Crafting A Business

This trio of crafts entrepreneurs has some good advice for those contemplating the same move from part-time hobby to full-time business.

Now that he has retrenched and come full circle back to the basement of his home, Stevens is focusing solely on wholesaling and selling his woven products at crafts shows and looking forward to a simpler future. "I know I can't do it all," he says, "so I would like to take advantage of [state-funded grants and loans from government agencies] and open another retail business. I would also like to build the wholesale side, and this time I would hire two to three people."

His hard-won advice? Take a chance, and don't let others dissuade you from trying. But be smart about it. If you plan to make the business your sole income source, "you should have a year's worth of income in the bank at least, so you have a cushion to fall back on," says Stevens.

As you build your business, be patient, counsels Soles. Don't get discouraged when you have a bad show. Talk to other crafters and get the names of good shows they have found, but also realize that a good show for one person may not be the right one for you.

Test-market your products first to evaluate consumer response, advises Gendron, who says she has stopped producing many of the items she loved because the public was not interested.

Combine all this with business know-how and a little entrepreneurial luck, and the hobby you've always loved might just make working on earth a heavenly delight.

This article was originally published in the March 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Crafting A Business.