How much money can you earn with a crochet side hustle? Is it worth it to start one?
Ramit Sethi, one of my favorite personal finance experts, has said that a good side hustle should generate you about $1000/month minimum if it’s going to be worth anything. I agree! That’s some cash money for your Roth IRA.
(What I don’t agree with is his comment that you won’t make that “knitting sweaters.” Oh how I beg to differ.)
While I have not seen that much income every month, that’s my goal. And I’m refining my approach to my business to make that amount consistently selling at markets. I do know people who easily achieve this in one or two markets (oh, the dream!). The sky’s the limit on income, especially during the holiday season.
If you’re equipped with the right knowledge and tools, I think you can definitely make $1000/month selling your crocheted goods at markets, craft fairs, and festivals. It’s not the “$10,000/month from Etsy sales” that some people claim (I honestly don’t know how they do that; it is probably a very small portion of people who are that successful, and def not every month). But to me, this is a totally reasonable, practical goal for a side hustle.
But remember: $1000 in sales DOES NOT equal $1000 take home for you. You have to factor in your operating expenses.
Here’s what I do: from all of my sales, I pay myself 60%. Straight from my business bank account to my personal bank account (some goes straight to my Roth, high five!). This leaves 40% for vendor fees and other overhead costs of business, materials, taxes, and profit for your business. You can adjust these percentages as it fits your business. If you haven’t yet, you HAVE to read Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. (not an affiliate, just a fan!)
So under my model, to take home $1000, I need to have $1667 in sales. Also doable!
But to really make this happen, you need to be selling the right items in the right places.
AND YOU NEED TO BE CHARGING ENOUGH FOR YOUR TIME. I’m talking $30/hour for your labor. Your time is extremely limited, and you are handmaking all your products.
I won’t say that this goal will be easy to achieve if you are just starting out, but I do believe you will get there if you keep trying.
You do have to be smart about this. You can’t just sign up for as many markets as possible and expect to eventually get there. You will get to the point where you feel like you’re spinning your wheels and burning out (like young Jen, good heavens). You certainly need to track your sales data, logging variables that influence your sales.
Earlier on in my business, when I finally realized I was spinning my wheels, I made a spreadsheet (I’m big into these, if you haven’t figured that out), and I started keeping track of everything. This spreadsheet eventually turned into my Fair Pricing Calculator that I use every day to quickly and easily price my products. So now, with these tools, you can learn how to get efficient and profitable with your own business.
Oh, and when I’m out there at the markets, I’m not just trying to get as many sales as I can, charging whatever price will achieve that. I’m trying to get sales that pay me well per hour of my time. I am not working this hard for $5/hour.
Have you read my free guidebook yet? It has all my secrets for how to make real money crocheting. Type in your email and get it now!