Startup expenses, a summary

Ideas aren't free, and businesses aren't, either.

If you're into crafting, you've probably heard the suggestion to sell on Etsy more times than you can shake a stick at. It can be a good way to earn some money on the side, but not without first investing time, effort, and yes, money, into it.

Did you know that most businesses don't turn a profit in the first two years? In fact, they're doing good to break even by that point. Business is expensive, and selling on Etsy is no exception.
But how much should you plan to invest in your new venture? That, I can't tell you, but I can offer some insight into how much it cost me to get going.

When I list my expenses to run the shop this time around, it's important to remember that I'm not counting money already invested into the project. That's money I already made back, money spent and returned on over the course of a few years. This time, I'm starting with an advantage. I already have everything else I need. But how much have I invested overall? Well, let's look at some categories.

Crafting tools
These are the things I had to have to start making what I wanted to sell. There were quite a few things I had to buy to go from casual crafter to full-time businessperson, and that meant replacing a lot of old tools that weren't good enough for professional-grade products. So what did I buy?

• Set of basic pliers, $9
• Crimp pliers, $7
• Cordless Dremel, $20
• Soldering iron, $20
• Hammer and anvil, $25
• Beading needles, $5
• Leather punch, $10
• Extra drill bits, $11

Which comes to $107 all together. But that was just to get started. What else?

Business tools
There are other things necessary for getting a business going. There are several things I was fortunate enough to get for free or through barter, but I'm still going to list them so you know what to consider for your own lists!

• Packing materials, $30
• Padded mailers, $25
• Storage containers, $20
• Postal scale, free (traded artwork for it)
• Shop graphics and promotional images, free (did my own graphic design)
• Basic camera, free (already owned)
• Photo editing software, free (already owned)

Which adds up to  $75 and brings the total to $182. Not too bad, but consider that a postal scale averages $20 for a basic one, and a simple camera can cost $100 if you don't already have a way to take pictures. Graphic design is something you should never expect to get for free, unless you have children who work in the field. In that case, you can probably trade those 18-plus years of grueling labor and unconditional love for a few images.

Materials
While I wish I could give an itemized breakdown of the supplies I purchased, I didn't do as good of a job keeping track of those as I should have. But I budgeted $250 for beads, findings, wires, stringing supplies, and other items that are consumed by the creation process. And I spent every bit of it, so we're just calling it that - $250 for starter materials. That puts our total expense to get started at a whole $432.

For a serious business, $432 is chump change. But for someone starting a small home business making and selling crafts as a means for extra income, that's a pretty substantial chunk out of your wallet!

Unless you've already got most of what you need to start selling, like me, remember that you have a big investment to make. Be sure you're serious about what you're doing, and unless you're absolutely certain you'll make a return on your investments in a reasonable amount of time, don't borrow the money to get started. It's better to put a few months aside and save up the cash you'll need to invest in your project, start making products, and start laying your business foundations before you open your doors.
Waiting and saving to get started doesn't always sound appealing, but trust me, it's worth the wait!