If you have questions about the craft industry or starting your own craft business or would like your website reviewed, drop us a line. Send your question or a link to your website to info@craftmillionaire.com. We might just answer your question or review your website on our blog.
15 Minute Craft- Robot Plushie
How fabulous is this? And just think...it only takes fifteen minutes to make. This great robot plushie is the brainchild of Kieu (pronounced "Q"), a Southern California artist who has a fascination with robots.
It starts with a felt strip cut into two equal squares. These two squares will act as the front and back of the robot. Join them together by pasting or sewing on three sides. Then, stuff. Then, seal the fourth side. Two smaller, more narrow pieces will act as the ears. You can also use a third more narrow patch as the month. Two string-like strips, crisscrossed, act as the nose. Then, cut two smalls circles out of felt patch of a different color. These will act as the eyes.
These fun little robots should cost between $3.00 and $5.00 to make and should retail for between $10.00 and $15.00 depending on the size. The dimensions of plushie featured are as follows:
- Width = 2.25" (5.72cm)
- Height = 4.25" (10.8cm)
- Thickness = 1" (2.54cm)
What's great about these little plushies is that they are easy and cheap to customize. With very little sewing skill, you can snaz up these little guys quickly.
Cost Saving Tip: Don't buy expensive stuffing material at the craft store. Stuff your plushie with material scraps or even paper scraps. It will be tons cheaper.
Visit Kieu's Etsy shop, Kieutie Pie, here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5335738
Photo Courtesy: Kieu 2009
Have a 15-minute Craft to share? Send it to info@craftmillionaire.com.
Got Some Time on Your Hands? How About Teaching a Workshop!
In this slow economy, you probably have more product than you know what to do with. So, how about volunteering your time to your local art or craft guild. Guilds are always looking for artisans to offer new and exciting classes. And though guilds don't often pay their teachers, the time you donate (translated to dollar value, of course) is tax deductible. Also, this is great way to learn about pricing and other aspects of the workshop industry.
Want to make money for teaching? Then, start your own workshop. Many community centers have small rooms that free or fairly cheap to reserve. Live in an apartment or condo? Try reserving the clubhouse. Usually, any deposit is fully refundable after the event is over.
The In-House Workshop
Some just prefer to hold their workshops in more familiar surroundings- home. Just grab some materials, a few light snacks and some punch (or libations) and you've got yourself a great art or craft club. And best of all, you already own the space. So, you won't have to pay any additional fees or deposits.
But, be sure to start off pricing your workshop reasonably. You want to make certain that you attract a wide diversity of individuals. Also, choose arts or crafts that are just right: not too simple and not too complicated. Remember, you want to keep the group engaged, but not frustrated.
Plan for a group of 5 people initially. That number should grow to 8-12 within a few cycles. And be certain to review your home owners or renters insurance policy to be certain that it covers or protects individuals in your home for such purposes in case of injury.
Have plenty of supplies handy. But, don't use your premium materials just because you happen to have some left over. Remember that these are amateurs. So, they will likely make tons of mistakes. You want to use cheap materials since the items will most likely end up in the garbage.
Keep great accounting records for your taxes. And, always ask for payment in full for the complete course up front. Also, always provide participants with receipts.
Lastly, always remember that every person that you teach is a potential customer. So, always have lots of samples of your finest work on display.
MARKETING TIP ALERT: At the end of your in-house class, ask your patrons to go out and recommend your workshop to others. In exchange, offer a discount to anyone that they recommend who signs up for the course. This way, you turn happy patrons into marketing machines.
Blog Advertising- The Cheaper Alternative
Ever wondered how small businesses are able to afford advertising. Newspaper classifieds are seldom perused for 'new' items for sale. Magazine and journal advertising can cost thousands of dollars. TV advertising can cost even more.
Ever thought about blog advertising? Blog advertising is a cheap alternative to print or TV advertising. Sites like BlogAds and BuySellAds.com offer a wide range of ad offerings from the pricey to the downright cheap.
Feeling adventurous, browse your favorite arts, crafts and design blogs. Then, look for the 'Contact Us' or 'Advertise' link, usually found in the footer or in the menu. Then, check out their advertising costs. Most blog networks can be pricier. However, 'one-of' blogs are usually very reasonable. But, be sure to ask the blog owner how many impressions your blog ad will receive. In general terms, don't pay more than $25.00 for less 1000 impressions. Getting more impressions for that price? You're getting a good bargain.
Smart Tip Alert: Have your heart set on television advertising? Try your local cable station. Remember Wayne's World? Well, the truth is that those kinds of stations still operate. You can usually buy 15-30 minutes on your local cable channel for a few hundred dollars. Plus, cable providers are really suffering with the economy. So, they might be willing to negotiate.
Also, don't forget to check the AM talk radio stations. The smaller mom and pop owned stations are always have trouble filling ad space- or air space for that matter. Aside from commercial space, perhaps talk to them about hosting a monthly or quarterly craft show. It's not likely that they'll pay you. But, you'll develop a loyal following and who knows where it might lead.
15 Minute Craft- Coffee Sleeves
Got 15 minutes for the environment? Then, make coffee sleeves. What's great about making coffee sleeves to sell is that there are little or no rules. I've seen them made out of buttons, spare tires, old clothes, swatches of fabric, etc. Fun, huh?
The most important thing is not to use a really thin material. Remember, these must be functional. The point is to keep the coffee-sipper's hands from burning, while being fashionable of course. So, use multiple layers of material if you have to.
And, best of all, coffee sleeves are really hot right now (no pun intended). Not only are they quite fashionable, but you will find that they are very popular with the young, trendy and eco-friendly crowd. Just think of all of the coffee sleeves that we just throw away every day. Just by selling and encouraging the use of these reusable little gems, you'd be doing to something major for the environment.
The cost to make your own coffee sleeves rages from 50 cents to $4.00 per sleeve, depending on the material, plus the cost of your labor. Reusable coffee sleeves usually sell for $5 to $10 dollars depending on the durability of the material and complexity of the design.
Marketing Tip Alert: Cut a deal with your local mom & pop coffee shop. Ask them to sell your sleeves in their shop. In exchange, offer them a 10%-20% commission on each sale that they make.
Photo courtesy: Gifts 2 Give. You can see more at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6493921. G2G has some really awesome designs to inspire you.
Great Marketing Blog: InfoBen:Internet Marketing & Social Media Info, News & Tools
Heads up! From time to time, we'll feature some blogs that are not necessarily geared towards creative people, but really helpful in the business arena. After all, running a successful business is about balancing your right and left brain (your creative and your intellectual sides), isn't it?
So, here's a great blog about marketing on the internet and making social media (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) work for you. You can visit InfoBen at: http://infoben.iblogger.org/.
