Want to know how much I make with a part-time crochet business?
As I write this, it’s November 1st and things are rockin’ and rollin’ as we continue to focus our attention on growing hour homestead and getting our home built. It’s been a year of living in an RV on the property and trying to work and live in just 300 square feet takes patience I didn’t know I had.
But, business needs to keep rolling along, too. So, I’ve been ramping up some work on Made with a Twist now that it’s fall and, in September, I opened White Winter Hat Company in response to many client’s complaints that “it’s too hard to get started on Etsy right now” and “Etsy is saturated with crochet. You just can’t make a decent income there any longer.”
I work approximately 10 hours per week on these business as my focus is on the Crochetpreneur (crochet business coaching) end of things. So, far, WWHC it’s going as I expected. I’ll share the income details below with even more insight into the strategies I used to get the shop started shared right inside this video. I hope you enjoy it!
Why I Diversify
I recently got some constructive criticism saying something to the effect of, “I read your income report. I want to know how to make six-figures selling my crochet products. You make money from ads, digital products, workshops, and all that other stuff. I feel betrayed by the ‘promise’ of a full-time income….I don’t want to do all that stuff. I just want to sell my crochet items and make over $100,000. You shouldn’t deceive people like that.”
Well, the honest truth is, if your goal is to make $100,000 from a solely, physical product-based crochet business, too, then I’m not your guy.
In order to make over $100,000 with a solely product-based crochet business, you’re either going to have to get into the high-end side of fashion designing or you’ll have to scale using contract crocheters and low-cost factory workers. Neither of those avenues are my forte.
In contrast, I espouse the diversification model. By building a business that is ‘wide’ (having a variety of income sources), you build on a foundation that can sustain the fluctuations in our seasonal market, create passive income, and reach many more people…and not simply trade your hours for dollars.
By diversifying, you open yourself up to more freedom as a business owner, more profits, and more income.
If you’re on board with that, that’s press on.
Why I Share Income Reports
Just a quick blurb about why a private, introverted business coach such as myself would want to share all these details about the backend of her business. Well, there are two reasons:
Inspiration: When I first started, I was inspired to build my business when I saw that others were able to do the same. I read income reports from bloggers and other crochet business owners and thought, “I can do that!” If I can help someone feel the same, it makes all this vulnerability worth it.
Accountability: When you’re looking for a coach to follow, it’s important to understand that she has been able to do what you’re wanting to do…build a crochet business to meet your financial needs. And you can’t know whether or not she has actually done that from her follower count, her friendships, or her Etsy sales numbers. None of these things equal profits if you don’t know the whole story.
You can only know whether she has actually done what you want to do by looking at the numbers…so, here I am being totally transparent.
The Danger of Income Reports
I can’t tell you how many burgeoning crochet business owners I hear from who have seen an income report and tried to reverse engineer someone else’s business…trying to do all-the-things, all-the-time, and all-at-once.
She’s scrambling to create an income for herself and making herself sick, discouraged, and burned out, in the process.
While I understand the temptation to try to do it “just like she does”, this is not the way to build YOUR business with YOUR people and YOUR own passion.
Take inspiration from this or any other income report, but know that growing a business into a full-time income takes time, strategy, work, and differentiation…no income report can include all the nuances of how any individual made that happen.
If you want help growing your business, please join us in the Crochetpreneur Business Academy.
Income and Expenses Report for My Crochet Business
This income report is not including my coaching income so that it eliminates the skewing of the numbers based on an income stream that most crochet business owners aren’t able to include in their revenue portfolio.
October 2021 Crochet Business Income
- Mediavine Ads: $891.42
- YouTube: $29.98
- Affiliate Sales (Amazon, Siteground, Ultimate Bundles, etc): $123.22
- Made with a Twist Pattern Sales (on Etsy, Ravelry, and my Shopify Sites): $1989.29
- White Winter Hat Company Product Sales (on Etsy): $1736.09
- Other Digital Product Sales (Printables): $7.00
EARNINGS TOTAL:
$4,777.00
October 2021 Crochet Business Expenses
- Etsy Fees: $481.46
- Ravelry Fees: $14.06
- Etsy Ads (including offsite ads): $762.27
- Shipping: $116.69
- Send Owl %: $6.00
- Send Owl Gateway: $0.57
- Mailerlite: $80.00
- Siteground %: $17.50
- Canva %: $6.50
- Shopify: $37.99
- Shopify Fees: $2.82
- PayPal Fees %: $100.00
- Marmalead %: $15.00
- Tech Support: $57.00
EXPENSES TOTAL:
$1,697.86
Net Profit:
$4,777.00 – $1,697.86 = $3,079.14
Charitable Donations:
Together, for October, we (you and I as a result of these profits) gave $310.00 to charitable organizations whose goal is to rescue the hearts and lives of hurting people particularly the homeless, children in foster care, and those being exploited through human trafficking.
Made with a Twist Traffic Report
October 2021 Crochet Blog Traffic
So, here are the numbers. Note, I did host a blog hop from Oct 15 – Oct 30 so these numbers are higher than they normally would be with regular blog traffic.
Madewithatwist.com
- Monthly Visitors: 27,025
- Unique Visitors: 26,002
- Page Views: 77,422
Debrief
What Happened in the Business
- During the beginning of the month, I was focused on hosting the Holiday Prep Challenge and launching the Crochetpreneur Business Academy. So, I didn’t focus much on the Made with a Twist blog or on marketing White Winter Hat Co.
- I was featured in a local newspaper and that generated some traffic and sale to my WWHC Etsy shop. I believe 6 sales of a total of 10 items were generated by that article.
- My YouTube channel was monetized on October 22nd.
- The Best of 30 Days of Cozy Blog Hop started on October 15 and will run through November 13.
What Happened in Our Lives
- Things are quiet around the home front. I’m working on taking at least one day away from the computer to spend focusing on the house.
- We’re still living in the RV while our house is built and that brings an exponential amount of stress, especially as winter looms and the house isn’t dried in yet.
- We’re doing the best we can to cope with the ups and downs of home building and trying to enjoy the process and intentionally focusing on gratitude for the opportunity to create this homestead and home with the proceeds of my crochet businesses.
Write Your Own Crochet Business Success Story
Join the Crochetpreneur Business Academy
If you’re one of those go-getter crocheters who knows that you want to be more than a hobby seller, I’d love to invite you to join us in the Crochetpreneur Business Academy. While the class isn’t enrolling right now (Or is it? We’re planning something special for Black Friday!), doors open toward the end of summer. You can be sure to get in on the action by signing up for the waitlist.
Start a Blog
Are you ready to grow your income with a maker blog of your own? Check out my START A PROFITABLE BLOG guide and get yours up and running today!
Blogging Resources
Find all my favorite blogging tools on my Resources page.
If you want to learn more about why starting a blog is a great choice for makers, how they can use it to build a variety of income streams, how to start gathering emails and driving traffic to the blog, check out my introductory mini-course, Blogging for Makers 101.
Already have a blog, but looking to increase your income, check out these free resource from Elite Blog Academy,
- 7 Surefire Ways to Boost Your Blog Income Overnight.
- The New Blogger’s Guide to Guest Posting
- The Secret Blueprint for Blogging Success
- The Beginner’s Guide to Branding Your Blog
Other Resources for Crochet Business Growers
That’s OK! There are plenty of other ways to make money with your crochet skills. Here are some articles you might enjoy:
The Ultimate List of 20+ Ways to Make Money Crocheting
An Impulsive’s Guide to Starting a Crochet Business Right Now!
Other ideas? Take my free ROCK YOUR CRAFT FAIR Training Series or, for aspiring designers, sign up for the GET IT DONE Concept-to-Launch Crochet Pattern Writing Email Challenge!
I can’t wait to help you build and grow your business into the business of your dreams!
Price Your Products Like the Pros
Includes: the exact formula I use to price my products for maximum sales and profit while attracting my ideal customer.
