I am looking to stay home with my new baby and need about $200 more a month than my husband makes. I've tried at home businesses and really want no part of that. What I am looking for is a legitimate craft business where I can make something and send it in to the company. A few of my friends tried it but the companies they found weren't legit. Does anyone know of a real paying company? Thanks in advance!
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I'm an artist who makes her (very meager) living by selling my wares & skills at a local Saturday Farmers Market. You have to have a skill or Craft that you can sell. One that is different from others. Probably NOT jewelry, as there is waaay to much competition in that area, but something like candle making, soap making, home made bath products or mosaics. Do you sew? You can make dog clothes or baby blankets & bibs then sell them. Even lagre oe small quilts sell well. So does photography, especially if it's matted & framed! You usually have to sell crafts yourself (& not hire someone else) as the customers want to meet the actual artist. Also, this way you can do custom orders for people. To sell at any really good craft fair, you need to be "Juried in"... That means your stuff has to be looked at & "judged" to be good enough to sell at their fair, PLUS, they would rather have something unique & new at the fair. Come up with something original that you could sell & make & you can make $200 - $400 each Saturday.
* People just LOVE to buy things for their gardens like planter boxes, etc. You can also grow plants & sell from tubers or bulbs, or propagate easy things like hydrangeas & ivy, & banboo then re-pot them & sell them. The only problem with plants is they are heavy & hard to transport. You can also grow organic veggies (or fruit) to sell there!
---> You DO need a business license in most states, & sometimes a city license too, but sometimes the fair takes care of the city license. In our state we have to charge a sales tax from our customers then give that back to the state. I prefer to pay or barter with an accountant so I don't have to deal with the math. To get a business license is really no big deal, just call your local librarian & ask her where to go or look up "Business License" under "State" in your phone book. (They usually cost under $50)
There are 2 different kinds of "Art Fairs" or "Markets": The kind they have week after week in the same place, & the kind that is only set up once a year. Say for example, once a year we have "The Tulip Festival" or "The Bellevue Art Fair" These are once-a-year, big deal fairs & they cost A WHOLE LOT more that the weekly "Farmers & Artists Markets" type of fairs. Most weekly markets cost around $20-$40 per week, while the "once-a-year" Art Fairs cost over $200 & sometimes over $400 for a 2 or 3 day show!
---> To find a Farmers Market in your area, go on Google: & just type in your state then "farmers markets" or "craft fairs" Then contact the people who run the fair or look on their web site to check out the market rules so you can sell. Some markets are harder to get in to, but some are really easy to get in to!
You can write me here on ThriftyFun if you want more info about selling at Saturday Markets.
Hi- I notice you are a teacher - any chance you could do something like tutoring. For an evening a week, or a couple hours on a weekend - it would be a little time commitment on your part, but may be flexible enough that you would not need to find daycare. You might check with local colleges. My guess is that you would be able to set the schedule.
I have found most of these make and send in craft jobs are by the piece, so to really make any amount you have to commit a lot of time, and space, and YOU have to purchase the materials, so there is an overhead.
I have been teaching in a continuing education program - one evening a week - and that has helped without taking too much time away from the family.
Best of luck to you!
If you make a craft and have a digital camera, consider making items to sell on Etsy.com, a craft e-store. There are are number of "How to sell crafts on Etsy" articles there, too.
sell stuff on ebay..i sell all kinds of stuff on there i make any where from 200 to 300 a week..and i only post ten items a week...any thing you can easily get at the store will sell for alot on ebay..any thing you have that is just lying around the house will sell on ebay..i have trahed picked items and sold them on ebay..its fun and interesting to see what people will buy..it costs 5 dollars to sign up and every one around the world sees your item..give it a try..good luck
I really think you would be better off working at walmart and telling them you can only work one day a week, you apply online at walmart.com and tell them the day you are available.
I disagree.all i know is crafts and want so much to teach others..maybe we can get in contect..Debbie..204-430'6515
well, I am looking to stay home and leave my teaching job, and can make a lot more subbing than $8 bucks an hour at Walmart. But I don't want a commitment to a job and the hassle of trying to find daycare for a few days a month. I would like to be able to work at home. Thanks
I have never seen a legitimate job doing crafts from home.Or anything else for that matter. With all the people looking for this type of work, the real jobswould require no advertising for help. It seems to me they would have waiting lists. My suggestion would be for you to find a craft mall where you can rent a space and display your crafts for sale. The way most of these work is you pay a monthly fee for the space, and then a percentage of what you sell each month. You keep your space stocked and the shop sells your merchandise. You get paid once a month. I have done this in the past at several different shops with good luck. My mother also had good luck with this method.
Harlean from Arkansas
My opinion is not going to be very helpful, just an opinion. Give your baby a few months to get started, and then go back to work. It will be better for you and the baby. Unless there is a problem with child care being too expensive, then it is not worth it. Could you work when your husband is off perhaps?
How about selling your crafts on ebay? Think of something original and clever and it'll sell.
As long as you would be home with your baby anyway, why not consider taking in another child to babysit? You would have an income, with no cost to you.
"Give your baby a few months to get started, and then go back to work. It will be better for you and the baby."
I completely disagree that my baby will be better with someone else and not his mother! And for me to leave my baby, how is that better for me to spend 80% of my time away?
I appreciate the suggestions, I really can't make anything to sell on my own and I am not interested in babysitting as I want my time for my baby and family. Thank you for taking the time to write.
You know, I haven't thought about the tutoring or continuing ed - that is something I am interested in. Thanks for the idea and I will check it out!
if you can draw buy a pyrography pen and burn on wood any thing that you can think of and it will sell for alot..
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