I have a home

The next part of my  marketing plan has been accomplished:  I bought a domain.  I now reside at www.ChesapeakeBayCrochet.com. Right now, the only thing there is a notification that the website is under construction.

$$$ TIP:  Be sure to include the cost of the domain and the hosting in your expenses.  If you purchase any software, such as a shopping cart application, be sure to include that cost, too.

I also ordered business cards and business card labels from Vistaprint that look remarkably like the picture on the right.  The image is a photo I took of Chesapeake Bay with the Chesapeake Baby Bridge Tunnel in the distance.  This is at the eastern-most edge of the bay and I took the photo from a point on the Eastern Shore.

The labels look just like the business card.  

The key to a successful start-up, is to do something to further your business every day.  Make sure you take a step forward every day.  In addition to designing and ordering business and buying the domain, I crocheted a bath set for my "Spa Collection."  It consists of a bath puff, a wash cloth and two face scrubbies.  I intend to package them in a white box that is about 6"x6"x6" and tied up with blue twine.  All I need to get is some tissue paper to wrap the items in and some pretty little hostess soaps, maybe in the shape of a sea shell... or I may even go shell collecting so I can place a few sea shells in the box. 

The idea is to make it cute and sell-able!

Organization

Keeping your online craft store organized is very important.  A craft store can get disorganized very quickly if forethought and planning does not come into play.

The easiest method for organizing your store is to decide what you are planning to sell and then organize those items into categories.  No special equipment is required--just a piece of paper or an Excel Spreadsheet.

My store will include:

• Face scrubbies
• Bath puff
• Wash Clothes
• Ruffled Scarves
• Crocheted Scarves
• Doll clothes
• Burgundy purse (already made)
• Turquoise purse (already made)
• Blue purse with vintage handles (already made)
• Variegated Pink/Brow/White purse (already made)
• Vintage Potholder--appliqued (already made)
• Vintage Potholder--blue flower (already made)
• Victorian Potholder
• Victorian dish clothes

The categories for these items will be:

Spa Collection to include:
     Face Scrubbie
     Wash cloth
     Bath puff
Wearable Art
    Ruffled Scarf
    Crochet Scarf
Barbie Clothes
    1880s Ball Gown
Handbags and totes
     Purses
Kitchen Collection
     Pot holders
     Dish cloths

While it is not possible to organize by groups or categories on eBay, Etsy does allow for this feature.  If  using eBay, each item can be listed under one of eBay's categories at the time the item is posted and each item can be posted in a different category.  If the item is listed in more than one category, there is an extra charge.  The idea is to keep the overhead costs as low as possible.  Spending extra money to list the item in multiple categories or to "bold" the listing is normally not necessary. 

Etsy allows items to be listed under different shop sections, which makes it easier for people to search the items listed.  There is a charge each month:: $0.20 for a basic listing.  

$$$ Tip:  Make certain to keep track of all charges and fees.  These fees are tax deductible. 

By categorizing each item, this enables customers to find what they are looking for more quickly.  If someone is looking for potholders, they don't want to sift through picture after picture of purses.