Start and Run a Profitable Craft Business: A Complete Step-by-Step Business Plan

Ann Tudor was the former Managing Editor of Canadian Book Review Annual and had her own Toronto-based crafts company, Honest Threads.

William Hynes, who has a Ph.D. from Dalhousie University, has, with his wife, run his own craft business since 1976. According to the back blurb, the business has done so well that they now have 16 full-time employees. He is thus obviously well qualified to lead the prospective craftsman through the steps necessary for financial success. The book is definitely designed for production crafts and not for one-of-a-kind craft pieces. In fact, Mr. Hynes says that someone who is not now “making anything” can simply choose a compatible craft, train himself, and go into business. To my mind, this shows a certain lack of concern for quality, but presumably the fledgling, self-trained craftsman will learn in a hurry.

The 17 chapters cover all aspects of setting up a crafts business: how to learn craft skills, retail/wholesale comparisons, marketing tips, accounting systems, management and expansion, and tips for “continued success.” Much useful information is presented. The book is designed to sell in both the United States and Canada, an approach that sometimes results in skimpy information. At the end of the book is a list of craft organizations and agencies (one or more for each of 44 states and 10 provinces), and government development agencies that concern themselves with either small business in general or craft business in particular.

Certainly anyone thinking of opening a craft business can benefit from much of the information here.