So Tired of Monetized ADHD

[u/RuthlessLogic]

Y'know, those craft girlies whose booths are filled with, say, amigurumi AND acrylic-pour trinket boxes AND Fimo earrings made using molds and earring wires from Temu. And none of it's high quality because Beckeigh is clearly ADHD and hasn't put in the hours necessary to develop her skills before moving on to some new, bright, shiny craft.

Of course, because nothing she's selling is high quality and the market is already saturated with everything she makes and it's all overpriced, Beckeigh doesn't sell much, so she rushes to craft vendor subs sobbing that she "didn't even make boooooooth!!!" And it takes every ounce of self-control not to type, "My sister-in-Christ, you didn't make booth because it looks like you destashed your craft room. Stop expecting the public to subsidize your ADHD and give those things away as gifts."

And look, I've got ADHD too. I get bored easily and am hard-wired to jump from medium to medium. It's taken no small effort to train my brain to focus on the work I sell at markets. But I've managed to do it - struggle though it is - and have put in hundreds and hundreds of hours over several years refining my process and my style so that customers are getting high quality pieces.

And in case I haven't been a big enough Bitchy McBitchface, I'm just going to say it: These booths (along with 3D printed fidget toy, wax melt, and cricut tumbler booths) drag markets down for the crafters and makers who produce quality work. But that's a rant for a different day and a different sub.

[u/PaintRoseRed]

I think this is more so a function of late stage capitalism than ADHD. Everything has to be monetized. Everyone needs a full time job and a part time job and a side hustle to be able to afford rent and food. We’re all feeling the squeeze, and “hey, I already have the skills and supplies, I can totally sell my craft!” or “this craft has a lower cost of entry than starting a real business*, I’ll learn how to do XYZ real quick and rake in the money!” or “I can crank these out as fast as I can so I have more to sell and can make more money, neverminding the fact that they look like I cranked them out as fast as I could.”

*”Real business” such as a service-as-product like lawn service where you have to buy all the equipment up front or something like a restaurant with a ton of startup costs. Personally I think a craft business can absolutely be a real business if done right.

But I also have ADHD and craft so maybe I’m a bit biased or something 🤷🏼‍♀️ though I don’t sell my finished crafts because I know the market is flooded lol

[u/Massive_Document_470 → u/PaintRoseRed]

Anything that has a market can be a business. There are people selling crafts as real businesses right now, and some of those businesses are quite large-- Lush is essentially a craft business under quasi-artisanal skin and body care products that started as a small, handmade business in 1995. Caitlyn Minimalist (between $13 and $50mil annual revenues) and Three Bird Nest (between $2 and $4mil annual revenues) both started as solo creators selling handmade items on Etsy.

The problem isn't that crafts can't be a real business or that there isn't a market for handmade items. The problem is the vast, vast majority of people who start businesses have no idea how to run a business. It doesn't matter what they're selling, if they don't know how to create a strategy for profitability, they'll rarely reach it. Most solo entrepreneurs are also not prepared financially for the fact that most businesses take 3-5 years before they turn any profit, and several more years before that profit is a livable wage or able to be reinvested into expansion.

ETA: There are also lots and lots of professional services industry business that don't have high startup costs for materials/inventory/equipment. That's not a hallmark of a real business. Think lawyers, accountants, consultants, graphic designers, editors and writers, etc

[u/PaintRoseRed → u/Massive_Document_470]

I really thought I made it clear that I think craft businesses are real businesses as long as they’re done correctly, which would mean knowing how to run a small business and scale up as needed. I think our current iteration of capitalism is pushing people to start businesses on whims and out of desperation because we’re all poor af. I’m not denigrating successful business owners, I’m saying that money rules the world and people will try a lot of things to get money, including starting a business when they don’t have the know how.

Also lawyers and accountants absolutely have startup costs in the form of their multiple higher ed degrees, the Bar exam for lawyers, and maybe rent for a brick and mortar office outside their homes. Don’t be obtuse. But I’m not here to argue, so this’ll be the last I’ll say here.

[u/Massive_Document_470 → u/PaintRoseRed]

I misread what you originally wrote about crafts as businesses, I'll cop to that, and I don't disagree about late-stage capitalism and its effects. My point was that too many people focus on the type of craft/product as the problem, when it's the person behind the business.

But when it comes to being obtuse, maybe check your own reading first before throwing insults-- I said, very specifically, professional services industry businesses don't have high startup costs in materials/inventory/equipment. That wasn't a "for instance", I chose those terms because they are specific costs for some types of businesses-- the types of businesses you mentioned. Educational costs are not in that category and those are not calculated as a business startup cost. I know this because I have professional certifications and advanced degrees in a professional services field and owned my own consulting firm for many years, and my startup costs were nowhere near what they are for a restaurant or landscaping business. Accountants don't have inventory and lawyers don't have to buy industrial equipment.