Sunday, August 11, 2013

How To Start An Online Quilting Store

By Andrea Davidson


Technology becomes more advanced every day. Because of this type of growth, there are thousands of online businesses that are incredibly lucrative that are being started every day. Most of these businesses are started because the owners have a desire to work for themselves doing what they love. If you are an avid quilter looking to make some extra money, consider starting an online quilting store.

When choosing whether or not to start a quilting business, the first thing you will need to consider is what kind of store you would like to start up. Will it just be a method of you selling the quilts that you have already made? Would you like to sell patterns and quilting supplies? Or do you want to just sell quilting fabric? Once the type and function of your store has been decided, the next step is to figure out how much the start-up costs will be.

Knowing how much start up money you are going to need is just as important as determining what type of store you want to run. Start up cash can come from your own savings. You may also want to look into small business loans and bank loans. In order to apply for business loans, you will need to have a solid business plan available before any bank will approve a loan.

Once you have obtained the start up money and purchased the supplies that you will need for your business, it is time to begin thinking of a marketing plan. The first thing you must do is build a web store. There are many ways to do this.

One of the easiest and most expensive options is hiring a professional to build your web store. If hiring a professional web designer is not something that you budgeted for, consider doing it yourself. Building your own store that has a professional appearance is not as hard as it sounds. There are tutorials and templates available to assist you.

Once the store has been built, it is time to set your prices and figure how you are going to get your products to your customers, especially if you are selling patterns, as most quilting stores do. A very popular trend is allowing customers to download their patterns as soon as they have purchased them. Adding this option to your store will also help to decrease shipping costs.

The next step is to inform the public that you have a new online business. The best place to start is social media like Facebook and Twitter. If you are unfamiliar with social media marketing, consider hiring a professional to help you. You will also need to follow blogs and websites dedicated to quilting and advertise there. This is where you will obtain most of your customers.

Now that all the planning is finished, you are ready to move ahead with your online quilting store. All you need to do now is activate the website and invite customers to the store. Now you can present your love of quilting to others without having the stress of a physical store.




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