What happens when you mix one of Detroit’s most successful small-business incubators with an innovative sales platform aimed at makers, crafters and creatives? The result is a wildly unique program between the city’s Build Institute and Etsy.
Build Institute is partnering with Etsy to bring Etsy’s Craft Entrepreneurship Program (CEP) to Detroit, a micro-business training for underemployed, low-income adults with existing creative skills. The micro-business training program will help supplement underemployed adults with creative skills by selling their product to new markets.
Kicking off this April, students will participate in a 5-week, 12-hour training program that will guide them through becoming craft entrepreneurs. The course is $75 for Build graduates and $100 for the public. Students will learn the basics of starting and running an online business, including pricing, accounting, product photography and marketing. CEP utilizes Etsy’s platform for selling creative goods as the real-world learning lab and leverages Build Institute’s expertise in facilitating business development courses and connecting entrepreneurs to local resources.
The Craft Entrepreneurship Program gives participants viable paths to supplemental income, which can make a real difference in their well-being. Etsy sellers represent an encouraging shift toward a new pattern of employment and self-empowerment.
“Build Institute will be Etsy’s first partner in Detroit and is excited to bring this kind of creative, micro-entrepreneur training to the city. Many small businesses are looking for ways to diversify their revenue streams and Etsy’s e-commerce platform is a great way to do that,” says April Boyle, executive director of BUILD Institute.
The Craft Entrepreneurship Program is developed by Etsy, facilitated by Build Institute and sponsored by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Etsy is a marketplace where people around the world connect to buy and sell goods. Their mission is to re-imagine commerce to build a more fulfilling and lasting world. Etsy has 43.9 million members with $1.35 billion in merchandise sales in 2013.
Build Institute helps people turn their business ideas into reality by providing them with the necessary tools, resources, and support network in Detroit. Build Institute has graduated more than 400 aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs from classes based on national standards for entrepreneurship excellence. Build strives to be a nurturing organization that advances the culture and sustainability of community entrepreneurship.
