You love to paint, create crafts or jewelry, or write and everyone loves your creativity. Turning your hobby into a viable small business is not as difficult as you might think. With these easy steps, you can be on your way to entrepreneurship.
You know your creative work and how long it takes you to produce your products. Whether you are an artist, a jewelry maker or any other type of creative artist, turning your hobby into your business can happen in just a few steps without a whole lot of investment capital.
The first thing you need to do is create a business plan. Your business plan should include an analysis of your region where you will be selling your creative work, whether online or in your region. Your business plan should look at who is buying similar products and services, how much your competitors charge for those creative goods and services, and how you can get your piece of the pie.
You will want to decide on what your business will look like. Many hobbyists turn their creativity into a sole proprietorship, even though it may not be the most beneficial model. It is the easiest model for the small business owner. Other business model examples include LLC or a corporation. Only you can decide which business model works best for what you plan to do.
Be sure to set up your taxes properly. If you are a sole proprietorship, then you simply use your social security number to file your taxes. If you choose to incorporate, you will need an EIN, provided free from the IRS. Another aspect to consider if you are not using your legal name in your new business is to obtain a fictitious name.
You will want a website to showcase your art, handmade items, crafts and even samples of your writing if you are a writer. You can choose a ready made store front platform or build your own site. Turning your hobby into a viable small business is not difficult and an online presence will help get your creative work noticed and purchased.
Now that you have yourself situated as a new business, whether you are promoting yourself locally or nationally, it is time to get advertising. There are inexpensive ways of advertising that you can take advantage of. Placing your items on consignment is usually a good way to sell locally and is a form of advertising your business. Make certain all of your business contact information is on the price tag. Getting your website noticed is the way to sell nationally. There are paid ads you can place, affiliate channels and other forms of advertising that could cost more than you want to spend. Look into advertising costs and options carefully. One of the cheapest ways to advertise is SEO. SEO is a free way to get your site noticed in the search engines.
The main thing is to get your creative product out there, whether you place your paintings in a cafe, your handmade jewelry and crafts on consignment, or whether you work it online with a website, you are now a small business owner doing what you love most.
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