Thursday, December 4, 2008

Finding a Market For Your Arts and Crafts Business in Florida

By Chris Blackerby

You already know that your arts and crafts hobby is a great opportunity for business. You've seen the colorful and specialized booths in Florida art fairs and festivals and decided that you can do it, too. However, if you're thinking of starting out a crafting business anytime soon, you would want to know the risks involved and how best to avoid them. Here are a few tips to make sure you don't get burnt out on your business' first few weeks.

The biggest market available for arts and crafts products would be trade shows and there are plenty of those in Florida. You're going to want to start out on small scales first and then move your way up. You should always check local community fairs and make sure that you don't miss one of them. This is a great opportunity for you to explore the market.

These trade shows are a great way to gain popularity for your products as well. If you give enough emphasis on the quality of your products, you can also walk in local gift shops and ask them to carry your handiwork. This is a good way to broaded your market and reach a lot more people and basically keeps you on top of the crafting business in your town.

Your friends and family are also a gerat way to spread the word about your new business. you can give out samples to them and ask them to show all their friends. Give out small souvenirs to neighbors and coworkers and you can be surprised where it will take you.

If you have enough money, you can try to get yourself advertised in local newspapers or magazines. Leave your contact number, the kinds of gift items you make, and the specialty gift shops which carry them.

If magazines aren't your thing, you can try opening a website for yourself. Your website is your shop on the internet so you have to leave enough information there for prospective customers. Be sure to leave your contact numbers or e-mail, and other information about your product that answers what you think you're customer might ask.

Another way to advertise over the internet are online mailing lists like Yahoo! Groups. These lists distribute e-mails to its members. A good thing about this is that most groups are specialized so you know you're not giving out Florida Craft Show information on a mailing list about dogs.

I can't stress enough that in these kinds of business, you need to start out small. Investing a big amount of money early on can bite you on your back. The most important thing you need to remember is to gather all information you can first about the market and the competition because this could save you a lot of time, effort and money. - 16089

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