Handmade Cards - The Business End of a Hobby

The summer break is well past the half way point so I thought I'd update you on my progress through my To Do List shared in my previous post Setting Up A Home Business. The lightbox is made and ready for use. I've measured and begun writing descriptions for cards that will be listed such as the ones featured in this post.

The theme of these cards was the colour purple on the day I made them. I have a pack of coordinating papers, peel-offs and other embellishments in a variety of colours. Although I was excited when the pack arrived, when it came to making something I got stuck on one colour. Still I am quite pleased with the way they turned out. Planning to make another one or two cards to form a set of purple cards.

If you read my previous post you will already know that I am planning to use Folksy to set up my online shop. A useful series of posts can be found on the Folksy blog called Shop Front. The post last week was on writing descriptions. It is informative on essentials such as knowing about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and writing the "power paragraph".  There is a another post that goes into explaining SEO and choosing titles for items and this week it is about listing and time management. I am referring to the Shop Front series quite often as I work through my tasks.

One of the most daunting tasks I'm working through is pricing handmade cards. The most common word I've seen used to describe pricing is 'tricky'. Crunching numbers was never my favourite activity but I am focused enough to know it'll get easier. To work out the basics there are plenty of resources to help. This includes stuff recommended and referred to in Setting Up A Home Business and a book I bought earlier this year.

The little book fits in the average handbag so it is easy to carry everywhere. Crafty Superstar, written by Grace Dobush for crafters who want to sell their products. The beautifully illustrated chapters feature comments and guidance from a variety of handmade craft superstars.It is focused on the US but there is useful information for crafters regardless of location. My copy is well thumbed with underlining, especially in the chapter on pricing.

On that I am making good progress. Using all the information found in the little book and online, from blogs, forums and craft buddies, I've learnt how to cost my materials, labour etc for my handmade cards. I have to work at numbers as my brain has a tendency to try and shut down when faced with a lot of division and multiplication even with a calculator in hand. It took some effort which makes the creation of costing spreadsheets and another for my accounts a very satisfying achievement.

Experiencing difficulties certainly forces anyone to consider their purpose in pursuing any ambition. After all I could just continue to make cards for friends and family and take life easy. Why bother with accounts, spreadsheets, listing fees and so on? First of all I believe I can offer something different in my art and design. Plus I want to see if I can sell my cards as friends and family have encouraged. Times though are hard for everyone and besides the hope of selling my crafts I believe that this activity helps me in more ways less obvious than a possible income.

I am learning and developing new skills working on a project that I can continue as long as I wish whether I keep my day job or not. With all the cuts going on there are very few people who can feel secure in employment. Setting up and developing DivineChoice Creations into a home business gives me a purpose that is dependent on my decisions and control. If the worse comes to worst and redundancy becomes a reality, I have something to keep me happy, creative and is challenging enough to keep my brain ticking with a purpose. Plus I'd have more time to work on it. Every cloud... silver lining and all that.

Thanks for reading. Have a Great Week!