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Has your Silhouette or Cricut craft business taken off? Or maybe you are suffering from craft business owner burnout?
In either case, it might be time to hire some help in your craft business. Today, I’m giving you a list of signs to tell you when to hire help in your craft business.
Table of Contents
When to Hire Help in Your Craft Business
When Your Turnaround Time is Regularly Too Long
Depending on the products you sell, your turnaround time (meaning the time it takes from when the customer pays to when the item is shipped) should be around 1-2 weeks at the longest.
In today’s world Amazon Prime filled world, customers want fast – the faster the better. If you have a turnaround time slower than 2 weeks, customers may skip your product and find someone that makes a similar product faster.
All of Your Time is Spent Working in Your Craft Business
You’ve heard the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. This is true for any small business owner as well.
You cannot allow your business to overrun every aspect of your life.
If you are always answering customer questions, making items, taking inventories, working on product launches, balancing the books, or shipping items – you craft business may need some help.
Your Time Could Be Better Spent Doing Something Else
Sole operator, small business owners wear a lot of hats – and there are only so many hours in a day.
As a creator and designer, evaluate what aspect of your business your time is best spent doing and consider hiring someone to help with smaller tasks.
For example, if you work with vinyl, you could hire someone to weed designs, place designs, package and ship items, and answer social media inquiries while you focus on designing new products and getting your product line into stores.
You Anticipate a High Increase in Sales in the Future
If your craft business does a large amount of sales around specific times, be ready for the rush by hiring help.
For example, craft sales soar during the holiday months. If you plan to increase your sales during this busy time, consider having help arranged before you need it.
Non Compete Agreements
A common concern that many small business owners have about adding someone to their business is that they will discover all of your crafting secrets and go into business for themselves.
Savvy business owners can prevent this by having your new employee sign a non compete agreement. A non compete agreement is basically a legal document that states that your employee agrees to not go into the same business as you, or become your competition.
I’d recommend that you have an attorney draw up a quick non-compete form for your use. However, if you’d like to write one yourself, there are some online generators that can help you get a good start.
Not sure how to go about hiring help in your craft business? My next article details specifics on hiring help in your craft business. Additionally, I’ve included a few ideas for outside the box employee arrangements that may help even the tiniest businesses.
Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also teaches a course on creating digital SVG designs, available at How to Design SVGs.