Hello to all of my loving crafty community! I have a few big ideas that I want to incorporate into my brand, Infiniti Crafting Company, in 2021. The debut of my craft-entrepreneur podcast is just the beginning of this list. Many of you may not be aware but, I’ve been at this whole starting-a-craft-business thing since 2016. Over the years I have experimented with a number of things, built on a number of platforms, and have had a variety of interactions with pursuing this dream.
As the great Charles Dickens once wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Let me tell you, the truth is that the romanticized outcome of prospering on Etsy and quitting your full-time job to spend the rest of forever in maker paradise is just that; a romanticized pipedream. Don’t get me wrong, there are many people who pursue this route who are very successful with it but, it’s simply not reality to the vast majority of crafters.
Many sources will tell you to build at least seven streams of income in order to become and remain successful in the entrepreneur career. Taking this into account back in 2018, I started Infiniti Crafting’s YouTube channel, opened an Etsy shop, started a TeeSpring, started a Ko-fi blog, and began affiliate marketing. Admittedly, this year is the one where I began aggressively working on my brand’s digital presence. Once the lock downs began, I had the opportunity to sit back and map out where I wanted my small business to go and how I wanted to go about making it happen. Like many other makers, I’ve become exasperated by the lack of fiscal success. This has stemmed from a number of things which I will discuss in a future episode of Hey Craftepreneur! In September of 2020, I reached the 1000 subscriber milestone on YouTube which was one big hurdle I can now mark off my check list. By 11/10/2020, I reached just over 3000 hours of watch time. I bring this data up as I intend for YouTube to be one of my streams of income for my brand. That means my steams of income will be as follows in 2021:
Affiliate Marketing; Darn Good Yarn, JoAnn Fabric, AliExpress
Ko-fi; Hey Craftepreneur! Podcast
Infiniti Crafting Company Website (WIP)
The Hey Craftepreneur! Podcast will document my entrepreneurial journey as a small, independent maker. Upon debut, I’ll offer two sources for this podcast (a) it’ll be for sale in my Ko-fi shop starting at $4.99; (b) it’ll be on SoundCloud for free however, listeners will have to option to donate via CashApp. The episodes on Ko-fi will be in video format and also include the resources and visuals mentioned in the audio. SoundCloud will only offer the audio format of the podcast.
Why the Charges $$$?
Well… I have only way to put this, bluntly. I am a first-generation, low-income college student trying to pay for college and pay down personal debts taken on in order to put myself through college as well as build my brand. I used to work two jobs while going to school but, like many people this year, I’ve lost some employment and therefore some income. Things are difficult and frustrating and I’m not one to ask for handouts so, I am trying to build myself up with skills I’ve been honing over the years. I’ve been YouTubing it for two years, I love what I do, and I’d love to get paid to do for what I love.
Essentially, the revenue from the podcast will be put toward supporting the content on the SoundCloud platform. Currently, I use a basic account on that platform which allows for 3 hours of content, limited insights, and embedded player customization. I would love to go Pro in order to be able to offer my content in a free format. The Pro accounts are $12/month and offers many features including mastering and unlimited uploads to name a couple of features. Revenue will also go toward better equipment for the show and other Infiniti Crafting Co. ventures.
I’m looking forward to doing this podcast for so many reasons, not just because I’ll be giving tips to my community but also because it’ll give me more room to be my candid self. Always remember, you can support the content in more ways than just financial. A BIG way that you can help any creator is to share, share, share. So, if you enjoy my content, share this blog post on your social media and follow/share my social media. Whether I make money or not, I’ll always love the idea of growing my crafty community!
As Always, Happy Making!
Infiniti W.
P.s. I'll be dropping Hey Craftepreneur! merch on TeeSpring in late December 2020!
