These days, consumers are crying out for items that aren’t mass produced in factories by enormous machines. They want something with a little bit of character, and a unique identity that only the personal, hand-crafted touch can bring. As such, the internet is replete with small businesses selling artisanal products out of kitchens, garages and loft spaces. If you have a creative hobby, and you’re considering turning it into a side hustle (or even a full-time business), then you’ll be in good company. Secure a business loan from a good lender like Liberis and you’ll be able to get started quickly.
Certain sorts of handmade items lend themselves especially well to online sales. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Candles
Scented candles are a fantastic relaxation tool. With so many of us becoming increasingly conscious of our mental well-being, downtime has become particularly important – and so too have therapeutic aids like candles. While there are dozens of scents out there in major shops, there’s still considerable scope for experimentation. You’ll be able to get started with just a few basic items, and grow your business steadily from there.
Illustration
Quality artwork is more difficult to come by than you might expect. Thus there’s a sustained demand online for quality illustration for web and print. If you’re an artist with a particular, distinctive style (or even a more generic one), then you can sell your services through websites like Freelancer, Fiverr, and People Per Hour. Once you’ve built up a healthy list of clients, you can then make the shift off-platform.
Scarves
When it comes to textiles, there are few better places to get started than with scarves. They’re simple long cloth rectangles, but they offer almost infinite scope for creativity. You can make your scarves out of just about any material you like, and your postage costs can be kept to a minimum. You’re not going to be able to compete with the Primarks of this world, so focus on keeping things quirky and interesting rather than churning out massive volumes.
Marmalades
Selling foods online introduces a new level of difficulty, as you’ll need to be sure that your products reach your customers intact and tasty. Jams, preserves, sauces and marmalades are excellent places to start; you’ll be able to experiment with different ingredients, additives and methods in your kitchen, cook up massive batches and ship them out to your customers. If there are any producers in the area local to you, then try to incorporate them: you may end up with something totally unique, that other, larger businesses will struggle to replicate.
