Do you love making things in your spare time? Have you ever considered turning it into a side venture? A business that could help with the cost of living and bring in some money to pay those extra bills we're all facing? If you make products that people will want to buy, how do you start? Maybe you've even had interest or have sold a few things to friends or family? Let's have a look at how you can turn those products into cold hard cash. Let's explore how to make money selling products online.
What Are You Making & Selling?
Firstly, you need to settle on wat you are making for selling. Don't try and become a jack of all trades straight away. You'll likely struggle and could fall into the ‘master of none' column. Focus on your niche, your key products, ones that you know will be loved and enjoyed and will bring you a decent wedge of profit. If you are starting a new venture, it can be exciting but also stressful because you are your brand and your brand is you. You'll probably work late nights and when you sleep, dream about making these products. However when you sell, you'll sell well. Know your venture inside out, every part of the journey and you'll turn this product making and selling into a success.
Cover Your Costs & Add A Profit
As we look at how to make money selling products online, we need to know how much these things cost. You need to know your costs inside out. How much do your products cost to make? Include all the ingredients, packaging and even your utilities to create them. When you know these costs, you can figure out how much you can sell them for. Of course, if bath bombs are costing you £9 each to make, you're unlikely to sell many to even break even when people can get them for two or three pounds from a competitor. Your business expenses need to be as low as possible whilst allowing you to create your desired product. You could look at alternative and cheaper ingredients however you will want to maintain your quality. People will pay for quality products and buy into a well made brand. You also need to add a profit on top of your products. Usually between 50% to 100% so you are making good money when you sell.
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Where To Sell
Where will you sell your items? You might have bought a domain to your own website when you named your business, which is fantastic, keep hold of that. However, so people know about you yet? You might be better selling on an established platform such as Etsy or even eBay. They have lots of customers looking for items you will be selling. Whilst there will be fees involved when you sell this way, you will be more likely to sell than waiting for people to come directly to your own website. Where there will still be costs involved we might add – website maintenance etc. Keep your eye out for craft markets and if your items are ideal as gifts, check out Christmas fairs too.
Invest & Reinvest
Investing a little bit of money at the start of your venture is common. When you know how to make money selling products online, you can reinvest some of the cash you earn, to make new ranges, branch out, improve marketing and promotion and much more. Reinvesting in your this will allow you to grow and scale up. Perhaps have a dedicated space to make your items, speed up your processes with new machinery or even take on a member of staff.
It can be so exciting when you look into how to make money selling products online. When things go well, it feel incredible, but you should also be confident to pull products that aren't shifting off the shelves and start smelling what sells instead. Listen to your customers, be confident in yourself and you could go far.
