Articles Index
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Limited Liability Companies are a fairly new type of business entity. Well, new when you consider that corporations and partnerships have been in existence for centuries and even the S-Corp, a runner up newbie was created decades ago. LLCs have several unique advantages, including a flexible taxation system.
How to Find Arts and Crafts Supplies
Finding great,reliable vendors is one of your first steps in starting an arts and crafts business. Without knowing how much your vendors are going to charge you for the art or crafts supplies you use to make your product, how can you set a reasonable retail price? It's also important to have reliable art and craft supply vendors that you can count on to ship the crafts supplies and arts materials when you need them.
Choosing Between the Actual Cost or Standard Mileage Rate Method
There are two methods you can use to deduct business vehicle expenses - the actual cost method or standard mileage rate. Some arts/crafts businesses are limited to one or the other. Lacking any limitation, you should pick the method that gives you the highest tax deduction over the life of the vehicle.
Using the Standard Mileage Rate to Calculate the Business Use of Your Car
If you drive your car in the normal course of running your arts / crafts business you have two methods to choose from when figuring your business mileage tax deduction. This article discusses using the standard mileage rate.
Business Vehicle Expenses Using the Actual Cost Method and Depreciation
If you drive your car in the normal course of running your arts / crafts business you have two methods to choose from when figuring your business mileage tax deduction. This article discusses using the actual cost method.
How to Get Practical Craft Experience
If you've ever thought about starting and running your own successful craft business it's a good idea to get good practical experience working for another established craft business first. Don't have the time to be an intern? There are alternatives.
How to Get Craft-Making Skills
It’s never a bad idea to take a class in your field of arts or crafts to advance your basic skills. Watching the instructor and your peers just may show you a better way to set up your workbench, perform your craft or you may get a referral to a fantastic vender. Here are some suggestions to find local arts / crafts classes.
Depreciation 101
Long-lived arts / crafts equipment and supplies are subject to depreciation. Depreciation spreads the cost of arts / crafts assets over their useful life. Find out the rudimentary facts of depreciating assets.
How to List Products on ArtFIre.com
Before you can sell on ArtFire.com, you need to add products to your studio. ArtFire.com's add product template has a few mandatory fields and many optional fields. Taking care in filling in both will help to drive traffic to your studio.
How to Successfully Price Your Crafts
Your objective is to price your crafts so that you make a reasonable profit while not pricing yourself out of the market. It can be an art. Find out how variable and fixed costs plus perceived value factor into the equation.
1040-ES and Sole Proprietor Craft Businesses
Every attempt should be made to send in Form 1040 tax returns with a balance due of less than $1,000. To achieve this goal, the sole proprietor uses IRS Form 1040-ES to make tax deposits throughout the year.
Company Types
Which type of arts and crafts company do you own? Depending on how you operate your business you can be a service, merchandising or manufacturing company – or any combination of the three.
What is an S Corp?
The S corporation is another example of a flow-through type of business entity. S Corporations have limited liability like corporations but taxed as a sole proprietorship. Find out more about how this type of business entity works.
Artists and Cost of Goods Sold
Figuring cost of goods sold is the first step in setting a price for your arts or crafts. This article walks you through the typical cost of goods sold expenses an artist may have.
Plan of Operations
The plan of operations section of the business plan is your A to Z on the running of your business. Break all operating procedures down into daily, weekly and monthly tasks. Then they are ordered and explained in the plan of operations section of your business plan.
Knitting
One of the textile crafts is knitting. One of the masters of knitting is Kaffe Fassett. Find out more about this knitting designer and his two color method of intarsia knitting.
ArtFire.com
ArtFire.com is a new online marketplace for artists and crafters. They have two plans available to sellers - a free basic plan and a verified plan that costs $12/month with no listing fees. Find out more about ArtFire in a question and answer session with ArtFire's Member Engagement.
Creating an Etsy Account
Your first step to open an Etsy shop is to create a Etsy account. This requires you select a unique username representative of your shop concept.
Using Ruby Lane to Sell Your Arts and Crafts
One online alternative for arts and crafts businesses is to open a Ruby Lane shop. Monthly fees are not exorbitant. Ruby Lane’s standards for quality of workmanship are very high.
Google Profiles
Learn how to take control of your Google search results by setting up a profile to drive traffic to your arts/crafts business. It’s easy and free.
The First Step to Start a Craft Business
Before you start a crafts business, carefully consider why you want to do it. Being a self-employed owner of any type of business is not a direct pipeline to financial success. Going into a crafts business with this type of mindset can set you up for failure.
Working Around Saturation Point
If you have with properly planned and managed your craft business growth, you will eventually reach a saturation point. Here's how to recognize when you've reached that point and what to do about it.
Partnerships
Definition of partnership, a legal form of business entity that can include both general and limited partners. Find out about formation, taxation and how partners get paid.
Creating a Craft Business for Your Market
Successful businesses research the marketplace first and then design products that will sell in that market. Research and a little bit of basic human psychology are good jumping off points for tailoring your craft business to the market.
Sole Proprietorships
Most brand new arts / crafts businesses start out as a sole proprietorship because it is the easiest and cheapest type of business entity to start and maintain.