Ready to turn your creativity into a business?

1. Shift from "Hobby Time" to "Labour Cost"

When you start, the hours melt away. It’s fun, so it doesn't feel like work. But a business cannot survive on passion alone; it requires profit.

• The Hobbyist Mindset: “I spent 8 hours on this mug, but I enjoyed it. I’ll just charge for materials plus a little extra.”

• The Business Owner Mindset: “My time is worth $X per hour. If this piece takes 8 hours, my labour cost is $8X. If I can’t sell it for a profit above that cost, I must either raise the price or find a way to make it faster.”

The Key: When you calculate your wholesale prices (which must be profitable), you cannot afford to skip the step of assigning a dollar value to every minute you spend. This is the only way to build a scalable model that pays your bills.

2. Shift from "Art" to "Product"

Your creative intuition is invaluable, but the business of wholesale relies on consistency. Every single piece you sell must be a reliable, repeatable experience for your customer—and for the store that buys from you.

• The Artist Mindset: “This piece is unique, a singular creation. I’ll make a new, unique version next time.”

• The Product Mindset: “This piece is Item #402. It weighs 12 grams, fits in Box Size B, and I can produce it in 90 minutes. I will use the same process and materials every time.”

The Key: Wholesale buyers (boutique owners) don't buy "art"; they buy inventory. They need to know that the piece they ordered today is identical to the piece they will order six months from now. Standardise your production, label your supplies, and create SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). You are professionalising your process, not losing your creativity.

3. Shift from "Scarcity" to "Leverage"

Many makers fear selling to wholesalers. They look at the 50% discount and think, “I’m losing half my money.” This is a mindset of scarcity and fear.

• The Scarcity Mindset: “I must do everything myself to control the profit. I must find every customer.”

• The Leverage Mindset: “I will sell this product at 50% off to a store owner so they can take on the work of finding 100 customers for me. I will use their time, their rent, and their marketing budget to scale my brand.”

The Key: Leverage means using a small effort to create a massive result.

Wholesale is the definition of leverage. You spend time packing one large box for a retailer, and in return, you get the sales volume of 50 individual, time-consuming orders. You stop trading time for money and start trading product for scale.