Start a 'cottage industry'... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

rosieandjim wrote: »

Also I am gonna make jams and fudge and some cakes and sell all these at carboot(gosh, I'm gonna be busy).

Hi rosieandjim, good luck with your busy enterprise. Just one point that you shouldn't overlook, though, and that is relating to making foodstuffs for selling for human consumption. You need some sort of licence for the premises where they are being made, even if it is home, and all items must be wrapped, labelled, stored and distributed according to strict hygiene laws. There's a case going on right now where an eBay seller has been caught without any of these things.
Food is a really dodgey thing to get involved with nowadays, unless you take the time and effort to guarantee absolute adherence to all applicable laws. Contact your local council and they should be able to help point you in the right direction. Better to be safe from the start than to risk a lengthy court case (and costs) over allegations of food poisoning, allergic reaction etc.

I lived in Wishaw in 1996 (during the big E-Coli outbreak that killed all those people and cost several their jobs, business, livelihoods.) I'm allowed to be a little bit paranoid :cool:

all of you are very inspirational, i make my own cards and sell on carboot sales but am looking into craft fairs at the moment but need other bits and bobs to sell along side the cards.
i also grow a few veg but my garden is the size of a stamp so am rather limited.
my mum and dad grow and rear pretty much all of there food but they have over an acre they have just got a flock of turkeys and we are having one for christmas as we bought them some eggs of ebay, so thats a free dinner or two lol).

i also sell glass (crystal and art glass) on ebay and car boot sales and am doing my first antiques and collectables fair on december 9th
i am always picking bits up from the dump, skips and so on in a hope i can mend it, and i drive my hubby made, although every now and again ive made good money from something and he doesnt moan then
i say its recycling!!!
im off to get me craft bits out and see what i can creat, as i feel inspired..

nykmedia wrote: »

Tabby-Kitten that sounds great!! I loved the 'Jimmy's Farm' series and anything else along those lines. (The Good Life - giving away my age! LOL)

Quail are great little birds! We used to incubate/hatch/rear them and did quite a bit of trade with local restaurants & hotels with the eggs, the local farmers' markets and the pet trade pet trade for pairs and trios. I really wish you every success with your venture and would love to follow it online. Have you looked into using something like 'mySpace' or even just free messageboards with a domain name pointed at them?
I'd seriously consider documenting everything you did and then, after a bit of set-up time, offer your story to magazines & TV

I liked Jimmy's Farm, actully have just entered a comp for his book, and River Cottage too.

Were you just selling the quail eggs for was it the meat too? I be really interested in knowing if there are any rules I should be aware of, it's on my to-do list for the new year but I always find advise from someone who has been there an done it more useful them talking to the Food Standards people.
The new quail that I got the other day are silly, I've given them the bottoms of clear drinks bottles, the tops have been ued as plant covers, for food and water dishs and they can't seem to work it out.

You saying about the website was the push I needed to remember to email Mirco-soft again, they emailed back within minutes so hopefully now I can get started on that. I was looking at a domain site so as I could put ads on it, as I was reading up on that on here.

From your sig it looks like you've been doing well selling on eBid, do you mind me asking what it is you've been selling? I've got a load of stuff, CD's mostly that just haven't been selling on ebay.

I got 12 chickens and get 8-10 eggs outta them everyday, thats self sufficient and they grow fast , so I can have my own chicken roast as well in a couple of weeks, then I start a poultry farm

Tabby-Kitten

Hello again
I am going back 20+ years since I first bred the quail but I guess they don't change - they are crazy little birds LOL
Recommendations:
1) Use plenty of top hat feeders and drinkers to avoid squabbles as our little feathered friends can be quite cannabalistic towards their mates!
2) Incubate the eggs in high sided incubators or else when hatching has taken place, surround the incubator with cardboard as the minute you open that lid, all those furry little 'bumble bees' are going to go scooting off in all directions
3) Use soft, fine mesh over the tops of the runs as the stripey furry bumble bees soon sprout their pin feathers and then beins the bouncing acts of fluttering vertically, at great speed, into anything within a couple of feet of their own feet, if you see what I mean - heat bulbs, cage tops, run roof, they don't care, they just go 'wham!' into it. Best make it a metre, a couple of feet is so old-fashioned LOL

I sold mainly eggs and surplus males at market. With about 100+ Japanaese Coturnix hens and 2 incubators on the go with about 50 eggs each, I was kept very busy and was always able to sell what I reared. Your customers don't mind paying a premium for anything that's reared well. In 1985 I was getting at least 10p per egg and at least £1 per bird. Check with your local trading standards and council about any new rules regarding selling eggs for human consumption as these all changed a few years ago after the Salmonella scares.

Internet sales - I sell mainly donated or handmade items in the monthly charity auctions and I have started selling the first of my 'creations' made from the offcuts. I'm going to zero the amount in the signature line for the 2008 'money from nothing' challenge and can't really discuss anything else as it isn't relevant to this forum and might contravene forum rules. (Apologies if I already have, it wasn't intentional)