Spending Money to Make Money for your Business

I am sure you’ve heard this phrase before: You’ve got to spend money to make money. And it might even be annoying for some of you to hear, but I have to say, in a lot of instances this phrase is absolutely true, when it comes to your business. Let me explain just a few instances…

Maybe you want to get your new collection or shop noticed online. You might choose to buy an advertisement on a like-minded blog to help spread the word and start getting that brand recognition. Well, that’s going to cost you, but the hope is that you’ll get something back in return…potential customers, sales, etc.

Or perhaps you are spending a lot of time prepping items and making sure they are up to your standards in terms of quality. This is time you COULD be using to actually make finished goods. The more items you have to sell, the more potential for sales, right? Well, you’ll have to weigh out the pros and cons of this one on your own. But, spending more money on higher quality or pre-made materials might be a great option for you. Because, in the end, it might save you enough time to make the couple extra dollars worth it. That’s exactly what artist Jessica Gonacha (whose name is now Jessica Swift) did when she made the switch from sanding and prepping all her wood panels herself to buying them pre-made and ready to paint on. Read her story here.

What are some ways you spend money to make money with your crafty business?

image credit: 20 Dollars

13 comments | Click here to reply

I see something truly interesting about your weblog so I saved to favorites .

Vern Tickle

Jessica’s wood panels are a great example of SPENDING MONEY TO SAVE TIME which is one of the best things you can do for your business once it starts growing. I read something awhile back that talked about buying better quality stuff too. For example, I once bought a pack of cheap packing tape from Staples because I didn’t want to spend the money for the stronger stuff. I ended up using twice as much to secure a package and it doubled my time in packing orders, which made my shipping prices higher. I actually threw the rest of the tape out one day and bought a case of quality tape because it’s worth saving my time. Such a small part of my business, not even something a customer would ever know about, but it makes a difference to my bottom line… the time I have to be with my family. That’s worth buying expensive packing tape! 🙂

Natalie Jost | Olive Manna

I buy supplies from other small and/or local businesses. I buy organic if it’s available, and spend a little more on ecologically safe inks. I may be spending more for safer products, but I’d rather pay for this way then to pay for it later (or have my future kids pay for it later).

Joyce Wong

My pleasure Angie. Glad this was helpful for you. 🙂 And Ruth- so glad to hear that your investment is already attracting people. That’s great news… a sign that your money was well spent.
Vanessa- maybe investing is a better term for it. But in the end whether you are “spending” or “investing”, it really all means the same thing: you are paying for something. Money is leaving your hands. That’s really what I am trying to say.
-Brittni

papernstitch

I read that link and it was something I honestly think about and have a hard time deciding.
In my head “investing” might be a slightly more accurate word than spending because spending kind of implies wasting, but I get what you’re trying to say.

Vanessa

I’m spending money on my website right now. My launch isn’t until September and I want a decent looking blogsite up and running by then. I started with WordPress and bought a very customizable theme for it called Thesis. Next I’m going to get some custom graphics done like a background and a blog banner. I think it’s a pretty good investment and has already attracted some new subscribers! 🙂

Ruth

yes! wow. i started reading this, and i was honestly going to skim through it (sorry, i’m at work & probably shouldn’t be on here right now checking blogs…lol, or i would have intended to read all of it) but i’m so glad that i read it now! i’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. i have a lot of trouble paying for something i know i can do myself (be it sanding wood blocks to paint on or buying already-patinated brass lockets & charms instead of doing it myself), but i never thought about it in terms of “this could save me time and i would have more of that time to spend on making new things”. that’s an absolutely eye-opening statement and i’m ashamed to say i haven’t considered it before.

thanks for giving me a much needed slap upside the head! 😀

angie

All these examples are wonderful! Everyone spends their money on something different. It really gets me thinking about ways I should be spending money.

Tif.- spending money on a quality printing service for your artwork is a great example of spending money to make money. There are so many options out there and testing several before choosing “the right one” is always a good idea. And usually, the more expensive option is of higher-quality, which is why it costs more. Great tip!

Packaging is an excellent place to spend some extra money Mai. Great example!

And Lindsay, a studio is a great investment. Gets your work outside of the house and into an organized space that is solely for creating.
-Brittni

papernstitch

Its so funny that this happens to be one of today’s topics. I feel as if I have talked with 5 or 6 different people just this week regarding this idea. Other than business cards and websites, I would say that my studio is where I have spent money to make money. You don’t have to spend much, but having a clean, well organized studio goes a long way. Just the peace of mind is worth it!

Lindsay

I wholeheartedly agree. This past year I splurged on lux packaging. I use custom embossed gold foil seals on lovely, textured jewelry boxes, all tied up with a coordinating satin ribbon. Great packaging says that you’re a professional, and that you take yourself, your work, and your customers seriously. And of course, spending more on great supplies and necessary advertising venues is a must. You almost always get out of it what you put into it, if you make wise spending decisions.

Mai

This is so true. Business cards, a decent web host (if you have more than a blog), a nice personal web design, and quality goods (fabric, paper, printer, etc) make such a difference in both sales and customer satisfaction.

I spent a lot of time scouring the internet for my giclee and canvas printing companies, and while they may not be the cheapest, I’m very happy with the quality of work they produce! My time spent creating art would be wasted if it looked terrible on paper!

.tif

That’s great Kara. Funny, I actually was going to tack on some info on business cards to this post, but I didn’t want it to get too lengthy. Sounds like you made a good investment.
-Brittni

papernstitch

Great article. I spent about $100 on business cards a couple months ago and I’ve been passing them out like crazy. Not sure whether it has directly helped with my sales, but I have seen an increase in daily traffic.

Kara

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