Easy Steps To Turn Your Craft From A Hobby Into A Business in 2025

January is a good time of year to reassess, acknowledge and be grateful for all the good things in our lives (the ones that get taken for granted) and to take a look at any changes we could make in areas that might need a bit of attention. This could be some straightforward targets; creating a book list and committing to reading more, taking up a new skill or deciding to exercise more regularly. It could be working on a particular relationship and being intentional about spending regular time with a certain friend or family member. Or, it could be deciding to take the plunge and turn your crafting hobby into a business. If this is you, we’re glad you’ve found your way here and hope that by the end of this blog post, you will not only have clarity over the first few practical steps you can take, but will have been encouraged to follow your instincts and chase your dream!

Before you begin to invest time and money into your new venture, you need to do some market research. Are there other businesses selling what you’d like to create? If so, could you find a niche within the product range? Who would your main customer base be and how could you best market your product to them? Are you going to sell online through your own or an established website, or at local craft fairs and markets?

Next, you will need to do some number crunching. How much do you have to invest at the start for raw materials, equipment, website costs etc? How long can you go with only bringing in a small income? Many successful craft businesses begin as “kitchen table” projects with their owners continuing in their current jobs for a while until their own business has grown enough to bring in a regular income. This involves a lot of hard work, making stock in the evenings and juggling family and other commitments with craft fairs at weekends. However, it is financially less risky. There may be ways you can include family members, especially teenage children in your business venture, perhaps with website design or helping at a craft fair. This will both help you and also give them some insights into running their own businesses…maybe you will ignite some entrepreneurial flames!

You then need to build the admin foundations of your business. This can often be somewhat tedious but it really is strongly advisable to start off on a good footing. It is a good idea to write a business plan. Even if you are not using this in any formal way, it will enable you to have clarity of direction and to hold yourself to account with your goals. Check out both tax and legal requirements in terms of registering with HMRC as self employed and as a sole trader or limited company. You will also need to decide on what payment methods you will be accepting and put these in place.

It can be helpful to allocate a certain slot of time each week to admin tasks, eg packaging, invoicing and sending out orders. It’s also worth investing in some shelving or other storage units to keep everything related to your business in one place. This can save no end of time as you will never need to search over the house for jiffy envelopes, sellotape, address labels or tissue paper.

You will also have to consider what type of insurance, or independent artisan protection you will need. If you are just starting out this can seem like quite a hurdle, something else you need to learn about. However, here at Craft Insurance, we have been working with craft businesses to ensure they have the best independent artisan protection for several decades and we can definitely take the stress factor out of it for you. You will probably need public and product liability insurance. These cover you for any claims made against you or your product; even if it is not your fault, this independent artisan protection will cover legal defence costs or any compensation you owe. Of course, you will do everything you can to ensure you are never in this position, but the whole point of insurance is that it covers you for the unforeseeable. As a small family business ourselves, we like to communicate directly with each of our customers, so pick up the phone or drop us a line and either Naomi or Sam will be here to talk with you.

Once these foundations are in place, you can then plan how you will be marketing and selling your products. If you are starting as a kitchen table project, alongside raising a family or a permanent job, it might be advisable to dip your toe into the water of sales by booking yourself into a few local craft fairs, school fetes or community events. These generally only necessitate a small financial outlay, so they are an ideal place to test your sales techniques and meet your first customers. We have a number of blog posts about what to take and how to prepare for a fair, so have a read and be enthused!

You might decide that you will sell online. It’s worth comparing a number of online craft-selling sites as some can be quite pricey. Or, you might consider creating a Facebook page or website from which to sell. Make sure that the name you choose for your business is available as a domain name and a social media handle. If not, you may need to tweak it slightly. Whether you sell online or in person, it is worth considering an Instagram as well as a Facebook account for advertising.

So, as you head further into 2025, do some research, dream a little and start taking some small steps towards earning some money from your creative talent. If it seems a little overwhelming, you could make a list of all the tasks you need to do and start gradually ticking them off. We look forward to hearing from you regarding craft insurance and learning about your burgeoning business.