How To Set Up A Craft Consignment Shop

If you’re looking to start a home based business, why not consider a consignment business by selling arts and craft items to the public on a commission basis.

There are many people who enjoy making crafts but do not know how to make money out of it. They either do not know how to sell or are too embarrassed to market their own creations. So these crafters would welcome any service to help them market their creations. And with you taking care of the promotion, they can devote more of their time and talents in creating more products.

How to start your business?

1.         Do the paperwork

            Get a license for your consignment business. Any consignment business is subject to sales tax. Make sure that you gather all necessary legal paperwork required to start your business.

2.         Set up your consignment shop

            There are many places where you can sell your consigned crafts. You can either rent a small building space or set up a booth at a craft fair, or maybe sell them online or on eBay. Setting up an online consignment store helps you save on monthly rent. You can set up a free online store within minutes with Weebly.

3.         Determine your commission

            You need to agree on your commission for each sale of the product with your consignors, which is usually between 20% - 40% based on the actual selling price. The consignors do not get paid until a product is sold.

4.         Draw up a contract

Once you and your potential consignors have agreed on the figures that both of you are comfortable with, draw up a contract that both you and each of the consignors will sign. You may want to list down the following terms and conditions in your contract:-

-     the consignment commission percentage (x% to you and x% to the consignor)

-     the length of time to sell the product (like 30 days)

-     whether products can be returned if they are not selling or donated to charity at the end of the consignment period

-     how and when to pay the consignor

5.         Market your consignment business

Start advertising your business. Let people know about your new consignment business. Prepare flyers and distribute them to neighbours and friends. You may also want to consider starting a blog and write articles about the products that you are selling, Show pictures of products available for sale and post regular offers to highlight products within your shop. Direct them to your shop or online store.

Besides helping to sell other people’s crafts, you can at the same time create your own craft during your spare time. Don’t think that crafts are the only thing that you can sell when doing this type of business.  In fact, you can sell whatever products that are available and which are in demand in your area. Other product possibilities that can be included in your consignment business are antiques, stationeries and food products such as cookies, candies, chocolate, homemade jams etc.

You might also be interested in: 10 Homebased Business Ideas (Part 1)

Why Should You Start A Home Based Business

If you are one of the many who have the interest of starting a home based business, then read on to find out what are the benefits of starting a home based business.

Benefits of starting a home based business:

1.         Gaining Personal Freedom

            Having a home based business gives you personal freedom to do whatever you like. You can set your own deadlines and your own schedule of work and able to move around freely at your own time. You will also gain those extra hours for your own personal life. Besides that, there are no bosses to boss you around and no one to answer to. You have complete control of your own work and you can even take a day off whenever you want to.

2.         Convenience

You get to work in the comfort of your own home which is very convenient. You don’t have to leave the house very early in the morning and get caught in a traffic jam to and from work. You determine the amount of hours you want to work and at any time of the day.

3          More Time To Spend With Your Family And Friends

            With your home based business, you can now have more time to spend with your family and friends. This is probably the reason why so many people are now seeking a home based business opportunity. You can be very close to your loved ones and still get your work done. For a woman, she can stay home to raise her children and still earn an income.

4.         Save Costs and Expenses

It doesn’t cost much to start a home based business and some can even start with no initial capital at all. One great advantage is that you don’t have to pay for an office space when you can work from home for free. With that, you get to save on monthly rent. Moreover, with less traveling every day, you get to save on petrol and car maintenance. And with less money involved, you are able to drive your business to greater success.

5.         Keeping What You Earn

Running your own home based business lets you set your own fees/prices to keep up with the cost of living. Whatever you earn from your home based business, you get to keep 100% of the profit from all your hard work. The more hard work you put in, the more you will earn.

6.         Tax Benefits

            Many of the expenses incurred which involved running of your home based business are tax deductible. So in a way, you are able to save thousands of dollars a year on your tax bill which means more money in your pocket.

There are many more reasons to start a home based business but I hope I have given you some food for thought. All that is left now is for you to decide on what is the right business for you.

I wish you the best in your journey towards the perfect home based business for you.

You might also be interested in:
- How To Start A Home Tutoring Business
- 10 Homebased Business Ideas (Part 1)

10 Hobbies That Could Make Money

If you are planning on starting a business and don't have a lot of money to invest in a full-time business, no need to worry. Just use your favorite hobby as the base of your business and grow from there!

A hobby is an activity or an interest that you enjoy doing in your leisure time and you can turn that hobby into a profitable business. Any business that you decide to do should involve the things that you love doing the most and that you are passionate about.

Here is a list of hobbies that can easily be turned into a money making business.

1.         Photographing

If you love taking pictures, then why not start your own photography business? Set up a small studio in your home or take photos at weddings or special events.

2.         Jewelry making

Most women are passionate about making jewelries. If you are one of them, then why not start a jewelry business? Etsy is a great site to sell all your handmade jewelries. Or perhaps you can create your own online jewelry store. Just add some good photos to your site and don’t forget to include the shipping charges in your pricing.

3.         Crafting

            Start selling your craft to earn an income. Or maybe hold a craft class to teach children or adult age groups who are interested in making crafts.

4.         Cross-stitching

            Sell your cross-stitch. There are people who don’t know how to cross-stitch but likes buying the finished work.

5.         Knitting

            If you enjoy knitting very much, why not start a home-based knitting business? You can sell the items that you knit or even teach your skills to others who don’t know how to knit for a minimal fee.

6.         Cooking

Love cooking? You can:-

-     start a home-cooked meal delivery service for offices;

-     start a catering business for special events such as weddings, birthdays, conferences and anniversaries; or

-     sell your recipes in a simple booklet or ebook form.

7.         Baking

            If you love baking cakes and cookies, you can:-

            -     start a home bakery business;

            -     hold a baking class at your own home; or

            -     sell your recipes in a simple booklet or ebook form

8.         Playing musical instrument

            So you like playing the piano or the violin or maybe the guitar during your free time. Why not give music lessons?

9.         Exercising

            If you have been going for aerobics classes every week, why not become an instructor/instructress? Get yourself certified and become a qualified trainer.

10.      Sports

            If you are good in sports or games such as badminton/tennis or like to work out at the gym, you can become a coach or you may even become a personal trainer.

So, if you think you are an expert at some of the things mentioned above and that you enjoy doing at home or outdoors, it’s time to make them pay off for you!

You might also be interested in:

- 10 Homebased Business Ideas (Part 1)

- How A Stay-At-Home-Mom Can Make Money During School Break

- How To Build An Online Store With Weebly

How To Build An Online Store With Weebly

Looking for ways to sell your products online? Don’t know how to go about it? Try Weebly!

With Weebly, you don’t need to have any HTML knowledge. And the great thing about Weebly is that creating an online store is so easy and it is absolutely FREE!

To start off, you will need a Weebly account and a PayPal or Google Checkout account. You can click here to sign up for those accounts:-

1.         Weebly

2.         PayPal

3.         Google Checkout

Now here’s a step by step guide to create your online store with Weebly:-

1.         Once you have created your account with Weebly, log into your Weebly website. You will be able to see 4 tabs below the Weebly editor. Click on the Revenue tab.

2.         You can decide among the four product elements to display your products. Drag the element you like onto your page and see how your products will be displayed. If you don’t like what you see, simply delete it and start over again until you are contented with what you see.

3.         Once you drag the element onto your page, Weebly will prompt you to select your method of payment – either Paypal or Google Checkout. You will need to fill in certain information like your PayPal email address or your Google Checkout Merchant ID. So, be sure that you already have either one of those payment method accounts set up before proceeding with the setting up of your online store.

4.         Next, upload a picture by clicking on the blue “sample image” box. You can resize your image by clicking on the red mini box at the corner of the image and dragging it to the size that you want. You can also position your image whether on the right, left or centre.

5.         Type in your product name and the description of your product by clicking in the product area. The default price listed is $100, so you can enter the price of your product by typing over it.

Now all you need to do is to publish your site and you’re all set. A notification will be sent to you by your payment processor when someone makes a purchase.

Good luck with your sale!