The Hardest Part (Pricing)
So I have come to the moment I have been dreading and avoiding for almost two years now. What price do I put on the bags I want to sell? This is the nail-biting, anxiety inducing, self-worth questioning task!
I had a great plan in the beginning. I bought the better sewing machine (my Juki TL2010Q RULES!) and planned out what bag patterns I wanted to try. I set them up so that I would be gaining new skills and improving as I went. I kept track of all the supplies and costs associated with each bag/pattern. I also kept track of how much time each bag took to make (knowing that the first time making something always takes a bit longer). My plan was to total up all the supply costs and add in an hourly rate for myself. Well, that’s not really something the market will bear. Even giving myself minimum wage (and, remember, this is just for the time I spend on the bags themselves and doesn’t include marketing or posting in the shop or packaging/mailing time) would make the bags so costly that I don’t think anyone would purchase them.
This is always the hardest part. You not only need to research what others are selling comparable bags for on Etsy, craft fairs, and on their websites, but also how much you would need to charge to make the business profitable. And, yes, I know there are many articles out there that explain how you should price items but following those models would make my products cost as much as a Berkin bag! From what I saw in my research I would be able to make a profit on the bags if I counted my supply costs only. This gets into rough territory. Handmade products are always going to cost more than what is being charged by chain stores - these items are handmade and thoughful - they are not churned out in a factory in India where people are not getting paid properly for their work. That’s a whole other can of beans to be unpacked! In addition, these items aren’t traditionally priced at what they need to be to provide the artist/maker with a living wage. Traditionally crafters will underprice their items to either compete with box stores or because they think of this as a hobby and just want to be able to make things and recoup the costs of their supplies. For those of us who would like to make this their primary income, this makes things very difficult.
I’ve already done the cost analysis and decided which bags I’m most likely to be able to make quickly and for less supply costs. These are the bags I will start producing and putting in my shop. And then I am always interested in trying new patterns and designs, so I’m sure there will be others I will try and add or subtract as I go.
I think the hardest thing to do here is to admit that, at least in the beginning, this business is not going to replace my full-time job. Ideally, I would love to be doing this for a living! I’ve dreamt about it for years as I’ve commuted to various jobs. And trying to keep track of time spent and monetize everything I do is a big creativity killer! It means that I feel like I shouldn’t be making certain things or exploring because I can’t put a reasonable price tag on it. And for some reason, finding joy and a creative outlet never seem to matter as much as how much can be charged for it.
This isn’t to say that other crafters haven’t cracked the code on this. I have many examples of other crafters/artists who have multiple income streams - a part-time job or freelance work in addition to running a YouTube channel with ad income and, now, monthly Patreon contributor who help them live their dream. I’m hoping to grow to this eventually and it’s been very encouraging to see these artists achieve this level. It’s been an eye opener for me! So I guess the moral of the story is that I’m going to charge what I think is a reasonable price for my products, given my costs and the examples of what else is on the market, and I’m going to trust that the rest will be provided - in one form or another. I think the important thing for me is to not live in a lack-mentality where I feel like I won’t be provided for (by a higher power or the universe if you believe in that). I know that I will be provided for. I have a nice steady full-time job right now with benefits. And if 2020 has taught me anything it’s that you really can’t predict the crazy s##t that the future holds! Maybe my crazy dream is waiting right around the corner?
