Story by Emilie Zanger
Embroidery design copyright of Sublime Stitching
Courtesy of Venus Zine
Say you make the raddest handbags/wristbands/scarves/kitty beds around. You’ve made them for all of your friends, and maybe you’ve toyed with the idea of selling your wicked wares to the greater public, but you’re convinced you don’t have the savvy to succeed in the wild world of DIY business. You’re not alone.
When Vickey Jang started her online handmade goods shop, Bird in a Skirt (birdinaskirt.com), she admits, “[It] was simultaneously scary and exhilarating. Unlike Field of Dreams, just because you build it doesn't mean people will come!”
Whether you have hopes of one day dumping your day job or are content to give your off hours to your craft, making the leap from hip hobbyist to DIY business diva is not the insurmountable task you might imagine. Quinn Heraty, a New York entertainment lawyer for Heraty Hall, is dedicated to helping would-be DIYers navigate the world of small business. “So many people are stuck in ‘life-support’ jobs,” she says. “And until they make that jump by at least starting … to do their own thing and do what they love … they’re never going to break out of that life-support employee situation.”
If you’ve ever longed to start your own crafty biz, there are some very important steps you’ll need to take, right from the get-go.
Embroidery design copyright of Sublime Stitching
Courtesy of Venus Zine
Say you make the raddest handbags/wristbands/scarves/kitty beds around. You’ve made them for all of your friends, and maybe you’ve toyed with the idea of selling your wicked wares to the greater public, but you’re convinced you don’t have the savvy to succeed in the wild world of DIY business. You’re not alone.
When Vickey Jang started her online handmade goods shop, Bird in a Skirt (birdinaskirt.com), she admits, “[It] was simultaneously scary and exhilarating. Unlike Field of Dreams, just because you build it doesn't mean people will come!”
Whether you have hopes of one day dumping your day job or are content to give your off hours to your craft, making the leap from hip hobbyist to DIY business diva is not the insurmountable task you might imagine. Quinn Heraty, a New York entertainment lawyer for Heraty Hall, is dedicated to helping would-be DIYers navigate the world of small business. “So many people are stuck in ‘life-support’ jobs,” she says. “And until they make that jump by at least starting … to do their own thing and do what they love … they’re never going to break out of that life-support employee situation.”
If you’ve ever longed to start your own crafty biz, there are some very important steps you’ll need to take, right from the get-go.
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Let’s be brutally honest: There are thousands of talented craftsters who can make a mean handbag or flirty skirt. If you want to throw your sensational style into the mix, one of your first tasks should be to consider what will set your product apart from everyone else’s. It doesn’t have to be anything revolutionary, but something about your product should make a net-surfing or boutique-browsing shopper stop to say, “Hot damn!”
WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
Set specific goals for your business, and start out small. Would you like to dedicate 10 hours a week to crafting? Want to get your product sold in a boutique by the end of the month? It sounds cheesy and tedious, but writing up a business plan with specific goals and the steps you’ll take to achieve them will put you in the right frame of mind to work hard at getting your product out there.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
Set specific goals for your business, and start out small. Would you like to dedicate 10 hours a week to crafting? Want to get your product sold in a boutique by the end of the month? It sounds cheesy and tedious, but writing up a business plan with specific goals and the steps you’ll take to achieve them will put you in the right frame of mind to work hard at getting your product out there.
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My question is this,if someone makes their own stlye (whether she, craft, dress etc.) would they have to patent each style or just pay for their copyrighted logo to make it theirs?