🌷Shop Talk: How I Increase Profits WITHOUT Making More Product 🌷

[@pawsitivelycozy]

I LOVE seeing someone else who GETS THIS and is talking about it! I confused the heck out of someone that told me "you'd sell more if your prices were lower" and told them "that's literally the opposite of my goal" and they did NOT understand the concept lol

[@madewithapril]

It's all about BALANCE!! But I guess it is hard to find that sometimes hahaha as long as you're willing to give and take it comes in the end!! It's harder for some people to give at first 😅

[@pawsitivelycozy]

@@madewithapril yesss. 7 years deep and finally starting to find my equilibrium with pricing 😅

[@AmandaSmith-qj5yb]

I also crochet and I have lifted my prices pretty considerably over the last year, and I still constantly sell out. I’m now making the same as before with literally half the amount of stock. I think we undervalue ourselves in the start and also underestimate others appreciation for real handmade! The customers will come and they will appreciate. Those who don’t are just not our target audience :)

[@madewithapril]

Love that for you, and thank you for sharing!! Definitely something to consider 🩷

[@Heidi2003]

Love how you keep it real with your videos. You make complete sense. I feel for those who try to make a living doing fibre arts. The amount of time it takes for embroidery, knitting, crochet... If you're trying to pay yourself above minimum wage.... Wish you all the best

[@madewithapril]

I appreciate that! Thank you!

[@ArawynnEveningstar]

I learned to say "That's not in the budget right now" or "I budgeted that cost out" when people complain when I say I am broke and can't do thing but had purchased x, y, or z. We are allowed to have things that bring joy to us. You can not have the budget for things atm that you really want to do but we also shouldn't be denying things that will bring joy as well, like your tattoo. I don't think a lot of people understand that you need to cover expenses and small things can add up over time. It's why I like the videos that do breakdowns of expenses to what was sold. I have seen videos of people that shipped skids to a convention and had a slow one and needed to ship it all home. That counts as expenses so even if they sold what looks like $$$$, if they had to put out more to ship it there and back, is it worth it?

[@madewithapril]

Totally agree on all fronts! It's been hard to find a balance between risking some expenses to try a new show, and keeping them down to do local. I definitely look back on my expenses and get a little wide eyed on how much they can be when I'm trying to enforce a money saving mentality!

[@TabeaTomadini]

This is exactly what i try to explain to those around me who keep bombarding me with "you gotta make this! And that! and how about this!" there are so many that pure handmade takes so much time and energy and literally life out of you. You know from previous posts i aspire to be like you, and make this pretty flower shop with accessories on the side and i came to a stage where i now put my shop in vacation mode because i just dont have time to make anything, while juggling university and my future surgery. But everyone just demands more and more from me.

[@madewithapril]

It's easier said than done, but go at your own pace! I have definitely gotten lost in the feedback before and pushed myself to race against.. myself. It's a lot of stress that isn't always productive. I'm definitely one to support studies first!

[@TabeaTomadini]

@madewithapril I was making unrealistic goals to myself and now I can't hold the hook cuz it makes me sick. I hope it won't last too long because I would love to love crochet again and this time do it without pressure. I just appreciate someone like you talk about the things people don't want to talk about.

[@melancholy.creations]

I feel like customers ( and even crochet artists who don't run their own business ) don't think about the administrative work that has to be done for small businesses as well. And that people deserve to be paid for the time spent keeping up with an online shop, making posts, editing photos, etc. I recently started following uncomfy ( a clay artist ) and her keychains sell for sixty usd. At first, it seems like a lot but taking into account not only the process of making the keychain but also the background work that has to be done to keep up a handmade business and it makes a lot more sense. I hope you can keep this up and enjoy it for a while though ❤

[@madewithapril]

After doing this for a while now I definitely have gained respect foe others that have been doing this longer than me, and I understand more how pricing is necessary vs when I started. Thank you for sharing!!

[@sighing_tom]

Making a profit is what scares me into starting to sell. The cost to just make it and have a booth is already so much. Luckily, as an artist I can just find a manufacturer to print my things but then there’s taxes and what if people don’t like my art and I don’t break even for the material cost. I hope you are able to find a balance for your merchandise and that your stuff sells well because looking from the outside, it looks stressful.

[@madewithapril]

I see how stressful it is for artists that manufacture their merchandise too 😅 I feel like I would never be able to commit to a design hahaha thank you for sharing! The best part of handmade is my material cost can be turned into as many different designs as I would like!

[@amcast562]

I really admire how you’re trying to figure out how to keep your business moving forward. Have you thought of different distribution points? Example; Selling to a bookstore, they sell, you give them a percentage. Or sell to them at wholesale so they can make a Profit. I work in sales, my products I’ve had luck thinking out of the box and selling them to retailers that sell to the same end users as me. I really want to see you get to the next level.

[@madewithapril]

Thank you for sharing the tips!! I've tried some consignment, and a little bit of wholesale, but with the price drops it's no longer worth it for me to sell as I'm making less than minimum wage per flower. I've adjusted the prices in store so that I'm still profiting after expenses from cons, but usually I don't do well enough in consignment to have the same proportional expenses.

[@diansango2042]

More story time/telling of convention life would be fun to watch for yt videos. Also love watching ur videos!

[@madewithapril]

You got it!

[@CrochetsByNady]

I love how honest you are about everything in this video, it made me realise many things that i didnt even know about my own crochet business ❤️

[@madewithapril]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lizcarter6938]

I don't know if this is possible but here is my idea lol........... You seem to have a lot of connections and acquaintances within the convention realm. Soooo if someone could come up with a forum of place where you can all place your general info, city, dates available etc and kinda set up something like a ride share but it be with other artists etc where you guys can help each other out. You attend a convention in their city so they offer a space in their home for you to sleep and maybe a ride from airport, to convention etc and in turn you offer the same for conventions in your city. Kinda like ride share but with other artists and not just friends but fellow artists. Does that make sense?

[@madewithapril]

I love that idea!! There is a big discord I know for a bunch of people to coordinate but somehow it's still a bit scary knowing not everyone is screened or vouched for and anyone can join the group. I don't think I know quite enough to coordinate something like that but you're totally right that it would be so so helpful!

[@lizcarter6938]

@@madewithapril not everyone would be a good fit for sure. So maybe people can "rate" their experiences etc. Obviously checking people out like are they fellow youtube artists etc would make you feel safer etc. You know what I'm trying to say lol obviously use common sense and maybe not go alone ESPECIALLY being a woman!!! Safety first!!! Best Wishes

[@KP-bq7yc]

It's wonderful to be grateful if you made $1000 at a market, but not striving for more and just being so over the moon about what you did make doesn't seem like a successful strategy for experienced crochet artists that have been to many markets, IMHO. Plus, like you said, you need to consider your expenses and many people that tell you to be grateful probably don't know your situation.

[@madewithapril]

Thank you!! I know that a lot of people do this on the side, and as someone doing this full time my finances look a little different (and they have to)!! It's sometimes an uncomfortable topic to talk about 😅

[@KP-bq7yc]

@@madewithapril Well, I know many of us love these kinds of shop talks with you. So we appreciate this.

[@CrochetFoodies]

Being a small handmade business is truly difficult. It takes a toll on our bodies and, quite honestly, isn't the best long term. We have to think of other products that we can also sell but are still able to make our products since we're known for handmade items. Basically, we all need multiple streams of income if we want to keep being a handmade business.

[@codeimagine]

This is why I've struggled to even start a crochet business even though everyone tells me to do so. I want some side income, but not at the expense of my health aka my wrists and arms. I guess I would also need to consider some of my other skills and bring them in if I was to start anything. I was thinking about making stuff I like and just doing drops of it, but I don't know how that would work. I recently finished a dragon bag for an event I'm going to and people are already telling me to make and sell them, which is frustrating because its too much time going into it and I don't want to make that for others when I barely wanted to even crochet the legs because I didn't want to sew them on 🤣. Not to mention the cost suggested to me for selling was NOT WORTH IT. Its like, do i look like a sweatshop for fun?

[@joestoppable]

@@codeimagine I sometimes talk to the mall walkers in the early morning. They all started out doing crotchet for fun and something to do when they all got together. Eventually they had crocheted so many things that even after giving away a bunch of stuff they still had too much. So they ended up selling it. But not to start a business. Just really to make space for more crochet things. As far as pricing stuff. Don’t listen to random people. You can sell your stuff for what you think are crazy amounts. There are people that will pay

[@codeimagine]

@@joestoppable I feel like I am gonna end up doing what they are doing, but it also reminds me of one youtuber I follow. She makes whatever she wants and she don't care what other people think online, its just for fun and a way to share her ideas/progress. I like bringing ideas to life and maybe constraining myself for scalability is holding me back for the sake of a non-existent business. Also, true that people will pay, because the ones who don't want to aren't the people I am interested in selling to anyway. I mean, I spent a lot of a handmade yarn bowl a few months ago, I could've gotten it cheaper elsewhere or 3d printed but the fact it was handmade ceramic made it more worth it for me. Thank you for helping me re-frame my mindset. Highly appreciated

[@ASA-bl3hw]

Would you also consider teaching crochet face to face ? In the uk alot of people will pay for lessons or making a specific product. Your doing well and your always reflecting and evaluating. Keep going 💪

[@madewithapril]

To be honest, teaching really doesn't suit me 😅 I'm really bad at explaining what I'm doing and sometimes I don't even fully get it, I just muscle memory it hahaha but I do hope to eventually release all my patterns!

[@datinyone]

This video is so helpful. It's realistic for small handmade businesses. Thanks for being genuine :)

[@madewithapril]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lsl2510]

Maybe you could think of ways to convert your customers from offline to your online store then that way you could slowly pick and choose which markets/conventions you want to go to that you think would be profitable. I would imagine a lot of ppl who have to purposely travel far for markets/conventions would not be breaking even cause of all the travel, accomodation, shipping costs etc is A LOT but I guess the other flip side is that you get to promote your brand awareness and hopefully convert your customers from offline to online instead

[@bennel6478]

Sell patterns that’s a smarter way to make money I know you are worried about people getting your patterns and then you have market competition the residual income is way better than the competition you think you have that way you don’t have stretch yourself thin

[@madewithapril]

I think I will have to start selling patterns sooner rather than later ahhh

[@ki.ri.creations]

i love all your videos thank you for sharing !!

[@madewithapril]

You are so welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@donu568]

taobao might be better to source yarn than aliexpress and 3rd party ship by boat for cheaper shipping

[@madewithapril]

I used to shop on taobao so much!! I forgot about it - will have to take a look thank you!

[@kimgaddatmakeitsweetyeg5820]

Sounds like prices aren’t high enough to pay people even part time. I would rerun the numbers. I’m having the same problem with cakes

[@joestoppable]

Please ignore all the positive comments.

[@madewithapril]

IM AT FANEXPO SO ILL RESPOND TO THEM LATER BUT OMG JOE stop I appreciate u so much u really don't have to do that 😭 LIKE HOW dare u make me teary during set up ok now people are lookin at me like is she ok, but like ?? This random guy named Joe who's never met me supports me so much?? Thank you 😭 FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART AND EVEN THE BOTTOM OF THE DESCENDING AORTA TO THE CIRCULATION AT THE BOTTOM OF MY FEETSIES YENNO THANK U JOE

[@pipgirl7352]

Wow Joe you are kinda awesome 😊

[@joestoppable]

@@pipgirl7352 no no no. Is nobody reading my comment?

[@NatashaM-xi3qk]

As a crochet artist that also does markets and pulls the same kind of numbers as you do without travelling so far and doings cons and things, I think you need to look within yourself and be a little honest with yourself. The reason you pay so much more in business expenses is because you use your business as a reason to validate traveling to these different events and being involved in them. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but I will say if you are using your small business to expense having fun you should at least for yourself be honest about that and maybe go full in on dressing up and what not. You don't have to travel, work this hard, and pay this much to make $1000, you are choosing to.

[@madewithapril]

I definitely see where you're coming from! I think the other aspect I'm insecure about is that I'm often comparing my small business numbers to what I was making in medicine. I do feel like I need to match it to justify continuing this small biz, but I need to look at the whole picture, regarding my happiness and mental health too. Thank you for sharing, I definitely had a good think!

[@hilarymurphy9077]

Sometimes travelling to larger events is worth the financial investment for your business and has nothing to do with you wanting to attend an event for personal reasons. Larger conventions bring larger crowds, which means more overall sales and potential revenue. I pay more to be a vendor at Comic Cons because the type of items I sell appeal to that crowd and I can make thousands of dollars in sales, whereas smaller local fairs will only bring $100-$200 in sales. I now do fewer events and bring in MORE revenue because I specifically seek out those larger (and more costly) events. So while being able to attend nerdy conventions and such is super fun, my choice to be at these events has nothing to do with my personal desire to be there for fun.

[@NatashaM-xi3qk]

@@hilarymurphy9077 here’s the thing, with crochet that’s not necessary, and choosing good local events that meets your numbers requires more research and less payout. We are talking about a Canadian woman traveling to America and shipping all her supplies and paying a huge cost to come to these things, and in her own words in this very video saying she brought in less than $500 of profit after travel, hotel expenses, eating out, and shipping. She didn’t even mention the table fee, the cost of supplies or anything else. If she isn’t making more than $500 in profit after an event then all the trouble and pain she put into it wasn’t worth it. If it makes sense for you to take up a bigger upfront fee and make thousands that makes sense go for it, but crocheted flowers isn’t really what people are searching for at cons, it’s just a cool thing that happens to be there. The real problem with analyzing the worth of her going to these events is she isn’t being truly transparent about the breakdown of her costs of everything including the cost of production and all the tiny details and comparing it to the full overall number. Which isn’t actually shared. But if at face value we take what she is saying to be true, then she is saying she doesn’t make enough to do the business at all. Then again, we don’t have full numbers. We don’t know what she makes from Etsy, KZbin, any other websites, or anything. So either she’s telling the truth about her earnings at these events and she doesn’t make enough to justify the traveling to cons, but is doing it for joy, or she’s not telling the full numbers and is lying to us about being broke all the time. I choose to believe she does these cons for joy. And the numbers you quoted have never been true in my case. I do local fairs and shows and pull $600-$1000 In a day. The numbers you quoted is what I make not even trying paying a $15 table fee at a local farmers market.

[@NatashaM-xi3qk]

@@madewithapril I think those numbers wouldn’t be a fair comparison. The medical field gets paid quite a bit from what I understood. If what you are doing now makes you happy, and gives you the free time to do things you love and care about, then that is all that matters. As far as worrying about what other people think about your finances, don’t share the finance stuff publicly. You are just asking for scrutiny doing that. Not to say you shouldn’t look extremely critically at your business finances, you absolutely should. Find where you can cut back costs and do the research necessary to live the life that you want to live. But honestly, from the videos you’ve been putting out lately you seem stressed and scared about your finances and I am worried about your overall health as well. I’m just glad you have someone to be there for you when things get tight and you feel the fear. God knows I’ve felt the fear myself from time to time where I’ve had doubts too. Mostly at the beginning though.

[@saharalaw5684]

This whole conversation was so frustrating to watch 😔 It’s handmade so comparing it to designing & manufacturing a product is null & void. THE only way you can make a viable income with crochet is to either supplement with patterns (you’ve mentioned why you don’t want to do patterns) or teach (you’ve said this doesn’t appeal to you) April, with all due respect, it comes across like you’re unhappy and complaining plus seeming so stressed😢 Unless you can sell patterns & release 1-2 a month constantly, teach or educate by providing a service, and grind every day marketing yourself ON TOP OF making product (like made by Gemma or crochetgrove as examples) then you won’t have a comparative income to a full time job /career like you used to have. This is why for a lot of ppl do this (usually) as a double income household. I honestly, with peace and love, see this as a great side hustle hobby for you, to have a bit extra income. It takes more courage to know when to walk away than it does to keep going with something you know deep down can’t support or sustain or worse affect your mental health. Xx

[@sassypackratstudios361]

❤️

[@madewithapril]

🩷🩷

[@jramielle]

Positive comment! You're doing great and your videos are inspiring to so many, myself included. I agree with the pointing fingers can of worms. IMHO, stay clear of the drama and just keep doing you. 💕

[@madewithapril]

Ahh I'm glad you agree, thank you!! I don't know how niche communities let drama get so out of hand sometimes 😵‍💫

[@joestoppable]

@@jramielle no no no. No positive comments.

[@jramielle]

@@joestoppable ahh sorry. >.>

[@joestoppable]

@@jramielle you know what you did 🤨