When crafters need help producing crafts the best route is usually sub-contracted labor to do piecework. However, sometime crafters will need to hire an actual employee. If you will become an official employer count on at least 12% - 25% of additional expenses on top of the salary. Things like worker's comp, unemployment insurance and social security will all be additional expenses that you will have to fork over to hire someone to help.

Lots of crafters are reporting that show attendance is down this year. Is this every show or just a select few? What are you seeing as far as crowd levels at craft shows? What regions seem to be hurting the most? And more importantly, what is causing the lack of visitors?

Bad shows are not always the promoter's fault! Even when a show promoter does the job of drawing the crowds, you still might have a bad show. This doesn't mean the promoter is to blame. There are several things that can cause a bad show and some of them may be your fault. If you do not bring enough inventory, or stay in your booth you can cause a good show to turn bad. Sometimes the crowd just doesn't buy. Though there are things you can do to help improve your success, sometime bad shows just happen...

When times are tight one of the first things people stop buying is, unfortunately, crafts. There are things you can do though to help increase profits when the economy is on a downturn. One of those would be to attend less shows and increase your online presence. You can also attend more shows nearby saving on fuel and lodging costs.

So, most of the time I always enjoy meeting other crafters. Especially at shows where over a few days great friendships have developed. But every once in a while another exhibitor is so clueless that they are making the show bad for other vendors that it is flat out annoying... How do you handle bad experiences with other crafters at shows?

If you are going to start your own arts and crafts business, one of the first things you will need is a name. The name of your business is important because it helps people to remember who you are in case they want to buy from you again. Make sure you stay away from names that are already taken. And you will also want a name that translates easily to a domain for a web site.

If you are just getting started selling crafts, here are some basic things you need to know. If you are considering selling crafts full time, be sure to learn these important tactics before you spend a dime on retail craft events!

We've all had bad shows... Sometimes expenses exceed income at events by a large margin. What can you do to cope with events like this? Here's a good thread in the forum all about how to deal with bad shows.

Be careful at those spring shows! There are people, not many but the few that are can quickly ruin your show, who are actively working to steal from you. Watch your cash box and watch your inventory. Always make sure someone is watching your booth. Many promoters will have volunteer who will keep an eye on your space when you need to leave for a few minutes.

If you are trying to get more traffic to your website, don't forget about offline marketing techniques! Put your web address on all printed literature you have, including business cards, invoices, sales receipts and any signage that you have in your booth. The more places you put your site address the more traffic you will get to your site.