Mission Statement
To provide a place for people to sell handmade goods to local and nation-wide buyers. For buyers to find crafters in their area other than at Craft events. A hub of Craft Events locally and across the nation.
The Company
This business plan presents an exciting business opportunity for an eCommerce-based website on hand-crafted, unique craft and artisan products to sell to local and nation-wide buyers.
The concept of this website is to connect local crafters to local buyers plus listings of local Craft Shows /Events and the exhibitors who will attend.
Buyers can purchase from any state and eventually any country on the website.
Seller’s will have the opportunity to sell in the US and in the future, other countries.
The main goal of the website is to connect Buyers and Crafters locally, so the purchase of items could be in the same city or county. Buyers from outside of the area can still buy items through the website.
This website would not only promote Crafters and their products but also Craft Shows and events in each state. The Crafters could link their profile page to the Craft Show where they will participate. This gives buyers the opportunity to follow their favorite crafter and their events. No other online eCommerce website offers all of these services together.
Global Handicraft Market
2017 $526 Billion
2020 $647 Billion
2021 $680 Billion
North America Handicraft Market
2018 $218 Billion
2019 $242 Billion
2020 $270 Billion
Active buyer’s market of crafts in 2019 was 45.7 million. This number will only increase.
Target Market
The market comprises of over 88 million buyers of hand-made items. The target customer is typically female, aged between 30-60 yrs. either married or single. The target customer has access to the internet and has proficiency to make online purchases online, and ideally earns not less than $35,000 per annum.
Window of Opportunity
There is always an increasing demand for handmade items. Customers increasingly prefer online shops that offer a wide variety of products. As an example: Etsy.com had 5.3 million active sellers and 88.1 million active buyers at the end of the quarter (June 30, 2022). With their website being so large, many crafters are discouraged with how to sell through Etsy and many are not successful. My Local Crafters is an opportunity for those crafters to find another avenue to sell their goods, but also find local buyers and craft shows which Etsy does not provide.
Etsy had 445,000 sellers in their 2nd year. Our financials are based on 150,000 sellers by the 2nd year, which we find to be very realistic with the funds to assist getting there. With only $5/month membership fee for each crafter (excluding fees for other services) our totals expect to reach over $6 million. I have financials to share at another time.
Our Products
The products promoted on the website will be items made by the Crafter and Artisan members. Once membership is established, the products will be displayed on the Crafter profile page. These items can be purchased through the website.
Each Crafter who becomes a member of the website will have a profile page. This page will include contact info, location, product descriptions, prices, photos, and reviews. There is a membership fee for this page. The initial template will be created by the website designer. Changes can be made later by the Crafter. This is the initial idea but other options can be discussed in the future.
The Craft Show and Events pages will be categorized by state and narrowed down to county. Each event will have the following: the name, location, dates, times, cost, contact information for the event and other details that the promoter will list. Two location maps will be displayed, one for finding Crafters and one for finding Craft Shows.
The name of the show and location is available for everyone. The yearly membership will include the Craft Show’s location, contact information, cost of booth, attendance expected and deadline dates.
Promoters for events, Craft stores and small business suppliers such as quilt shops will be offered to advertise their business on the site.
Company History
My Local Crafters LLC was created in October 2020. With over 20 years of crafting, I really did not promote my products as a business until 2018. My items were sold in stores located in New Berlin, Ohio where seasonal buyers were abundant. Success was there and so I used Facebook Marketplace and success was there too. Instead of producing more products, I found there was a need to find local crafters to network with local buyers outside the Craft show ring. Not everyone attends weekend craft shows.
The benefits for the buyer are shopping locally for a one-of-a-kind product (supporting small businesses!) without having to pay shipping charges, with the convenience to pick up their item in their city or county and build an ongoing friendship.
The benefits for the Crafter are being able to sell locally, no need to purchase shipping materials, go to a shipping location and having to wait for a payment to arrive.
Company Results October 2020 - 2021
▪ 500 visitors to the website in the first 2 months
This was the result of Facebook Ads and presence in 8 Crafting Groups.
▪ 275 names and emails of those interested in the website, collected from Facebook ads and Sign-up on website in the first 2 months
These numbers prove an interest in the website which included a small number of Crafters and an extensive list of Craft Shows/events mainly in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Due to a non-professional website designer, that site is no longer active.
I have spent a year creating ideas for this project and researching the market and growth of the industry.
Thank you for your time.
I look forward to speaking with you about how you can help build an awesome successful E-commerce website!