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Sometimes you need to hear the hard truth.
The things that people beat around the bush to say.
The things that may sting at first, but will later give you confidence to keep moving forward.
I’ve taken it upon myself to share with you the Cricut business advice that no one will give you. This content is in no way intended to shame you, but to allow you to open your eyes and realize that you’re running a business; a legit business.
I want you to take pride in your business and be confident to do so.
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- Customers won’t buy something from you that they can get at the store
- You don’t need Etsy, get your own website
- Make it easy for customers to buy from you
- Make it easy for customers to pay you
- Your product must be high quality and unique
- You have to work even when you don’t feel like it
- Investing is critical
- You have to know who your potential target customer is in order to market to them
- Your customer service has to be top-notch
- You have to think outside the box when using your Cricut
- You may eventually not want to continue selling physical products
Customers won’t buy something from you that they can get at the store
Sometimes as crafters, we waste time creating something that’s already been created. We’ll make the items that customers can get from Walmart, Party City or Hobby Lobby. I personally suggest instead of creating what’s already been created, buy that thing and create something complementary to it or enhance it.
For example, if Walmart sells cups that have black unicorn heads all over them, you shouldn’t be making the exact same cups. You can buy the cups and add a name to them or you can buy the cups and print then cut personalized unicorn stickers to go on small plates. Because most times when it comes to parties, people want personalized complementary things so if you can sell them both things with less work, you’ve won.
You could even make cups with unicorn heads and use some cool adhesive vinyl such as holographic vinyl.
You don’t need Etsy, get your own website
Etsy is a great platform to start out on when you’re starting your Cricut business. The entry price is relatively low and there are millions of customers on Etsy searching for unique items.
The downside to Etsy is that there are thousands of sellers selling the same items as you and it can be hard to stand out in the crowd. Also, when you start to add up all the fees (transaction, shipping, processing, etc.) that Etsy charges, it can be a large amount.
When you have your own website, you pay 1 set fee every month and customers won’t get distracted by other products that Etsy recommends from other sellers. You will also be establishing brand recognition with your own website. Instead of someone saying they got that personalized tumbler from Etsy, they can say they got it from your website.
Make it easy for customers to buy from you
If you don’t have an online presence it can be difficult for people to order from you, which means it becomes difficult for you in a variety of ways. Consider the example below:
You have a work colleague that wants to buy 5 shirts from you. You don’t have any online presence so you call your colleague and ask them for the details of the order. They tell you the shirt colors, the HTV color, the sizes, and the words to put on the shirt. You tell them the price and let them know when you’ll have the shirts ready.
Upon completing the shirts you text the customers saying you have the shirts finished and you list out the sizes that were stated on the phone call. The customer says one of the shirt sizes is incorrect, but when you took the initial order, you wrote the details down on a piece of paper. The customer insists that she gave you the right shirt sizes and that you messed up the order.
This fiasco could have been avoided if you had a simple online platform where customers could place their orders. There would be no denial about what shirt sizes the customer ordered. So, make it easy for yourself and the customer by creating an online store or online process for customers to input their orders and receive a copy of what they submitted.
Make it easy for customers to pay you
Going along with the example from above, you need to make it easy for customers to pay you. If you don’t have an online store, you can still use platforms such as Square, Stripe, PayPal, and Venmo to send invoices and collect payments.
By not having a website, you will always have to deal with determining if customers should put down a deposit and if you should make the order first and get the money last (I do not recommend it).
Your product must be high quality and unique
As mentioned in the first point, your products must be unique, but they must also be high quality. When you’re creating hand-crafted items, it still needs to look as if your product was made in a manufacturing company with no loose super glue, no misaligned pieces, and no smudges.
If your items are not high quality and unique, you can’t charge premium prices and you probably won’t feel comfortable charging premium prices because you know the value of your finished product is not worth it. Would you pay your hard-earned money on an item that had super glue showing with misaligned pieces?
You have to work even when you don’t feel like it
Your business won’t launch itself and there will be moments when you don’t feel like working on your business. Yes, it’s important to create a work-life balance, but it’s also important to do the work. If you’re working a full-time job and creating on the side, you will definitely need to make time in your schedule for your business.
Every time you say yes to taking that nap, watching that tv show, or scrolling on social media, you’re saying no to moving your business forward.
Use your calendar, a planner, or Asana to help you plan your days.
Investing is critical
With any business, you have to invest; especially in your Cricut business. You will have a long list of investments such as supplies and materials, a website, an LLC, and the list goes on. Wouldn’t you hate to invest all of that money in your business and just quit?
That’s what happens with a lot of Cricut business newbies. They start the business, they look for solutions online and in Facebook groups, and get discouraged because they are overwhelmed.
I’ve personally set up and run a successful online business and have invested in several coaching programs to help me move my business forward and that’s what I suggest you do with your Cricut business. Invest in coaching that will help you check things off your list and see actual results. Without critical investments, your business will remain stagnant and stay in the same low-sales category.
You have to know who your potential target customer is in order to market to them
You can’t put up products on a website and post pictures on social media and hope someone will find it and buy it. That’s not a strategy. Just because you built it doesn’t mean people will buy it and that’s why you have to know who your potential target customer is in order to market to them.
You have to know the type of customer who needs what you sell. The type of customer that is willing to pay your prices. If you don’t know your target customer, you won’t know how to target them.
Your customer service has to be top-notch
As a small business that customers have direct contact with, you are expected to have top-notch customer service. If a potential customer messages you to ask about a product, you can’t wait 2 weeks to respond.
If a customer says they haven’t received a tracking number, just go ahead and send them the tracking number again even though you know they should have received it the first time.
Please remember that customers are quick to leave negative reviews when they’ve had negative experiences. If you have an Etsy shop, there’s no way for you to hide or delete these negative responses so it’s important to make customers feel valued and as if their voice is being heard.
You have to think outside the box when using your Cricut
When using your Cricut machine, you have to think outside the box and test and try things that you probably wouldn’t have before. As a business, you want to deliver the best quality for the cheapest amount and the highest price that customers will pay. So you need to be aware of tips, tricks, and hacks to help you save money.
You may eventually not want to continue selling physical products
I used to love getting a notification on my phone saying someone placed an order. I would happily get up and get to work, making sure the order was perfect and packaged neatly.
However, one of the main reasons I scaled back on selling physical products is because it took up too much of my time. I love being outdoors and traveling, but being tied to my craft room didn’t allow me to do those things as much as I liked.
I found that offering coaching advice and helping others build their dream of selling their Cricut creations was more suitable for me.
Through learning to use Cricut Design Space, Adobe Illustrator, and Canva, I also discovered that I could sell the digital artwork that I created (svg files, PDFs, etc.). Doing this allows me to still make money online without having to be tied to my craft room.
I hope you enjoyed this article on the Cricut business advice that no one will give you.
Comment below and let me know if any of the advice helped you. Also, let me know what other advice you wish someone told you.
