You Don’t Have to Make Everything a Business

I have fallen into this trap many a time, especially when the balance in my bank account is in the minus and there is no work on the horizon. It’s at times like these that I tend to re-evaluate my life’s choices and start updating my CV.

I also start looking at the other things I can do and wondering whether I could make some money from them.

Everyone who knows me, follows me or has read anything I have written knows that I love to craft. From beading to polymer clay and everything in between, crafting is my passion. If I were to rank the various interests I have in my life, crafting would definitely take the top spot.

I think my love of crafting comes from my mom

She is a lover of sewing and has all these beautiful sewing machines that I desperately wanted to get my hands on and learn how to use.

When my sister and I were at school, we were never on the same term structure. This meant that our holidays didn’t cross much. So, when I was on school holiday, when she needed to go to the Oriental Plaza, I would beg her to take me along.

I couldn’t reach the top shelves, but I remember running my fingers over the velvet and linen on the lower shelves and being totally in raptures. That enjoyment has stayed with me. I love working with my hands and seeing something take shape. There is always another technique I want to try or something I want to make.

So why am I telling you this?

When the coffers were low, I thought about selling my crafts on a platform such as Etsy. But whenever I shared the thought with hubby, he would advise me against it. When he said this, I would feel like a scolded child. I was trying to find a way to bring in money, after all. Surely doing something I loved would be a sensible place to start?

But after thinking about the advice I had received, I realised that he had a point.

Selling my crafts would involve much more than making things. I would need to work out prices, photograph products, create listings, deal with customers and arrange deliveries. I would also need to make things that people wanted to buy, which might be quite different from whatever I felt like making that afternoon.

There would be another business to run, alongside the one I already had.

When work is scarce, it is difficult to leave a potential source of income alone. You start looking at your skills and interests and wondering what else you could offer. I understand that impulse because I have acted on it more than once. But I also know that running a business takes energy. Adding another one would mean finding the time and attention to get it going, while still trying to bring work into my existing business. And somewhere in all of that, I might lose the enjoyment that made me want to craft in the first place. Crafting gives me something to do away from work. I can spend time on a project because it interests me. I can try something, get it wrong and start again without worrying about whether a customer will be happy or whether I have spent too long on it.

I need that space

I want to give my business the attention it needs, but I also need time when I am not thinking about earning money. If every interest becomes a potential income stream, it becomes difficult to put work down. Of course, some people build businesses from their hobbies and enjoy doing so. I can see the appeal. But being able to make something does not mean I have to sell it.

For now, I want to keep crafting for myself. I want to choose my materials because I like their colours and textures, and make things because I am curious to see how they will turn out. The next time work is quiet, I will probably be tempted to open an Etsy shop again. But before I do, I want to remember how much I already get from crafting.

I enjoyed running my fingers over those fabrics long before I ever thought about what I could earn from them. I would like to hold on to some of that.