How I'm Growing a Business or, um, Not

In October of 2015 I started an online knitting pattern business called Ruth Designs on Craftsy. By Thanksgiving there were 4 separate hat patterns available. Everything was priced at $0.99. 

You can read about how I started Ruth Designs for free in this post.

This little business didn't go bananas but it was earning. For those 3 months in 2015 I earned $19.86. All profit. My infant Santa hat sold the best.

If you're disappointed in the dollar amount, sorry. I'm not going to become a millionaire from knitting patterns.

​But January was disheartening. I'd talked to my knitting friends and my inlaws. Let's just say who you ask advice of is as important as the advice you receive.

Asking non-entrepreneurs about pricing is the wrong move. So is being the lowest priced. When it comes to knitting patterns Free and $0.99 means crappy and poorly put together.

I raised my prices to the $3 mark in early January plus added my patterns to Ravelry. January ended up being my best month with $16.41 in sales after Paypal fees.

Get ready to slowdown...

February had a single sale and I'm at no sales for March. Not a single sale came from Ravelry. (Considering how convoluted Ravelry is to use, it's not winning any affection from me right now.)

Winter is over in the United States too. It may be several months before I have another pattern sale.

It's not all bad...

Still, this little business paid for my domain and requires nothing to maintain. It's pretty much a passive income, abet a seasonal one. So I'm keeping it open and will add more patterns as I can. I am not going to be knitting like crazy. 

Truth is I never intended Ruth Designs to be a full-time effort. Its a side hustle for some cash and a creative outlet. I'm cool with it being what it is. I'm not going to be spending more $$$ until it starts earning again. 

Moving on...

I'm the primary caregiver for a 4-yr old and an 8-mo old. That's my full-time plus job right now. 

I'm looking forward to when my youngest hits a year and my oldest enters pre-K4 in the fall. Until then, Ruth Designs will mosie along. I'll be working on some house project, enjoying the outdoors, and writing more in the coming months. 

What do you think about my business that I'm intentionally not growing? Every penny it earns is still all profit. Is that something you could see yourself doing? Would you just look at it and go, "Yeah, ok, whatever," like I have? Or would you try driving it more?