5. How to Find a Niche in Craft Business and become a Successful Handmade Entrepreneur?

No money, no project (it was shamelessly taken away). No plan of what to do next. Sara heard a phone call and interrupted her sad thoughts.

– Hey, Sara.
– Hey, Daddy. How are you?
– Good. I’m fine. Mom told me about Kate. That’s so sad. You put so much time into that project. Listen, Sara, stop acting like an idiot! Quit this childishness and get back to work. You’ve had enough! You have an education and experience, yet you’re just sitting there, sewing and suffering because of some fool.

– Dad, please stop. I don’t want to go back. I don’t want anything anymore.
– And what will you do for yourself? Keep an eye on your son. And his studies? I am trying to help you but can not stay near forever. You need to take your profession and work seriously, my daughter. Please don’t hang up again. But think very carefully first. By the way, I wrote a few kisses to you.

– Okay, Dad. I love you too. I’ll talk to you soon anyway. “No, I definitely won’t return to my old job. I have to find out something else. What?” – Sara returned to itself in thoughts.

It was late evening. Her son had been asleep, and Sara sat in the kitchen tonight, thinking of the next step she needed to take.

She picked up her embroidery. She had always liked embroidery as a calming activity since it removed much of her stress. The moment she held the needle and thread in her hands and began stitching, all her worries seemed to disappear from her mind.

This time, Sara embroidered a bug made of gold for herself. Her son kept asking her where she had bought these brooches. He would tell her about each piece: “Mom, you look so fancy today.” And Sara would start embroidering another brooch to please her son and get a compliment from him. He was the one person with whom she ever received praise.

Suddenly, Sara was in a state of creative bliss. She began thinking deep things. “I would love to make money out of embroidering. I enjoy it and can do it independently without going through people I don’t trust. But how is one supposed to make money from it? Sell brooches online? But as many good artisans do the same, how can I set myself apart? Maybe I should teach embroidery? For around eight years now, I’ve been holding classes for adults, and children, too—as teachers, we have all sorts of valuable experience! That’s right!”

Creating and teaching something—what a great idea! The field of painting seems overcrowded, so I need to find something related that incorporates art skills and embroidery. It’s quite a challenge.” The new ideas that finally surfaced in Sara’s tired and frustrated mind felt uplifting. 

However, for now, they seemed like mere dreams, something unreal. And they didn’t seem particularly unique either, considering there were many skilled artisans. Nevertheless, she smiled and continued embroidering her new beetle.

– How to Find and Own Your Niche?

THE CONCEPT OF FINDING A BUSINESS NICHE OR UNIQUENESS

Starting your own craft business can be exciting, but finding a profitable niche is crucial to your success as a handmade entrepreneur. Identifying a niche market allows you to target specific customers with unique products and build a strong brand.

Steps to finding the perfect niche for your craft business and how it can help you succeed.

The phrases “how to find your niche” or “how to find your uniqueness” have become so familiar that their original meaning has been lost.

There’s no need to search for a niche or uniqueness actively. Instead, focus on one idea that you currently like the most in your life and:

1. Determine if there is potential profitability in that particular area.
2. If there is a demand, test it by launching your idea.

It’s as simple as that. Spending years searching for “your niche” is just a waste of time. Here’s another valuable insight that will save you from unnecessary thoughts and worries, as well as precious time:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE UNIQUENESS!

Everything in our world has already been invented. Don’t try to come up with something completely new out of thin air. Focus your energy on something else rather than fixating on a unique selling proposition. I can sense your inner objection! How is that possible?

Marketers often emphasize the need to find your unique selling proposition for success and increased sales. However, many marketers do not understand what this truly means, especially when they offer similar products to their competitors.

Let’s remove the rose-colored glasses again: absolute uniqueness doesn’t exist! Companies and brands compete primarily for customers through marketing and sales strategies rather than being unique. So, abandon the quest for your project’s unique selling proposition. Instead, strive for a vibrant, passionate, desirable, and EXCELLENT selling proposition.

Let’s replace the word “unique” with the word “bright” offer.

Bright offers are deeply ingrained in people’s subconscious minds and keep them interested even without your product or service. We live in an era where bright individuals, bright ideas, and the brilliant execution of those ideas thrive. 

The positioning you create and the image that takes shape in the minds of consumers define your business. It’s a momentary image. Ask your audience or customers to describe your brand in three words without overthinking, and you’ll discover your positioning.

As a marketer for your brand, your task is to shape the desired image in people’s minds and portray yourself how you want to be seen. By differentiating yourself from competitors, you can effectively establish that image. Determine what makes your products different from others and how they address the specific needs of your niche audience. 

TUNE OUT FROM THE COMPETITION IN NICHE MARKET

Forget about the unique selling proposition! But how can you tune out from the competition without one? To distance yourself from competitors, start by analyzing them and identifying their key strategies that could be applied to your project. Then, develop your project based on that data.

– How to Find and Own Your Niche?

METHODS FOR TUNING OUT THE COMPETITION IN HANDMADE BUSINESS

Researching your potential customers is crucial when choosing a niche. Research the market to identify your target audience’s specific needs and preferences. Look for gaps in the market where customers are searching for a particular product that they can’t find or are unsatisfied with the existing options.

Here are the basic methods of tuning out applicable in the field of creativity. Of course, they can also be combined and applied in combination.

Price adjustment

The most common method. Here there are two positions: to do fundamentally cheaper or the opposite – the most expensive. The first option is the most unworkable.

If you make it cheaper than your competitors, someone will still lower the price even further. As a result, such dumping leads to the decadence of the niche as a whole and the company in particular.

The second strategy is to make it expensive. It is expensive, not for everyone. It’s for a specific circle of people, do not be embarrassed to offend someone. If you’ve monitored your competitors’ prices and looked at what they offer for that money, you need to think about what you can offer to sell the product even more expensive.

Tweaking the product range

You’ve analyzed your competitors’ products, figured out what they sell, and how they do it, and now you can play on that. You need to determine if your assortment is winning or losing, how well it meets the market’s needs, and if you can offer something new.

If you have a broad range, you can’t say definitively whether it’s good or bad. But, if you need to build up against your competitors, you may need to narrow your assortment.

Tune in by specialization (narrowing the niche)

If there is a lot of competition, narrowing the niche is the best way. You need to give narrower and more specific offers to reach your desired audience.

Tune in by the customer

If you have a unique or famous customer, the mere fact that you have one can set you apart from your competitors. For example, if a cool blogger buys from you, you’re the company where famous bloggers buy/wear/book travel. It’s also social proof for the rest of your customers.

Expertise Adjustment

There are concepts of “expert selling” and “transactional selling“.

In transactional sales, the client does not need to explain something about the product to tell about its benefits. The customers immediately understand that this is exactly what they need and buy without questions. There is no effort on the part of the seller in terms of expertise. Or they are minimal!

With expert sales, the seller also serves as a consultant, an expert who can help choose and determine the design and not miss with style and size. You can become an expert in absolutely any niche, including handmade. In the case of expert sales, the seller takes the initiative and leads the client to the purchase.

Example. Jewelry sales. If this is transactional selling, you can open an online store, put everything there, and tell the client: “Go choose, pay on the site, and I’ll send it to you. If it’s expert sales, then the jewelry maker can keep a column on style on the blog, teach how to combine their products with different clothes, and how to choose them by face type.

Tune in to a comprehensive approach

After analyzing your competitors, you find out that they offer one thing, two things, or three things, and you can combine that and offer it all at once. The person in one place gets everything turnkey.

Tweaking the warranty

You have to pay attention to whether there are competitors that give warranties. If a warranty is given, but nowhere is it written about it, then people don’t remember this fact, or they don’t know about it at all. This should be written about on the site, in the profile, and even mentioned when communicating with the client.

Tweaking by imaginary uniqueness

We create a product or service and know what goes into it. But customers sometimes need to learn what it’s made of or how it’s made. The very fact that you will mention it gives you an advantage. For example, sunflower oil has vitamin E, but it is in any oil; others do not talk about it and ignore this consumer. It is possible to focus attention on some material or technology, even if it is used by other competitors, for example, Japanese beadwork or hand embroidery with Luneville crochet. It is necessary to point out such characteristics in a product or service, which the consumer associates with something expensive and of high quality, and to play on it.

Tune out by service

Think about what additional service or service you can include in the price, and talk about it, for example, express sewing in three days or fast delivery in 24 hours. All people want to save time, let it be more expensive but faster.

Adjustment can not be based on quality. You can’t say I make a quality product and that’s unique. No one can say: I don’t make a quality product, buy from me. There has to be quality either way. But you can specify WHY it is a quality product. You can build a detuning on that rationale.

Tune out by personality

If you are engaged in training and conduct master classes, then through his personality, charisma, and ability to charge and motivate, you can tune out from the competition. In this case, you need to communicate with your audience more often and give them a constant dose of energy.

Start organizing your ideas to begin your journey toward finding a niche for your craft business. Consider the type of products you enjoy creating and have expertise in. Write down any niche ideas that come to mind, focusing on areas where you can offer something different from what is currently available.

Finding a profitable niche is the key to success as a handmade business owner. It allows you to focus your efforts, differentiate yourself from competitors, and attract a specific audience ready to buy your products. You can build a thriving and profitable handmade business by following these steps to find your craft business’s perfect niche.

Assignment 8. Analyze your major competitors and identify interesting features they use in their marketing. Choose methods of eliminating your competitors.

– How to Find and Own Your Niche?