Maybe you started out knitting cardigans for the new babies in your own family, and then friends of friends started asking to buy them. Perhaps you started making birdhouses or wooden toys to relax and then discovered they were a handy little side-line. When you are really good at making something, people notice. Word gets out. And when you realize your crafts are in demand, it seems ridiculous not to take the next step and sell them.
Making and selling crafts from pottery to clothing is a great way to add to your income whether you are a student unable to take on a full-time job, a busy mum or dad who’d like a way to earn something while still caring for young children or a retiree with too much free time and not enough cash to indulge in all of your favourite pastimes. But how do you shift from making things for your own circle of friends and family to developing a real income from your talents?
First, you have to be confident you can produce your craft in a volume large enough to sell. Do you have the time? Maybe you can work on your crafts during the school holidays or when the little ones are in school.
Building up a volume of crafts to sell means two things:
You need to start buying supplies in bulk, which is usually cheaper for most materials.
You need to keep your growing inventory of craft items safe while they are waiting to be sold.
For both, you need secure storage. If you are making very small items such as earrings or greeting cards, it probably won’t be hard to find space in your home. But if you are making bookcases or Christmas wreaths, both the supplies and the finished products take up enough room that you might need to look for secure self-storage.
Of course, if this is your sideline and you are working on it at odd times, you need to make sure that the storage unit you choose is accessible when you need it. If you are making things that sell seasonally, such as garden furniture or Christmas decorations, you might not need rental storage year-round. In that case, you want to make sure you can rent the storage unit on a short-term basis for flexibility.
You don’t need to invest in a shop to earn extra income by selling your crafts. You can sell online via one of the sites dedicated to individual sales, or you can get your own website. You can consign your goods to retail shops locally and nationally. Or you can also sell your creations at farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals around the country.
If you need a secure self-storage solution without a long-term commitment in Dublin, Cork, Waterford or Belfast, U Store It can help.
