How much should your craft work cost?

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A common question artsisans have regarding selling their work is how much should it cost. People use to look at prices charged by other crafters, but that’s not the best way to do it and you may end up not being able to sustain your craft business because values charged are too low.

On the other hand, unlike other businesses, craft work sale doens’t require a complicated calculum as it usually doesn’t involve costs such as employees’ salaries, rent, paperwork, etc. So, how do you do it?

You can keep it simple yet sensible by following a basic rule of three: take the raw material cost and multiple it by/for three. That’s the minimum you should charge for the sustainibility of your craft business. 

You can add other costs such energy, gas, etc, but as crafters frequently work from home, their use tend be minimum when diluded in the overall montly home maintainance costs.

But, how did someone come to this math? Was it simply a lucky guess? Well, despite three being considered a magic number, this formula is based on the fact that you need to reinvest in your business to keep it running – although many people tend commit the error of taking their profit and forgetting about that, until they have a new order and need to buy all the insumes again.

Keep in mind that you need:

    1. To pay for raw materials you use. Your work’s price must cover this cost or you’re paying to work.

    2. Pay for your working hours. That’s the remuneration for your hard dedicated unique handcrafted work.

    3. Reinvest in your business. You need to buy this amount in new materials for you to use in your crafts. That’s when you begin to profit from your work.

       

So, that’s a simple way for fixing the right price for your craft work. 

Crafty hugs,

Karen