How to Start a Craft Store

Last Updated: February 17, 2020 References

Running a craft store can be a lucrative and rewarding business. It gives you a chance to teach others and be immersed in creativity. It's also possible to make a good living, since the craft industry is a billion dollar industry. A craft store is versatile; it can be run online, from your home, or from a retail location. You also have a choice of selling finished crafts, craft supplies, or a mixture of both. These are just some of the decisions you'll have to make when learning how to start a craft store.

Steps

1
Decide what to sell and how much you'll need to sell to make a profit. A craft store could sell products that you produce as well as crafts made by other artists. This could be purchased through a consignment program or wholesale. In addition, you could sell supplies and hold classes and craft parties. Study the competition in the area to see what is offered already and find a niche.^{[1]
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2
Start writing a business plan and a marketing plan to get a better understanding of your business and market and learn more about how to start a craft store. This can be as simple as a few pages or a complex document written by a professional, depending on your needs. If you plan to get investors or bank financing, detailed, standard plans will be needed.^{[2]
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3
Find the necessary space that you will need to run your craft store. For a home based store, you'll need a place to work and a place to store supplies and finished products. For a retail location, you'll need to purchase or rent a store that has a lot of foot traffic and enough square footage to display the products you want to sell. If you plan to run classes, you'll also need space for people to work. Ideally, there should be room to set up a space for children to play while their parents shop, without having to worry about them damaging merchandise or disturbing other shoppers.
4
Get an understanding of the administrative and financial tasks you'll need to take care of to run your business, including bookkeeping, inventory, accounting and advertising. Either learn how to take care of these tasks and prepare to do them, or prepare to hire someone who can.^{[3]
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5
Create a website or online store, depending on what you are going to sell and how you are going to sell it. To sell craft supplies, set up an online storefront and an eBay store. For finished products, set up your own website and storefronts on eBay and Etsy. For a brick and mortar location, a simple site that gives information about your store and its location is a good starting point. Be sure to register with Google, Google Places, and online directories related to your location and products. Keep an online presence with blogs, copy that is optimized for search engines, membership in forums and online press releases and articles. Advertising through Google is another way to gain an audience online.
6
Get all necessary licenses for your state, municipality or location. You'll also need a tax identification number for ordering wholesale products and paying taxes and applicable insurance for your store and items.^{[4]
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U.S. Small Business Administration
U.S. government agency focused on supporting small businesses
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7
Design a logo for your store, or hire someone to do it. This will be used on signage, stationery and website pages. Choose colors that will be used in website graphics and store fixtures and decoration.

Community Q&A

Question

My little brother and I are planning on opening a craft store just outside our house, how would this work outside?

Community Answer

You can advertise it just like you would advertise a lemonade stand. You could do this by making signs, posters, and flyers, and hanging them up all around your neighborhood. You could then set up the crafts on a table in your front yard.