In 2017 I started my product-based business. Before that, back in 2015, I got my first LLC for my photography company. Through high school I shot portraits and got into wedding photography! My service business is my top source of revenue hands down. Number two is Chicka & Co. my online clothing company. From those you get into multiple branches. There are multiple streams within either a service or product business. I have a website. I can also go in person to vendor shows, popups and craft fairs. In-person selling counts as another stream because I could still make online sales while doing so! A third stream of revenue for me is wholesale. Wholesale is the buying and selling of goods in large quantities, usually to another store. Not necessarily a customer (Although anyone who buys from you is a customer) In this situation your customer is another store that's going to sell your stuff. Why is it so great? Because I don't have to sell it! If a company/store buys I make that money. I ship them the items. If they sell them, great! If they don’t, it doesn’t hurt me at all.
Wholesale Chat
First you need products. If you’ve only been buying and reselling products, and you haven't handmade or designed anything you can't offer wholesale. Step one is having original and unique products. If you're just dabbling into your own designs and into wholesale stickers are the best way to start!
Where to sell your wholesale
You can start with email. Making a digital PDF and then emailing it to different stores. Doing the leg work yourself. I’ve done that before, and it worked out fine! Then there’s Faire. They do take commission, but if you're aware of that you can make your minimum higher. My minimum is $100. It makes it worth it in the end because I genuinely wouldn't have gotten it if it wasn't for Faire. The commission is a big hit, but again - I'm handmaking everything. My overhead is near to nothing. There is also a direct link you can encourage people to use that way the commission is waved. This wholesale order I got was a total of $213. I made $163. Faire took $50 but they covered the shipping for me. Overall I literally wouldn't have made the money from it if it wasn't for Faire marketing me.
Pricing your wholesale
This is going to depend on you how much your product costs. And do your research too! I have noticed the normal wholesale cost for a sticker is 50 cents. When it comes to reselling something usually, I'm going to take that wholesale cost and I'm going to multiply it by 2.5 or 3 or even 3.5 depending on the Product. When you’re then talking a wholesale price point going about that process backwards. I'm seeing how much I charge for a product usually splitting it in half making sure that covers my cost but also my time and then a little bit extra.
Example: One bow cost me around $1.50 material, in an hour I can do 10 bows or so. I charge retail $14-16 and wholesale $7-8.
Branding
Branding and good photos are a must if you want to be seen. If you want to be taken seriously as someone that a store is going to buy.
A final stream of income is digital. Digital products. I know sometimes, like on Tik Tok when they say, “I make $20k of passive income through digital products on Etsy.” Yeah, okay, no you do not. These products I think depends on the person. What you like doing. If you find a niche, run with it! Some I’ve made money from are doodles and quotes. I’m an iPad girly! I love my iPad. So many things with my iPad have made me money. GIFs, custom art, quotes, etc.
Just because you can do it doesn't mean someone else can. And if someone else can it doesn't mean they do it well. The market is always there. I get boundaries of hobby verses work but it’s okay to put a dollar sign on a hobby sometimes. ;)
I'm going to end this blog with just a bit of motivation. You are extremely talented, and people will pay anything to either get a product from you or if you have a service based business. People are going to pay what you deserve. Please don't undercharge and know that you can make money.
Let’s wrap up with sharing my products I make/wholesale.
- Stickers
- Suncatchers
- Magnet Bows
- Magnet Charms
- Keychains
- Bookmarks
- Necklaces
- Rings
- Earrings
- Graphic Tees
- Handmade clothes (one-of-a-kind pieces)