ones favorite job but it is an incredibly important
part of your business. I explain how I set up my books and record the
items and their various categories. I also describe when and how you
should use an accountant. Taxes and keep sanity dealing with the
government.

General Tips

These are just a miriad of information I have picked up ove the years
that will help you do things faster and more cost effective. It is OK
to pay for some things that you would struggle with for hours.