Start Your Own Arts and Crafts Business

Learn how to start your own arts and crafts business from a professional artist. This course helps you discover how to create a business identity, get into the best craft shows, design booths that draw customers, and price your work effectively.

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6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs
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Butler Community College

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Start Your Own Arts and Crafts Business

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Course code: acb

If you have an art or a craft and you dream about starting your own home-based or small business, this is the course for you! You will learn to start your own arts and crafts business from a professional artist. You will learn to create your own unique business identity, and discover what makes marketing in the arts and crafts business different from marketing in most other enterprises and find a sales approach the fits your personality.

You will learn how to find and get into the best craft shows, as well as design booths that really draw customers in. You will discover how to price your work effectively so you can set yourself up for success whether you are selling through craft shows, in galleries, online, or even in your own retail store.

What you will learn

  • Learn to design a workspace for increased productivity and safety
  • Learn what it takes to market your art or craft
  • Create a strategy using tried-and-true marketing tools
  • Learn how to get your craft products into the marketplace
  • Discover what insiders know about the best show and what you need to get into them
  • Learn ways to draw people into your booth and keep them there
  • Discover how to find teaching opportunities to share your craft with others as well as help you out financially

How you will benefit

  • Turn your hobby craft into a profitable business
  • Find the best craft shows and what it takes to get in them
  • Design and create a craft booth that will draw people in

How the course is taught

  • Instructor-Moderated or Self-Guided online course
  • 6 Weeks or 3 Months access
  • 24 course hours

You can't look into the future. Or can you? In this first lesson, you'll explore how to find your own niche within your chosen craft. Then, you'll learn about resources for spotting future trends and making your business a success!

You've heard the expression "It's all in a name." But how do you determine which business name tells the public what you're all about? In this lesson, you'll get some foolproof guidelines for choosing the name that's right for your business. You'll also learn how to secure your name and design a logo your customers will remember you by.

Claiming your own work space is thrilling and scary at the same time. In this lesson, you'll explore your options, from the home studio to the retail space. Most important of all, you'll learn the secret to choosing the right one for you.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to design your new work space for increased productivity and safety. The lesson will talk about setting up workstations, choosing work surfaces, lighting, organizing and storing craft supplies, and going green. Then, you'll learn how to buy your supplies in bulk to maximize your profit.

What makes marketing in the arts and crafts business different from marketing in most other enterprises? You'll know the secret when you finish this lesson. You'll also know how to create a marketing strategy to get the word out about your new business. How will you put this plan into action? With tried-and-true marketing tools you'll learn here too!

Figuring out how to price your work can feel like a mystery that might even stump Sherlock Holmes! If you aim too high, your products won't sell, and if you aim too low, you'll be out of business before you know it. In this lesson, you'll discover a formula for arriving at the best price while leaving yourself enough wiggle room to be flexible. You'll also learn how to protect your work through copyrights and through insuring your business against loss or damage.

Thinking of you-the-salesperson can sometimes make you-the-artist feel like you've been dropped into the Twilight Zone! But everyone has an inner salesperson. In this lesson, you'll find out how to see sales in a new light—one that meshes with your personality and creative integrity.

How do you get your craft products into the marketplace? In this lesson, you'll explore how to get your crafts into retail stores at wholesale prices, place your products on consignment, and approach galleries and develop long-term relationships with them.

Retail is competitive, and you have to know your stuff to succeed. Whether it's the ins-and-outs of how to sell retail through craft parties, or some of the principles of setting up your own retail store, it's in this lesson! You'll also learn how and where to sell retail to a worldwide market on the Internet.

There are thousands of craft shows every year, so how can you find the best (most lucrative) craft shows to be in? In this lesson, you'll learn what the insiders know: how to find the best shows and what you'll need to get into them. You'll also see how to plan the details of travel and lodging and get an idea of what to bring along to ensure a smooth craft show experience.

Once you're in a craft show, you'll need to pull those craft lovers out of the aisles and into your booth! In this lesson, you'll discover how to design booths and displays that draw people in and how to keep them there with compelling demonstrations, solid craft fair sales, and smart marketing techniques.

Teaching can be fulfilling both financially and emotionally, and it can also be a great marketing tool for the rest of your business! In this lesson, you'll learn how to find teaching opportunities, design your curriculum, and price and promote your class. By the end of this lesson, the final one, you'll have everything you need to approach your local craft supply store, art school, or continuing education department with a professional proposal for your class.

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and popular speaker at trade shows and small business events. Her business advice has been featured on CNBC, Food Network, and LiveWell Network; and her tips have been published in CNN Money, Entrepreneur, and Costco Connection. Shirley's passion for education inspires creative people to achieve their goals.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 8 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Instructor-Moderated: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.​

Self-Guided: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.​

Instructor-Moderated: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Guided: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Moderated: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.​

Self-Guided: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Moderated: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.​

Self-Guided: Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

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