How to Start a Craft-Painting Business
Craft painting is an artistic hobby that has stood the test of time. For centuries people have used decorative painting to embellish items in the home. This art form is still popular today and spans several decorating styles, including country, primitive and cottage-chic. To turn your hobby of craft painting into a business, look at the big picture and break it down into a focused plan to ensure a successful start for your endeavor.
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Instructions
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Contact your local Small Business Administration (SBA) to inquire if a business can be run from your home. Apply for a business license and sales tax number. Home-based craft businesses are usually allowed if there's not extra traffic or business signs outside the home.
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Consider the products you'd like to make for your business: one-of-a-kind products using unique paint surfaces (such as those used on antiques and vintage pieces); products using surfaces you can purchase or produce yourself in quantity; personalized custom pieces for your customers, such as ornaments or home decor with names or monograms incorporated into the paint design; or a combination of all of the above. Write all your ideas in a notebook.
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Research online and off-line businesses selling products similar to the ones you'd like to sell. You can find these types of businesses by using keywords and an Internet search engine; going to eBay.com, Etsy.com, ArtFire.com and other handcrafted-item marketplaces; attending local craft fairs; and visiting stores selling handcrafted products. Make notes of what types of products are sold, the prices of the products, the best-selling products and which painted products are oversaturated in the market.
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Examine the notes you've made and decide which products you'll paint. Check with suppliers to make sure the supplies are readily available and at a reasonable retail or wholesale price.
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Paint samples of the products and show them to a test group of people. Note their feedback about the items, prices and any other ideas they may have; adjust the product designs as you feel necessary before creating an inventory to sell.
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Begin selling your products online by opening an account on an established site such as eBay or Etsy. Sign up for a booth at craft fairs to sell your products locally. As you market and sell your products, increase your inventory according to sales trends and new products you'd like to add.
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Continue to market your products through craft shows, established online marketplaces and your own website. Continue marketing until your business and product line is established to market to retailers through a wholesale market show or through sales representatives.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep your eyes open for new and unique ideas to add to your products.
Keep good records of costs and sales for tax purposes.
Always provide excellent customer service and find creative ways to serve your customers better.
Find creative ways to market your business, such as samples, professional and creative business cards, having an open house or home party, and using online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Shop thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales for interesting surfaces to paint upon. Old buckets, baby shoes, boots, skates, butter dishes, canisters, look great reporposed with a beautiful painting and then embelished with dried flowers, berry sprigs, or even minature Christmas trees.
Don't copy other painters' work: Be original, unless it's a design pattern you've purchased with permission to copy. Give credit to the pattern designer.
Never use the photos taken by a pattern designer unless permission has been granted.
When using graphics as patterns for craft painting, get licensed permission to use the graphic design for profit.
