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It's a fairly simple concept: Take something you're goodat, and create a profitable business. Talented artisans are takingheed: According to the National Craft Association, the past threeyears have seen a steady 43 percent growth in the crafts industry,and sales of crafts and hobby products topped $10 billion in eachof those years. Entrepreneurs who create everything fromhandcrafted candles and jewelry to dolls and woodcarvings areseeing their sales soar.
Yet that very popularity often proves problematic. Handlinggrowth is difficult for all business owners--but more so forcraftspeople, whose businesses are based on their own creativetalents. How can you expand beyond your individual capacity whenyou're the only person qualified to create your product?"It's a huge issue for all businesses, but the transitionfrom being solo to being an employer is especially hard forcrafters," says Madeleine Homan, a business coach in DobbsFerry, New York, who works with creative businesses.
The secret is to delegate tasks to others so you have more timeto concentrate on growing your crafts business. The following sixsteps will help you learn what to delegate--and how:
1. Learn to let go. For many craftspeople,the most difficult part of the transition from going solo to owninga business is learning to let go of the production of their craftsso they can concentrate on activities that will grow the business,such as conducting market research and developing new products.After all, the success of a crafts business depends on theowner's unique style, and it's understandably difficult toturn over to others a craft that took years to develop.
One solution is to take baby steps by hiring workers to handleonly a small part of the production process. René Reiser,owner of Paradise Candles in Idaho Falls, Idaho, has threepart-time employees who are trained in certain parts of candleproduction, such as the final buffing of the candle. That way, someof the burden of meeting the increasing demand for her botanicalcandles is lifted, but she still controls the production process."The initial letting go is hard, but it gets easier andeasier," says the 35-year-old entrepreneur.
Jack Wolcott and his wife, Barbara, both 40, co-own Handcraftedby Jack and Barb Wolcott, a Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, company thatmakes yard ornaments, glass canisters, candle boxes, candy machinesand other crafts items. The company has two part-time employees,but because Jack, like many crafters, believes that buyers valuethe crafts for his unique style, he has employees do only the basicwork on the crafts, while he puts on the finishing touches. Forexample, he hired a worker to stain the wooden pieces, but hepaints the designs himself. Says Wolcott, "We'd bemisrepresenting ourselves if we sold something someone else hadpainted."
2. Hire the right employees--on a budget. Ifyou've decided to enlist assistants, you'll probablydiscover it's difficult to find employees you can trust withyour valuable product--especially on the tight budget thatconstrains most crafts businesses.
Your most obvious source of employees is your own household.Martin Hodge, owner of The Wooden Wheel and Crafts in Ithaca,Michigan, recruits his 12-year-old stepson to help clean and stainwood products when demand picks up. "Hiring family membersworks out well because they have more of an interest in yourbusiness than outsiders," says Hodge, 43. However, he warns,you must be clear about your expectations and the amount you canafford to pay so there are no misunderstandings.
If you're hiring workers to take over just one small part ofproduction, homemakers and students may be the way to go. Reiserhired one part-time worker through an organization that helpshomemakers get back on their feet after a divorce or otherhardship; her two other employees are local high school studentswho work just a few hours per week for minimum wage.
Jack Wolcott suggests finding workers through word-of-mouth."There are lots of people who do crafting but don't selltheir products," he says. "You can find out about them byasking around at crafts stores. You can also check out art schoolsfor students looking for work."
Nancy Koch, 46, owner of Brookhaven Designs Ltd. in Bethel Park,Pennsylvania, is another advocate of the word-of-mouth school ofhiring. Her seven-employee company produces fabric-covered keepsakeboxes. "Wherever I go," Koch says with a laugh, "Iask people if they can sew and use a glue gun."
3. Test their abilities. How do you know ifthat hard-working homemaker or smart high school student can handlea band saw or a paintbrush? Most crafters can't afford to hirefirst and ask questions later, so they rely on hands-on testing toseparate the handy from the hopeless.
"I don't use a written [job] application," saysKoch. "Instead, I show them how to perform a certain task,such as using a glue gun, and ask them to duplicate it. I can tella lot by the way people work with their hands."
Hodge, too, likes to see job candidates handle the equipmentbefore he hires them. "I can tell right away whether they knowhow to use [the tools]," he says. "A lot of people saythey have experience, but they really don't. There's notenough leeway in a crafts business's profit margin to messaround with employees who can't hit the groundrunning."
4. Train them well. Training employees toduplicate a style that took years to develop is another hurdle thecrafter with a growing business has to overcome. "Mostartisans are very particular about every detail and insist onperfection, especially because their name goes on theproduct," says Ann Barber, director of membership benefits atthe National Craft Association (NCA) in Rochester, New York."Some are also [leery of] teaching others their specifictechnique or trade style, which may have taken them years toperfect. Some consider their design techniques as sacred asCoca-Cola does [its] Coke recipe."
In the long run, however, training your employees to create yourproduct means you don't have to constantly supervisethem--which equals more time for you to plan your growth strategy."The key is training and trusting so you can move on,"says Koch.
Training is an ongoing process. "You have to communicateyour values to your employees early on, then continue to coach themand reinforce their goals," says Koch. "Make themunderstand how important their task is to the finishedproduct." Reinforcement is especially important if you'vehired relatively inexperienced workers due to cash constraints."What I think is easy isn't always so easy forothers," says Reiser. "[Sometimes] I'm under pressureand I think I can show my employees just once how to make a bow,but then they don't do it right, and I realize I need to trainthem more."
5. Job it out. If demand for your product isoutstripping your ability to supply it--and taking on new employeesisn't an option--consider hiring independent contractors forcertain aspects of the production. "Crafters you meet at showswho are talented but just starting to get into the business oftenneed extra cash," says Wolcott. "You can hire them assubcontractors." Wolcott saves time by contracting a localcrafter to cut the wood for his candle boxes; then he adds thedecorative touches himself with a scroll saw.
6. Take care of business. To succeed as acrafts entrepreneur, you need management ability, a vision for thefuture and technical skill. If you aren't adept in all threeareas, you must hire people who have the abilities you lack.
When the business starts growing, most craftspeople's firstthought is to hire someone to handle production, but this isn'tthe only way to go. "If your craft is of a type that, oncedesigned, can be easily reproduced, and you're comfortablehandling the business end, then [hiring employees to take care ofproduction] is a good option," says Barber at the NCA."More often, however, the success of the product depends onthe craftsmanship of the creator. In this case, [you're] betteroff hiring others to handle the business aspects."
Martin Hodge recognized this and hired a marketing manager, whoworks on commission, to drum up business while Hodge spends histime making crafts. "You can't mix sales andproduction," Hodge says. "I was losing money being on thephone selling all day." Hodge also has 12 wholesalers who sellhis product to retail stores.
Decide what you're best at; you can delegate the rest. Ifyou hire part-time workers to help with the crafts orcommission-based employees to do the selling, you can do it on abudget. With a little creative thinking, you can turn running abusiness into an art form of its own.
Linda Formichelli is a writer in Attleboro, Massachusetts.She can be reached at linda@tp.net.
Contact Sources
Brookhaven Designs Ltd., 3375 Industrial Blvd., BethelPark, PA 15102, (412) 854-0254
National Craft Association, 1945 Ridge Rd., #5178,Rochester, NY 14622, (800) 715-9594
Paradise Candles, P.O. Box 3570, Idaho Falls, ID 83403,(208) 522-2431
The Wooden Wheel and Crafts, (888) 359-9746, http://www.crafters.net/crafts/wheels
