Brabec - Creative Cash



	HomeBiz The Importance of Quality and Good Designs excerpted from: Creative Cash Chapter 2: Producing for Today’s Marketplace by Barbara Brabec Join our ParentTalk Support Group

	Barbara Brabec is one of the world’s leading experts on how to turn an art or crafts hobby into a profitable home-based business. She regularly communicates with thousands of creative people through her websites at www.barbarabrabec.com Here is an excerpt from Creative Cash.... Excerpt from Creative Cash reprinted by permission of the author Š1998 by Barbara Brabec. May not be reproduced without the expressed written permission of the author. The road to success must start with the entrepreneurial spirit and a strong belief in yourself. Always be eager to read, to learn, to do, to see, to go….to advance yourself and build on your intelligence. Pamela Spinazzola, Pamela’s Studio One Emphasis on high quality Retail and Wholesale buyers alike place a lot of emphasis on high quality. The dictionary defines quality as "a peculiar and essential character; an inherent feature; superiority in kind; a distinguishing attribute," but what constitutes "quality" in handmade products? You’ll get varying answers from different people, just as you would if you were to ask them if something was expensive. That which seems expensive to me might be cheap at half the price to you or vice versa. Thus the word "quality" will mean one thing to a New York gallery owner who sells designer crafts, and something else entirely to a small town shop owner who sells a variety of local handmades. Beware of Opportunity Ads Regardless of how well they are made, products assembled from kits and certain hobbycraft materials have little or no comercial value and are unlikely to sell outside the realm of church bazaars, boutiques, or consignment shops. (In particular, that includes all those "product kits" the mail order scam artists are offering. Many readers have told me about all the time and money they lost when they answered such ads. Create your own market niche: Be different Accept in the beginning that you cannot successfully sell the same kind of products that average individuals can make themselves. You may be able to work in the same art or craft mediums and use the same kind of raw materials; but to successfully compete with the thousands of professional artists and crafters out there today You must offer products that are original in design or at least different from what everyone else is making and trying to sell. When you look around at what’s being offered for sale at craft fairs, shops and craft malls, you will notice that many people are trying to sell the same kind of products being made by the majority of the population as a hobby. According to the HIA, most craft hobbyists are involved in several different activities, with the highest percentage involved (in this order) in: (1) cross-stitch and embroidery; (2)crocheting; (3) apparel and fashion sewing; (4) crafts sewing; (5) cake decorating or candy making; (6) needlepoint; (7) home decor sewing; (8) floral arranging; (9) home decor painting/accessorizing; (10) knitting; (11) art/drawing; and (12) wreathmaking/floral accessorizing. Add your own unique twists and touches The more different your products are from what all the hobbyists are making just for fun, the better your chances of good sales and profits. It will take time and practice to find your own style, but with experimentation I’m sure you will find ways to add your own unique twists and touches to products made from common materials. In the beginning, Opal Leisure, The Apron Strings Lady, says her products we more "straight laced," but as she grew in expertise, her crafts flourished into lovely art creations. I became a decorator of sorts recommending products to customers, decorating entire rooms and homes with my own distinctive style." HomeBiz Faces of Home Education Profile The Pattern of Success Homeschooler sews her way to a successful business hosted by Joe Spataro Homeschooler Jennie Chancey was able to take advantage of the flexibility offered by homeschooling to learn how to sew. She has turned this love into a successful business called Sense & Sensibility. I had the opportunity to interview Jennie and ask her a few questions about homeschooling, her vintage dressmaking business and how she is helping other homeschoolers to share in her love of vintage dressmaking.		Creative Cash Homemade Money by Brabara Brabec Articles from author Jonni McCoy more HomeBiz support more smoothie books more blenders FREE smoothie recipes more Consumer Guides Quilting For Fun & Profit Knitting For Fun & Profit

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