The state of Washington might be best known for its delicious apples or for the fact that it is the home of billionaire Bill Gates, but what many people may not know is that some of the most talented crafters in the world live there as well. There are basically three types of crafters who sell their goods at craft shows in Washington.

0. The hobbyist. This is the person who absolutely loves making crafts and purchases a booth at a craft fair once in a while to make a little extra money, or even just for fun.
0. The professional crafter. This is the person who loves crafts and has realized that he or she can make a living on that.
0. The buyer/seller. Also known among professional crafters as b/s. These are people who pass off items purchased in bulk from China as their own work and sell very cheaply. It makes everyone look bad and is extremely frustrating to professional and hobby crafters who take their crafts seriously.

If you are a hobbyist, you might want to consider taking your crafting business seriously and become a professional crafter. Running any kind of home-based business has many advantages, especially in times like these. There are actually quite a few reasons why you can consider running a craft business in Washington:

• Time freedom. You choose the hours you want to work and which craft shows in Washington to participate in.
• No boss. You can't get fired and nobody can tell you how many days you are allowed to be sick.
• Financial independence. If you want to make more money, you simply sell more crafts or work more shows.
• Tax advantages. You can write off many things that you normally wouldn't be able to, like a portion of your utilities and even a part of your rent or house payment. Check with your accountant to find out all the benefits of running a craft business in Washington.
• You get the golden chance to make money doing something you love. This is probably the greatest reason for running a craft business in Washington. How many people get paid to do something they really enjoy and would probably do for free?

Moving your business from that of a hobbyist to that of a professional crafter is something that could potentially be quite rewarding both personally and financially.