One of the most lucrative businesses in which you can excellently make some reasonable amount of fortune if you are have the skills or CRAFT and maintain is the making baskets and that is why we will be taking you through the how to start a profitable basket weaving business. Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, braiding or plaiting, etc.
A basket weaving business crafts and sells handmade baskets to customers. Many entrepreneurs who start a basket weaving business sell their products through various outlets, including online, trade shows, farmer’s markets, and sometimes in brick-and-mortar stores. Some basket makers or weavers focus on more creative products, while others are more interested in practical baskets. What they all have in common is a passion for basket weaving and a strong desire to share their creations with consumers.
How to Start a Profitable Basket Weaving Business
In case you don’t know much about it, we will be opening your eyes to the fact that there is more to starting a business than just registering it. This will be done through some of the things we have put together in this simple guide about how to start a profitable basket weaving business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.
Plan your business
A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:
What are the costs involved in opening a basket weaving business?
The costs required to open a basket weaving business are relatively low compared to other businesses. You will need basket weaving supplies, including reed, cane, and dyes. You will also need to create a website, set up an Etsy store, and pay for booth space at local events like trade shows and farmer’s markets. Fortunately, supplies are fairly cheap, and you can do most of your initial web setup and marketing on your own. Altogether, you can probably start your basket weaving business for under $2,000.
What are the ongoing expenses for a basket weaving business?
The ongoing expenses for a basket weaving business include materials for basket weaving, like reed and cane, along with marketing expenses, website hosting and maintenance, studio space (if not based out of your home), and employee wages if you have employees.
The costs can range widely depending on what you need to keep your business going. In your first year, you may only spend $5,000 for everything to run your business. In later years, especially if you have employees, your operating costs could be $100,000 a year or more.
Who is the target market?
Your target market is anyone interested in handmade crafts, either for collecting, home decorating, souvenirs, or other reasons. The business owners with Etsy shops for handmade crafts are overwhelmingly women — at 87% — and the market buying those crafts is likely to skew female as well. However, you could always buck the trend and design baskets for the more masculine buyer if you have interesting ideas in that area.
How does a basket weaving business make money?
A basket weaving business makes money by selling baskets to customers. There are multiple sales channels you can use depending on your preferences. You can set up an Etsy store, establish your ecommerce store, sell through retailers, sell in person at fairs and farmer’s markets, and so on. To make it a full-time venture, you will most likely need to sell through all of these channels.
How much can you charge customers?
You can charge anywhere between $10 and $300 or more for baskets. The price you charge is generally based on how much work and/or skill went into the finished product. A tiny basket for someone’s desk could cost $10 or $20, while a large basket for blankets in multiple colors could cost $200 or more.
How much profit can a basket weaving business make?
A new basket weaving business is typically the kind of business that provides supplemental income instead of full-time income. You might make a few thousand dollars in your first year. But if you do everything right and are lucky, you could become one of the big earners in the handmade crafts industry. The top earners on Etsy bring in around $300,000 a year.
How can you make your business more profitable?
You can help increase your profits in several ways. The better you get at weaving, the less time and effort it will take to make baskets. That increases your earnings. However, the real way to significantly increase profits is to build a reputation and attract a bigger customer pool. If you have highly-desirable products, you can charge much more for them. And if you double your customers, you can sell a lot more products.
What will you name your business?
Choosing the right name is very important. Read our detailed guide on how to name your business. We recommend checking if the business name you choose is available as a web domain and securing it early so no one else can take it.
Form a Legal Entity
The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.
Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your basket weaving business is sued.
Register for Taxes
You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.
In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!
You can acquire your EIN for free through the IRS website, via fax, or by mail. If you would like to learn more about EINs and how they can benefit your LLC, read our article, What is an EIN?.
Learn how to get an EIN in our What is an EIN guide or find your existing EIN using our EIN lookup guide.
Small Business Taxes
Depending on which business structure you choose, you might have different options for how your business will be taxed. For example, some LLCs could benefit from being taxed as an S corporation (S corp).
You can learn more about small business taxes in these guides:
- LLC Taxes
- Sole Proprietorship vs LLC
- LLC vs Corporation
- LLC vs S Corp
- How to Start an S Corp
- S Corp vs C Corp
There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.
Open a Business Bank Account
Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.
When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.
Additionally, learning how to build business credit can help you get credit cards and other financing in your business’s name (instead of yours), better interest rates, higher lines of credit, and more.
Set up Business Accounting
Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.
Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.
Obtain Necessary Licenses
Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.
Get Insured
Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.
There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.
Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.
Define your brand
Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.
Create your Business Website
After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.
While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.
Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:
- All legitimate businesses have websites – full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
- Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
- Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.
Using our website building guides, the process will be simple and painless and shouldn’t take you any longer than 2-3 hours to complete.
Set up your Business Phone System
Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.
