Tips to start the year off right....

Post by Lois Wisher

Hey Crafters/Artists….How was your winter?  Of course, it hasn’t really ended yet.  But, I don’t know about you but I’ve stayed in my Jammie’s and crafted from December and I haven’t stopped. 

As shows/Farmers Market season starts to roll around, I thought I’d give a few of my thoughts: 

• Get your craft show necessities together starting now!  You can start with the stuff at the top of your head and add to the box as you remember things that you’ll need.  The reason I say now is because planning for shows far ahead is that  you don’t want to be scrambling the day before set-up.  Admit it, we’ve all done it. 

• Keep track of ALL of your costs/income.  You should have started this on January first.  If you back track now you won’t, again, be scrambling for taxes next year.  I do a profit/loss statement at the end of each year and I actually put it in my taxes!  When you keep a running total of your expenses all year, it really helps you to see where you are all through the year.  Keep track of your mileages when you do an event.  That’s a tax write off too.  Just food for thought. 

• Another thing to consider is using you Square-Up as an actual sale tracking tool. I enter my inventory/name of my product and the price individually so I can just print a report at the end of the year. It’s so much easier. There are a lot of great YouTube videos to help with this. 

• Keep a list of suppliers and what you bought from them. I don’t know how many time I’ve bought something, used it all up and can’t remember where I bought it from. What a pain! Always be on the lookout for new suppliers. You never know where you might be able to save a bunch of $$$$ that your regular supplier, so keep you eyes open. DON’T forget to keep track of what you buy. Taxes, write off or loss on your taxes, remember?😉

• Organize your crafting space.  Get a box to put unused or supplies you probably won’t be using.  ACF is having the supply sale soon, so you can make a few bucks from something you might just be donating to the Goodwill.  I’ve donated my excess supplies to our local elementary school or if I hear of a group that could use them.  So, there’s lots of ways to “creatively” downsize stuff.  Remember if you donate, get a receipt with the amount you’re donating.  Taxes again. 

I think that a lot of food for thought for now.  I’m so excited for the new year!  I know you are too.  

I’ll have another blog soon!  Happy crafting/creating!  Lois