Retired but want to start hobby/business

Elizabeth_739

I'm retired with only a State Pension. I would like to sell handmade jewellery as a sort of hobby/business and a young friend has offered to put together a website rather than me trailing round trying to sell. I don't really want to open a business bank account and go the whole hog, but if I gave the website a name, how involved would it become and could I put cheques through my personal account?

InsideInsurance

If you are a sole trader then it is very simple as legally you and the business are one and the same thing so you can choose to have a separate account or just use your personal account (though if you want to accept cheques in the business name it will need to be a business account).

You will need to register with HMRC as a sole trader and to pay NI contributions. Once this is done you keep a record of all your income and all the business related outgoings and once a year complete a self assessment tax return which will calculate how much tax you need to pay. It is sensible to hold back 30% of all your profits as you go to cover this liability

sleepless_saver

You could consider selling through https://www.etsy.com rather than setting up your own website . It would be a lot simpler to get started, more people are likely to see your stuff, and you can get an idea for what is popular and likely to sell.

Savvy_Sue

InsideInsurance wrote: »

You will need to register with HMRC as a sole trader and to pay NI contributions.

the bit in bold: only if you expect your self-employed profit to be over the small earnings exemption limit. And possibly not in any case if you are over retirement age, but I don't pretend to understand how NI contributions for the self-employed work, as I always had a small earnings exemption certificate.

Either way, ask about this when you register. The limit used to be about £5000, someone will know what it is now, it seems to me that a hobby business may well have profits lower than this!

soolin

Elizabeth_739 wrote: »

I'm retired with only a State Pension. I would like to sell handmade jewellery as a sort of hobby/business and a young friend has offered to put together a website rather than me trailing round trying to sell. I don't really want to open a business bank account and go the whole hog, but if I gave the website a name, how involved would it become and could I put cheques through my personal account?

As you are selling online people prefer to be able to pay immediately so that their goods can be sent quickly. You might want to look into an online form of payment, like paypal.

I buy a lot of stuff, and if I have to send a cheque I tend not to bother buying. Just remember to factor in costs though of any service you use.

iheartbristol

Etsy!!!!! it's great. Yes they take a percentage off you but the benefits outweigh (in my opinion). I started selling my jewellery there in January this year and 45 sales later I'm very happy with my choice