When I owned a flower and gift shop for a few years, I quickly learned how to make arrangements that sold. I also learned to sell what I had on hand. With fresh flowers the challenge is always to have the inventory that you need when you need it. Fortunately I was within an hour of my suppliers so I could stock up quickly if needed. Not everyone has that luxury.
With any business dealing with an inventory, it is always a balance of having items on hand that people want and having the financial resources available to maintain those inventory levels. This is very true of a craft business.
There are trends, in colours and designs, that become hot and everyone seems to want them. If you are not at the leading edge of such a trend then you could quickly get left behind. No matter how great your items, if they are not in the required colours or shapes they maybe passed over.
A few years ago, long skinny scarves made their appearance, they were everywhere. Now, not so much. There may still be a market, but it is not as large as it was two or three or five years ago. Does that mean you should stop knitting those items? Maybe not, but it does mean that you could look at changing the style slightly to make it fresh and new, maybe by chosing different colours or by inserting a speciality section of knitting in blocks in the scarf.
Sales is providing what your customers wants, even when they may not know exactly what that is.
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