I started crochet for a hobby. I never planned to sell any of the things I made. I mostly made things for myself or my daughter. The next step for me was making gifts for family and friends, and even then that was a big step for me. I am not a very confident person and it took a lot of encouragement from those closest to me to start selling my work.
As an introvert I am well out of my comfort zone, I am not naturally a show offy kind of person and have kept a lot of my work to myself from fear of others judging and laughing at it.
So how to get over the fear and put your self out there. You need to change the way you think. Now I don’t mean you need to change you, because the best part of your work comes for your personality. But what you do need to think about is as follows….
- Haters going to hate. Let’s face it not everyone is going to like your work, but that’s ok. What you need to remember the world would be a boring place if we all did. The mean people out there, the key board warriors or trolls, are bullies. The best bit of advice is don’t feed the trolls, rise above it. There is no point in letting Mr Smith from the other side of the world get you upset because he thinks your craft work is rubbish.
- Just do it. Stop waiting just get up and go for it. Saying I am just waiting until I master this or until the little one is in school , hell I found myself saying I will just wait until the little one sleeps through the night. These are excuses just stopping you because after one thing there WILL be another. So stop waiting and get started.
- Dip your toes in. Start small and test the water. No one will become successful over night. It takes time and hard work, but all the best stuff is worth it. Don’t go spending a lot of money starting up unless it is going to be a full time job and your are looking to starting up a genuine business. Not saying that it won’t one day be able to become a full time profit making business. But putting a lot of time and money in could be deflating if you don’t see profit right away and end up being the reason you give in.
- Take a compliment. Learning how to take a compliment was hard for me I would just shy away and not believe what was said.
- Value your work and time. Although it is nice to be nice, not everything in this day and age is free. Supplies cost money and even your time. So don’t undervalue your time or skills when charging a price. If they think it’s too steep a price don’t necessary believe them if they really want your work they will pay the price. No one starts selling their craft to be out of pocket. This goes the same for family and friends sadly. What I tend to do if a family or close friend asks me to make them something I will do as their birthday or Christmas present. If they ask me to make them something they are then going to gift to someone else I charge them so I am not out of pocket.
So there you go just give it a bash everyone had to start from somewhere and what is the worst that could happen? You won’t be successful?…. Well you weren’t successful before hand. 😜
Life is to short
Sarah
Xxxx
Thistle Do Creations 