Is this the right time? How to know when it’s the right time for you to start your business and how to plan for your challenges. Part One.
There are many challenges to starting a business but they are mainly time and money! This guide will help you to determine where your challenges will be and what you can do to circumvent them.
Before you start your crochet business, you need to think hard on whether this is the right time for you to dedicate time to this venture. There is no sense starting the work, only to realize that you simply cannot do it right now. It would be better to put it on the back burner, until you were ready, than to start it with a good chance of failure.
Don’t set yourself up to fail. There are some things to consider before getting started.
What season of life are you in? Are you retired? Do you have a full time job? Do you have young children? Will you be able to fit the time in around your job, family, home? Are you in a financial position to start your business?
Drips and Drabs, or all in?
Financially you can choose to organically grow small, or you can choose to invest a bit in yourself, with the confidence that you will soon earn it back, plus more. The same logic will apply to your time.
Personally I did a mix of both. I originally started my business as selling finished items, and I started very small. It basically started with just enough yarn for my first order (paid for in advance with a deposit from the customer). Once I received payment for that first order, I invested that profit back into my business. Basically I didn’t draw any pay from the business in the very beginning. I used the profits to purchase more yarns. As I sold more and more, I began to also put that money into resources like business cards and my website.
Around the same time, I decided that selling finished items wasn’t where my passion was, so I started publishing the patterns I had created along the way. From the very beginning I had used only my own designs for my finished items. Looking back now, that wasn’t completely necessary, but it did lead me to where I am today so I don’t regret it.
I also had 2 children when I first started, my middle child was just a baby but I was able to work when she was napping and after she had gone down for the evening. My oldest son was already a middle schooler at this time, so he didn’t require constant minding and he was in school most of the day. I did forgo a LOT of sleep and put a lot of hours in when I could (should) have been resting, and while this was great for building up quickly, it did lead to burn out.
When I was in the midst of growing my design business, I became pregnant with my youngest son, and it was much harder on me. I had two other children to take care of, my business required more to stay afloat, and I was exhausted, all the time. Even after he was born, I still had a hard time putting in the work because I was taking care of him, as well as the rest of the family, and severely sleep deprived. At this point my business was on the back burner.
In fact I’ve only just started really getting back to my business. During the last couple years I didn’t go at it with the same gusto as I had in the very beginning. But it was ok, I had grace for myself and knew that my time would come. Now both younger kids are in school at least part of the day and I am able to put in time around their schedules.
Some people, either due to finances or time available, are able to jump in to their businesses with both feet. They can spend 24 hours a day
What I did worked for me, but it may not work for you. We are going to break it down for each individual and help you figure out what will be YOUR best solution.
Time Challenges…
Time is the ultimate factor when deciding how you will run your business. You can always find other resources, like money, but you can’t create more time. Whether your time is currently being taken up by another job, your spouse or children, more than likely you already feel as though you just don’t have enough. How in the world are you going to fit a new business in there as well? Are you going to put in a couple hours here or there? Or are you going to dive right in with both feet?
how to identify them…
First, I want you to sit down with a pen and paper and figure out how and where you spend your time. You might not even know where most of your time is spent. So this week, document EVERY SINGLE MINUTE of your day (safe for bathroom breaks).
HOMEWORK: Print out this Time Spent chart and fill it out with your data you have kept on the time you spend doing things. There are spaces left in each category, and at the end, to fill in any headings I might have missed for you.
solutions for time…
Next week we will talk about different solutions to help with the challenges we have identified for you based on how you spend your time. I will create a list of some general time saving hacks, but we will discuss individual suggestions in the group.
Money Challenges…
Money is always another big one when starting off your business, and like time you can do things one of two ways; either start off small, reinvesting the small profits you make back into your business, or you can invest upfront in your business and then recoup those costs later.
We will go more into depth with money next week. I have a feeling you will have your hands full with time 🙂
Hello, name is Lorene, designing crochet patterns has been a dream come true. I have also published many patterns with yarn companies such as Red Heart and Darn Good Yarn and I’ve recently been published in I Like Crochet and Crochet World, where my design was picked as the cover photo and Winners Circle Design. I am also the Creative Director for Furls Crochet.
My other passion is to teach, specifically to teach others how to have their own successful crochet businesses. Which is why I have launched Cre8tion Crochet Business Academy.
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