I hand paint wedding favors, how can I start a business?

Question

I paint beautiful scenes on small wooden chests in the colors that will blend with the wedding I put the name and date of the couple and use them as wedding favors. I did this for my own wedding and people said that I should do this as a business, how do I get started?

hey, thanks guys..you are the best...all of you that answered. Thanks again.

Answer 1

Advertising is first and foremost. If you have any local papers in the area take out some ads. This may be costly because newspaper space is outrageously high. However if you choose to go that route stick with Sunday editions only and make sure that your ad is placed in the Society Section where the wedding announcements are.
You also may fare well with some of these newspapers that are distributed locally and left in your mailbox or newspaper tube. I'm sure you have something like that in your area, most people do. They contain little human interest stories, ads for local businesses and swap/buy/sell announcements.
Of course you'll have to make application with the Secretary of State's Office for your state and inquire about becoming a business and providing information so they can collect their share in sales tax from you.
Get a digital camera, photograph some of your work and include it in your ad. You can probably circumvent all of this by just making a website and having cards made up with your web address that displays your art and provides information to the same. All of this can be done from home. Providing of course you have a computer there.
I gave this serious thought once because I can draw and paint. I thought I'd do portraits and sell them but I just never had the time to really make it a business. Plus....what would I charge for a portrait?
But good luck. Your craft sounds quite nice and I suspect if you do this as a business you'll fare rather well.

Answer 2

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Start Your Own Crafts Business (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start-Up ; Guide #1304) by Entrepreneur Press
* How to Start a Home-Based Craft Business, 4th by Kenn Oberrecht
* The Basic Guide to Selling Crafts on the Internet by James Dillehay
* The Crafts Business Answer Book & Resource Guide: Answers to Hundreds of Troublesome Questions About Starting, Marketing, and Managing a Homebased Business Efficiently, Legally, and Profitably by Barbara Brabec

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

A good idea to open a small business is begin thinking on what you would like to do, and what you will like to serve.

There are many opportunities in the business, you can open a small restaurant, a barbershop, mini-market, Pizzeria, Internet-Cafes, Coffee Shops (Like Starbucks), Bookstores and others.

First you need to look for your area and look the interests that the people are seeking: (Food, Entertainment etc)
Another good tip is look for a:
1. Local
2. Good Area
3. Opportunity Costs
4. Excellent Interests
5. Customer's Satisfaction

The other trouble is the money, if you have money you can start and open your business in a correctly manner, in which it can help you alot.
Other option is to get a loan from a bank (shared money) and pay to the bank monthly the fee plus the interests (if applicable)

Florida is a state that has alot of population and many seniors, you can think in the people interests, for example seniors do not like to cook at home, so you can open a restaurant in which the seniors can go to the restaurant and use your service.

So think in that way, you may be able to open and start your business! So go ahead...Open it now what are you waiting for?
Regards

Answer 4

Make a number of different styles and colors as models to keep available, and also take picture of them for a portfolio. Start a website to display your works on, and join in craft and wedding shows locally; most of all spread the word!! Check out your local small business and tax offices to find out about local rules for the technicalities on claiming supplies as well as filing your taxes. good luck!!

Answer 5

Start selling on ebay, go to bridal boutiques and ask them to take a few samples- lf they get a good response they may take orders on commission!!

Get a free website at www.frewebs.com You will love it!
Good luck!

Oh, also upload a picture to all the wedding and civil union oriented yahoo groups!

Answer 6

I would suggest getting the word out to the friends, relatives, cooworkers and their families or neighbors that you know are getting married. Get a photo album together of your own work so that the people can see what you have done.

Answer 7

You will need to accept credit cards since everybody like to buy now and pay later i can help you out with that one here is some more information about the company i work for contact me whenever you are ready

We are Payment Resource International A TransFirst Company headquartered in Newport Beach, CA. I would like to take this opportunity to offer our payment processing services to your establishment. The following proposal provides services and company information.

PRI is a payment processing company whose founders have had more than 22 years experience in the payment processing industry. Through this experience and dedication we have established a very high standard in customer service that parallels to none. Currently PRI is the 8th largest processor in the country and number one in Orange County, with well over 150,000 individual merchants and over $23.5Billion in annual processing.

Besides our excellent customer service, PRI also offers a wide selection of marketing products and superior payment services that could benefit you in many different levels, for example:
Customized Online Reporting (For fast and accurate reporting of single or multiple merchant locations to simplify your bookkeeping)
Internet Billing (Payments over the Internet)
Recurring Billing (For monthly dues or subscriptions)
Electronic Check Processing (Various electronic check solutions are available, such as ACH Processing)
Wireless Terminals (Leading the way in compact design and software, while getting a swiped rate, useful for remote locations.)
Gift Card Programs (Terminal and Non-Terminal Based)

Below please find a short list of some of our more local merchants with PRI.
The City of Newport Beach, CA The City of Santa Monica, CA
The City of Fountain Valley, CA The City of Corona, CA
The City of Santa Ana, CA The City of Hawthorne, CA
The City of Mission Viejo, CA The City of San Juan Capistrano, CA
Fletcher Jones Motor Cars Mercedes-Benz SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association)
GSM Cingular Wireless (206+ Locations) Mercedes Benz of Laguna Niguel
Allegheny Power (Electric Utility) Grand Prix Performance
Forest Plywood US Green Building Council
Gen Kai Restaurant Cotkin, Collins & Ginsburg
Lawry’s Restaurants Mama Gina’s Restaurant
Traditional Jewelers Phillips Motorcars
Bungalow’s Restaurant Rogers Gardens
Marco Polo Restaurant Takakjian, Sowers & Sitkoff L.L.P
The Palisades Tennis Club Mardo Jewelers
Sir Speedy / Pip Champagnes Market Place
KOCE TV
Galardi Group’s - Wienerschnitzel / The Original Hamburger Stand (412 Locations)
The Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District (18 Schools)


PRI prides itself and excels in providing superior services to all of our merchants, including accommodating them with the ability to have customized reports for their processing. For example, with our addition of the 206+ store chain for GSM Cingular Wireless and the City of Newport Beach, CA we provided and tailored a "gateway system" for all of their locations and their corporate headquarters. This enabled them to be able to view all of their accounts under one account, by region or by individual location online and in print, while still having all their locations report individually.

For Phone, Mail, Internet or transactions where there is a computer with an Internet connection available, we have a very sophisticated payment processing solution called Transaction Central “TC”.

This is a Virtual Terminal, which works through the Internet. So now wherever there is an Internet connection with a computer, you will now have a terminal. “TC” is Password protected and can be tailored to your specific requirements and needs.

What are its benefits?

You will have access to:
Sales (ACH Checking or Credit Card),
Recurring Billing (Can be set to Amount, Monthly, BI-Monthly etc.),
Voids and Credits,
And by far the most advanced reporting system in the industry. No longer will you have to wait for your merchant statement once per month. With “TC” you will have access to your account’s activity any time of day on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and with the ability to search by Merchant Id, Account Number, Date, Name, Sales Person, Amount etc.

We have setup for your review, a Test “DEMO” Account:
1)Go to: www.primerchants.com www.primerchants.com
2)On top left corner go to – Transaction Central
3)Once inside Login Page-
Id- 10479
Pass- 1234fjtq

“This is a tested and proven product that is currently being used by thousands of merchants across the country, many of which are retail leaders of our community.”

What Makes PRI Number One?

1)Customer Service: Our customer service is 24/7, 365 days a year. We will go the extra mile for all of our merchants at a moment’s notice, to insure that your processing needs are always running smoothly and trouble free to the fullest extent possible.

2) Services: In the event your business might require a special marketing or processing request, PRI is available and ready to work with you to provide your business the best possible payment processing solution. PRI’s professional in-house departments, Processing, Customer Service, Terminal Deployment, Risk and IT are what make us the processor of choice!

We believe that not only will our very low competitive rates save you money, but that ultimately it will be our Services that you will benefit the most from.

If you have any questions or comments I can be reached at any of the numbers listed below.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Ruslan Serdyuk
Account Executive
Payment Resources International
A TransFirst Company
3 San Joaquin Plaza Suite 100
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: [phone] x246
Toll Free: 888-729-3539 x246
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]