7 Lies Crafters Tell Themselves

1. Profits equal sell-out.

Despite the most famous artists in all of history being paid commission to create their masterpieces, modern day artists seem to feel that making money means they’ve sold their dream. This is the number-one roadblock for a crafter trying to support herself with her art – after all, if you think you’ll be untrue to your core values by making money, then you are going to be working against yourself whenever you approach your business.
Reality: Creative people need to eat, too. And having control over how your art is made and sold is pretty cool. In fact, musicians have been fighting recording companies for years for just that very thing.

2. I can support myself on Etsy.

This one is more a delusion than an outright lie, because, yes, it is possible to support yourself on Etsy – it’s just not possible to support yourself on Etsy if all you do is focus on Etsy.
Reality: The way it really works is Etsy acts just like any other website you might have. It’s a storefront – and a nice one, because it has built-in traffic. But relying just on that traffic without doing additional marketing and promotions is not going to be enough to help you stand out from the crowd.

3. Numbers don’t matter.

This is from the “do what you love and the money will follow” school of thought. What it doesn’t mention, though, is that if you aren’t careful, the money will follow the next person it sees right out the door.
Reality: As a crafter, your materials are a major expense, but it can be easy to be so focused on having found a great deal that you lose sight of how much it totals up to in the finished product. If you don’t know how much something cost you to make, you don’t know how to price it – and if you know what something will sell for, you have to make sure your costs are kept within that range.

4. Beauty sells itself.

Ah, if only that were true. But if a beautiful tree house is in the woods with no one there to see it – then who is going to buy it?
Reality: Beauty can only sell itself when someone is there to see it. That’s where marketing comes into play. You need to know how to write about your work (that’s your sales copy), you need to know how to find that perfect person who wants what you make (that’s your target demographic), and you need to know how to price it – neither too high nor too low – so that your customer leaps at it (that’s your profit margin).

5. Sales is a bad word.

Bad salespeople are so memorable that we all ignore how many positive sales experiences we’ve had. For every salesperson who tried to get you to buy a timeshare you didn’t want, how many also made you feel so at ease and so well-informed, that you were absolutely sure you made the right decision in buying your car or taking a course? Sales is not the antithesis of art – it’s simply the result of an artist speaking from the heart.
Reality: When you tell people how much love and thought go into every one of your designs, they feel more confident in you and your work. When you tell them how long it took you to learn your craft and the hours you put into each and every piece you make, they feel the specialness in what they are buying. Your love of what you do is what sells your crafts – and that’s something to be proud of.

6. Perfection is imperative.

Artists like things to look perfect – so much so that they often have trouble knowing when a piece is finished. That’s fine when you’re making something for yourself, but when you’re making items to sell, you need to know where to draw the line.
Reality: Know when something is good enough. Spending hundreds of hours trying to get the perfect shade of blue is not going to be as useful to your growing business as actually finishing the product and getting its photo uploaded onto your site.

7. Business is boring.

Actually, business is an art in and of itself. From your web design to your product photos, there’s a lot of creativity in setting up an online business. Even beyond that, watching the numbers and seeing which designs sell best and which items do well at different times of the year is fascinating.
Reality: If you like a challenge, there’s nothing so fun as watching your business grow. You get to try out new ideas – and change them on the spot if you don’t like how they’re working for you. Plus, you get the added sense of control over your life that comes from having set out to support yourself – and actually doing so!
I was guilty of “beauty sells itself” with my first online business. Alas, it was not true! Have you ever had these mistaken beliefs about your business? What changed your point of view?