I’ll be the first to admit that I have never been much of a “crafty” person. I usually threw together various lego creations as a kid without glancing at the directions, shy away from household projects that I deem too “handy,” and occasionaly scoff at the vast network of scrapbooking that seems to have taken hold in the MidWest. Despite these reservations, I can’t help but lean towards the idea of making something as one of my microbusinesses. So far all of my gigs are service based (although technically as a writer you are creating valuable content, it isn’t quite the same), and even making something small to sell could be both fun and profitable.
In that vein, there really isn’t a better starting point for someone looking to sell their crafts than Etsy, a service that provides users with an online storefront presence in exchange for a cut of the revenue (there’s also a small listing fee, generally a few cents per item). The user base for the site is vast, as is the earnings range. If I’d venture a guess, I’d say most people use it for a side business for a hobby that they enjoy but a small handful do earn a full time living from it as well. Since a side business is what I’m looking for, I think I could find a niche here.
Scanning through the items I found for sale, I decided that I need something cheap to make, quick to manufacture, and above all, some geeky fun. I picked up some beads off e-bay, grabbed my iron, and got to work. Here are my results:
Now I’m not sure how much demand there is out there for Nintendo coasters made out of beads, but there’s really only way to find out, isn’t there? Besides, I’m sure there’s a whole slew of other stuff I could whip up, like a chess set using mini versions of these or perhaps a full on mural. Either way I think it is looking into, and will keep you posted when and if the shop goes live.
computer software