{Crochet Business Interview} RedHead Crochet

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Meet Lilja of Redhead Crochet. She’s from Iceland and I met her in a crochet community on Google plus. Her work is beautiful and when she posted her latest creation, a Easter inspired wreath I knew I had to introduce her to you. One thing that really stood out to me (besides her awesome crocheting skills) is how she prices her crochet. She values her work and her time. Coming from Iceland which is an expensive country, things like yarn cost more and are not as easily found like in the States. Shipping also costs as she has to pay fees for imported items. 

Did you set out to make money with crochet or was it an afterthought? How did you get started?

It was definitely an afterthought. I only started crocheting last October but I made so many things (I have a lot of time on my hands lol) and when it was starting to become a problem to find people to give my crocheted items to I thought I’d try selling them.

 What is the main income stream from your crochet?

So far it’s Etsy. I want to try making patterns to sell. I’ve already made two lovely hexagons but haven’t written out the patterns. I also have ads on my site but so far I don’t have enough traffic to make any real money from them.

 How do you market your crochet business and/or crochet blog?

I’m on Facebook, Google plus and Pinterest but also post my blog on Reddit and list my items on Ravelry. I haven’t spent any money on marketing.

 How long was it until you really saw your financial goals being met?

I’m only just starting out so I’m pretty far from it. But I’m optimistic I do list my items on the more expensive side. Mostly because that’s just the way I value my work. My items are well made, they’re made from very nice yarns and I spend precious time making them. But the other thing is that I live in Iceland and for those that don’t know, Iceland is an extremely expensive country. Yarn is expensive, some of it I have to import and pay huge duty and taxes plus shipping. So in order to make a profit I list them at a high-ish price I’m an advocate for not selling yourself short because if you’re anything like me you take pride in your work, make it well and should be compensated accordingly.

 Any Advice you’d give someone new to starting a crochet business?

Start blogging, learn about SEO, get a nice SEO-friendly engine for WordPress like Thesis or Genesis. That way you´ll get organic traffic pretty easily. I’m a beginner myself but I’ve read a lot about social media marketing, affiliate marketing, SEO and all kinds of entrepreneurial stuff Try to spend some time each day to read a useful article, watch a lecture and keep your eye on the prize! http://crochetbusiness.com/ is a great resource. Also, make nice things, use nice yarn (doesn’t have to be crazy expensive) and search the web for cool palettes, there are pages like http://design-seeds.com/ that are very cool!

 About Redhead Crochet :

I’m Lilja the Redhead crocheter and my blog is www.redheadcrochet.com. You can find me on Facebook, Pinterest and Etsy.