Barb’s Personal Notes, 5/14/09
Cashing in on Your Creativity:
Two Ways to Look at It
IN MY LAST PERSONAL REPORT, I said I hadn’t been on the computer much during April because of being involved in personal projects in the house and yard. I’m still spending at least one day a week in the yard, but now I’m deeply involved in a major book editing job that will leave me little time for writing this month. But I did want to at least “check in” now and tell you what I’ve been thinking about when I’ve been away from the computer. When I wrote Handmade for Profit, my one thought was that the book should both encourage creative people to create worthy products and services and then sell them successfully in a variety of ways and places. But lately as I’ve been considering our deplorable economy and the arts and crafts community at large, I’ve been looking at the title and subtitle of my book and this blog site and thinking along different lines.
The More You Save, The Less Cash You Need
The subtitle of this blog certainly conveys the idea of building a successful business around the creation and manufacture of handmade items and related services. But “cashing in on your creativity” is also a phrase that fits our current economy and most everyone’s need today to both make and SAVE money. You may profit by making something to sell, but you can also profit by doing something that saves you money. In essence, the more you can save, the less money you may need to squeak by each month until things get better financially.
You both profit and save whenever you make something for yourself that you don’t have to buy, or make something as a gift that you don’t have to spend money for because you already have a supply of materials to begin with. And “cashing in on your creativity” again conveys both the idea of making money from your creative talents and know-how and SAVING money because you possess that kind of know-how.
IF YOU NEED SOMETHING YOU MUST BUY, you will “cash in” by being a savvy shopper and looking for ways to obtain what you want at lower cost. For example, I wanted to have my couch recovered because I love its design but now hate the color because it doesn’t fit the new color scheme I want for my living room. If I had gone with the first quote I got from a local upholsterer, this job would have cost me $2150. If I had gone with the second upholsterer, the job would have cost me $1820. But not being able to justify that big of an expenditure, I kept looking and finally located an experienced upholsterer who has a full-time job as an upholsterer and also does upholstery as a part-time business after regular work hours. He was happy to get $800 for the upholstery work, and willing to let me supply the fabric. I watched for a sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics and found exactly the upholstery material I wanted at a 50 percent discount, with the result being that my creativity in “shopping around” will get me a new couch for just $1,050.
Last month I explained what I was doing to salvage a Clematis planter I love. Replacing that planter would have cost me $80, but for the cost of a can of stain, some polyurethane, and a few hours of my labor in my spare time, I saved a bundle and have what I want, making me feel creative indeed.
The Secret to “Cashing In”
You’re cashing in on your creativity and also saving money every time you give a handmade greeting card or gift you’ve made, every time you can fix something that’s broken, and every time you think of a new way to use your existing inventory of raw materials.
You’re cashing in when you wait for something to go on sale before you buy it. And you’re also cashing in whenever you can find things you need at a garage sale, resale shop, or in someone’s public trash. (You might be surprised by the number of eBay sellers who regularly shop garage sales and pick up discards people put out on the street for garbage pickup every week. Once it’s on the street, in the public parkway, anyone can take it.)
Do It Yourself and Save Big Time
Many years ago, I read a book that described the hundreds of ways people save money, and how much more money we would need if we had to hire out all the things we were unable to do ourselves. In these hard times, being creative puts you way ahead of most of the population who can’t do dozens of simple things that all creative people take for granted.
After I read the above-mentioned book and added up the value of all the creative and handyman things my husband and I were doing ourselves, I realized that we were able to live comfortably on HALF the income many other couples needed because they couldn’t do those things themselves. So if you really want to feel good about your current financial situation and perhaps your shortage of cash now, add up the value of all the things you are doing that you don’t have to hire out. And then consider how you might live on even less income if you could learn to do a few things more.
You wouldn’t believe how many people can’t even sew on a button, take in a seam, or lower or raise a hemline. Anyone who knows how to cut hair is saving a fortune these days. If you can do any kind of repair work around the house, whether it’s replacing an electric outlet, fixing a leaky faucet, installing a new garbage disposal or sump pump, or making other minor household repairs, you are probably saving from $45-$75/hour by doing it yourself.
HOW-TO-BOOKS ON EVERY TOPIC abound, and the purchase of one or two now might well save you hundreds or thousands of dollars over time. For example, I’ve cut my own hair for thirty years, and also cut my husband’s hair for twenty years. You only need to estimate the cash saved here to understand how just ONE creative skill can save you thousands of dollars over time.)
Establishing friendships with other creative people or those with handyman skills can also be advantageous these days because then you can barter some services or products. In fact, bartering is making a big comeback in these tight economic times, and many small businesses are joining barter exchanges. You can do a keyword search for more info on this topic, but here’s an interesting overview on the NPR website.
There are tax considerations to think about when you regularly barter business products and services, but I think a lot of consumers can also do simple barter exchanges without worrying about tax consequences. For example, in just the past few months, I have bartered with friends who have done the following things for me in return for such things as some CDs or tools from my late husband’s workshop or a treat from my kitchen:
- Repaired a section of dry wall after a foundation leak was fixed
- Installed a new cartridge and needle in my LP player
- Installed a new garbage disposal
- Installed a new sump pump
- Cut down an evergreen bush that had grown into an ugly tree, and hauled all the branches out to the street for the annual shrub pickup by the city
Add up what it would have cost to pay service providers for all of the above and you’re talking more than a thousand dollars. (I almost fell over when the guy who sold me the sump pump–the same guy who fixed the foundation leak–said he would charge me $350 to install it. “Thanks, ” I said, “but I have a friend who will do it for a cake his wife won’t make for him.”)
Now if that’s not thinking creatively, and cashing in accordingly, I don’t know what is. So . . . tell me how much money you’ve saved by being creative.
How-to Books to Help You Get Started
Learn How to Make Home Repairs
Teach Yourself to Sew and Save a Bundle
Related Items:
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Comments
Barbara,
Gardening in itself is creative therapy so I benefit spiritually in sharing my garden as well as my artwork. My yard is an extension of my palette!
Add a plant exchange with gardening friends, and you’re saving hundreds of dollars in landscaping. Every spring I evaluate the perennials coming up around my place, and as I envision the garden I want to create, ‘decisions about divisions’ must be made. Cringing at the thought of throwing viable living things away, I offer them to fellow gardeners. My friends are always excited to stop by and collect from my garden, as they say my plants are happier, larger and healthier than what they usually find at the nursery, and they’re FREE. Of course, I have already dug them, too, so that makes the lucky recipients happier still. In exchange, I usually get plants, or dinner, or services. It’s always a win-win.
Have recently found your post and am SO thrilled. Wonderful advice and ever so practical. I have recently become disabled and unable to obtain any public financial help. Couple this with the economy and Wow..I AM getting creative.
Burda Open Source for sewing…even simple things like bows and circle skirts…sell for cheap and still are wonderful addition to a wardrobe. Visit online auctions and bid a buck or two for vintage fabric and decorator fabric (I have enough to do your whole sofa three times over) and make it into sturdy beautiful totes! Study Ayurvedic care and use ecological products to clean…many you may have in the fridge and marketing has taken your mind off the obvious.
We just gave away a surplus of antiques for free. In exchange someone was kind enough to give me a serger! People are amazing if you give them the chance to be! Just So many things…But most thankful for your blog…Thanks!
Absolutely things that we all should not only be doing ourselves, but teaching our kids to do. I have also bartered out sewing, quilting, classes, scrapbooking, etc. for things I couldn’t do. We were selling a shed and when the man (whose business involved cutting down trees) only had a portion of what we wanted, we asked him to take two trees down and the shed would be his – which it was.
We also needed to replace our deck, but my husband didn’t want to do it himself, not having done one before. So, after reading all the “How to’s” we found, we hired a friend of his (who built his own deck) for some beers and small amt. $, just to come out, occasionally, to check if we were doing things “right.” That was a whole lot less than hiring a professional to do it!
It also helps to rent out large equipment for a few hours than to purchase it, or hire someone who already has them.
I need to just mention something I am guilty of (kind of obvious, but nonetheless noteworthy to mention), and I need to improve upon – and that’s just taking care of, and maintaining, the things we already have. Putting that stain on regularly, a coat of paint on the house on one side every year, those oil changes regularly, etc. would also prevent us from further expense and time.
Thanks for the ideas, Barb!
Blessings!
I think these ideas are great. I make as many birthday, Christmas, baby gifts, etc. as I can. The cost? Nothing. I have the supplies here. I can still watch my favourite TV Show and work on these things at the same time. I don’t have to walk around the mall for hours wondering what to get. What can be better than this?
Louise Saulnier
Moncton, NB Canada
Thank you, Barbara, for this wonderful article! All those “little things” (cutting hair for myself, friends, & family, sewing, quilting, weaving, gardening, housepainting, upholstering, etc.,) are really appreciated now by my family. And I really appreciate my parents who taught me to do many of these things.
Faith Varrone
Phila, PA
Great advice! It is obvious people are doing more to try and save money – waiting for sales, clipping coupons, trading services, taking advantage of free delivery options, and so on. When it comes to running a craft business, there should be no exception as long as quality remains number 1. I say this because in my own experience there are a few things I have done to try and save money. For example, I am finding myself waiting and sometimes stalling before I order more supplies for my business. This helps create more bulk orders from the suppliers I use saving on postage/deliver fees and/or gas. This helps if you keep a running inventory too. I really think that due to the economy more people will appreciate what they do have and realize the true value of money and not the cheap way out – going into credit card debt and spending beyond one’s means.