Making money selling arts and crafts in Montana requires a correct assessment of their actual cost and how much you would like to make an hour and then balancing those figures with an amount that people will reasonably spend for your items. Once you know the actual cost per item you will be able to analyze how profitable it is to make these items and to look for simple ways to increase your profit margin. Basically there are three ways to increase profits on your arts and crafts in Montana. 1. Look for ways to save money on materials. Whether it is buying in bulk or looking at recycled materials or less expensive materials for some parts of your crafts, there is always a way to save money on materials in Montana. 2. Increase your price. You must be careful on this one. You mustn't raise your price above what people are willing to spend or you won't make any sales. 3. Learn to increase your speed. Making more crafts per hour is another way to increase profits for your arts and crafts. When you are pricing your items in order to make maximum profits in Montana you will want to take the following factors into consideration: • The actual cost of materials: Divide the total material expenditure by the number of arts and crafts you create with them. Don't forget to account for the cost of supplies you already have on hand, such as glue or embellishments. • Figure out an hourly wage you would pay yourself and divide this by how many craft items you can create an hour. • Don't forget to include your marketing costs such as any advertising, business cards, craft show booth rentals, etc., and don't leave out basic office supplies like envelopes and stamps. You need to estimate what percentage of these costs relate to each batch of arts and crafts. Figuring an actual cost for your products is the first key to determining price. From there you need to be competitive, because, sometimes, you will make more money by selling a lot of products at a small profit margin than selling a little of something with a fat profit margin. Use some basic math and some common sense and you should be able to find a price that provides you a good profit while making the product a good deal for the customers.