Housewife MacGyver: Tips for a Handmade Business from Rachel the Kooky Queen

As part of our month spent developing our talents and smarts, today we have my good friend Rachel from A Little Bit of Kooky and The Bowlicious Bowtique here to share a few pointers on starting your own handmade business, to take your creative endeavors from a hobby straight to the bank! :)

Hi Housewife McGyver fans!
I'm Rachel---The Kooky Queen from

I bet there are a lot of you amazing and crafty gals out there who are making your fabulous items, wondering "Hmm...could this make money?"

My answer to you?

Most definitely!

Those crocheted shorts your hubby is getting millions of comments CAN bring in the bucks!

It's just all about getting it out there!

To the right crowd, the right people.

But how?

Where??

I started making hair bows for my daughters 4 years ago.
Granted, they were pretty stinking enormous and very crappy looking.

But eventually it blossomed to what it is today, a thriving online business.

So Step 1:
Make sure you have perfected your product.
This means that you have spent much time making your product beautiful and perfect. Then it will most definitely catch the eye of your desired crowd.

Once my bows were looking darn cute, I made sure my girls were walking advertisements.
Step 2:
Advertise in any way you can!
This part can be inexpensive! I have done giveaways on blogs, passed out business cards I designed myself and printed through Vista Print, made Facebook fan pages, and spread the word through friends and family. These were a tremendous help to getting my business started.

Step 3:
Find ways to get your business OUT THERE!
I started small with the local farmer's market that allowed crafters like myself to come in. It was a small investment of a shade tent and a fold up table. Make sure you have a pretty good inventory. The more items on your table, the more likely people are to stop and look. The fees at the markets are very minimal compared to huge craft shows and boutiques. Once my business grew, I was able to afford the larger avenues and events. But make your business known! The more exposure, the more you'll make.

Step 4:
Branch out online!
I started by making a blog and using PayPal buttons so people could purchase them. I tried to make it look as professional as possible. Click the button below to see.


I still have this site and now I just advertise discounts, giveaways and new items because blogging is a very hot thing these days. I taught myself a little html to make my own blog buttons and eventually, when my blog was doing well and I had a lot of sales, I moved it to a *real* site where I pay a small monthly fee of $15.00 a month. I created it myself through much online searching so I didn't have to pay someone to set it up for me.
And if I can do it, SO CAN YOU!
I promise, it's not as daunting as you think. I use only PayPal transactions so accepting credit cards is easy. I have also tried Etsy and eBay. Both worked well but remember, some of those websites will have a lot of competition and might not be worth the fees. They weren't for me so I chose to spend my energy on my own site.

I hope these tips will help some of you ladies, who have great talents and are looking for a way to share them and earn some money for your family. It's not difficult and if you have the desire and the motivation, you can totally do it!!!

Thanks, Rachel! And don't forget to stop by A Little Bit of Kooky for a laugh (because Rachel is seriously funny! check out one of my very favorite posts here) and then swing by The Bowlicious Bowtique to check out Rachel's fantastic handiwork... I have a very long wishlist of bows for my little girl (or maybe for me...), starting with these gorgeous ranunculus clips...

This post is part of the Housewife MacGyver series on just Lu. Read more about Housewife MacGyver and see all the posts in the series here.