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Having too many different types of products that have nothing to do with each other is a sure way to fail and to suffer from the dreaded “Dollar Store stigma”, so the real question is: how do you decide what you should sell?
I’m going to give you a framework to help you decide.
Think about a product you’re considering selling and follow the steps and you shall find your answer!
We are going to do this in 2 parts because there are 2 key ingredients to selling handmade online and making money from it:
We need to make sure that there is a demand for the particular product that you’re thinking of selling. I know it sounds a little bit obvious, but it’s crucial. Are people interested in what you want to sell? Are they searching for it? If no one is looking for it it’s going to be very hard to get enough traffic to your shop so you can actually make a sustainable income from it.
You can gauge interest by using a few practical tools (that are also mentioned in the free workbook):
Are there any competitors for your products? If so – great! Do they seem to be doing ok? Great! Most people fear competition, and yes, it can be scary, but it’s actually a good thing. It’s someone else testing your idea for you and saying: “hey, yes, there is a market for that, I’m doing okay here”.
Let me repeat: if there is NO competition it’s most likely a sign there is no demand for that type of products rather than you having a stroke of genius and inventing something no one thought of before.
Most categories of handmade products you’re considering selling will most likely never go out of fashion: people will always buy ceramics/pottery, they will always buy artwork and printables, they will always wear knits… and the list goes on.
What’s important (as long as you confirmed your idea with step 1 and 2) is less so the category of products you will make but what they will look like. That’s why if you’re asking yourself: “are mugs selling better than baby socks?” – honestly, it depends on what you make them look like! I wouldn’t worry about the trends in categories of products, in fact, if anything I would stay away from it – you want to have a business now and years from now.
Trends that DO matter:
To help you with your research, you can look at:
Summing up PART 1 – It’s important to make sure people are searching for your products to make sure you have visitors to your shop. Competition is a good thing. Research the trends rather than worrying about the category of product.
Grab this free workbook + decision grid!
This free workbook + decision grid will guide you through the decision process so you know exactly what handmade products you should sell.
While picking your products, you also want to look at which ones will be the most profitable. There are no bad products to sell online, but some products will be easier to sell at a higher profit margin and allow you to scale your business faster without working hours and hours and hours.
The first step is to actually ask a couple of personal questions, and the first one is: are you any good at it? As in: are you good enough at it to sell this craft professionally? I ask this question for two reasons: one is because if you want to make money from it you need to be able to offer a product that’s good quality. For example, I can create a wallet, but I’m sure the stitches would fall apart in a couple of months, and it wouldn’t really be sustainable as a business. I’m sure that if you’re reading this, you’re good at your craft, but I just wanted to remind you of that.
The second reason I ask is because the quicker you are at creating that product, the higher profit margin you’re going to make because it will take you less time and time is something that comes into the pricing equation as the labor cost.
The second question is even more personal: are you happy to focus on that product? You will make a lot of them so pick something you enjoy creating. Again, I feel like I’m stating the obvious, but there is no sustainable business if you can’t do it for the long term because you don’t enjoy it. If the answer is “yes!” – great, let’s keep going!
This is the last part, so congratulations on coming this far! If you are still stuck and unsure what you craft you should sell to make money online, let’s look at the profit potential of the products:
PHEW, that’s it my friend!
I hope these prompts and guidelines helped you decide which product you will be focusing on selling. Of course, it’s ok if you don’t score perfectly on everything, it’s just there to guide you. If you score badly on ALL though… please reconsider.
Don’t forget to download your Free Workbook + Decision Grid
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We acknowledge and give thanks to the Budawang and Yuin people, the Traditional Owners of the land we work and live on. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and elders past, present and emerging.
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“This video was so helpful!” Gave me alot to think about on my journey to starting my own shop! Thank you for your guidance!
Hello Viva, It’s lovely to know that our video has helped you! All the best in starting your shop! 🙂