Homemade business

jkl123

Hi all, not sure If this is the right place to put this.
I am thinking about starting a business making homemade house decor, has anyone done this and has any tips and tricks, what works what doesn't?? I have been thinking about this for a while however circumstances meant I couldn't at the time. Is the market flooded with business's like this?

Thanks

Flyonthewall

jkl123 wrote: »

Hi all, not sure If this is the right place to put this.
I am thinking about starting a business making homemade house decor, has anyone done this and has any tips and tricks, what works what doesn't?? I have been thinking about this for a while however circumstances meant I couldn't at the time. Is the market flooded with business's like this?

Thanks

No one's going to say what does work, that means competition for them when you start selling.

There's a lot of people making and selling stuff, but that's not to say there's not room for more as it's often unique pieces. If you've got something people like and there's no one else selling that exact thing you could get sales.

Tips would be, make sure you register as self employed and you get public liability insurance, fully research postage costs and make sure the materials you use are good quality (you won't get repeat custom or good feedback if your items are poor quality). If it involves any electrics make sure they're up to UK safety standards.

The best idea is to look at what is already selling, the prices they sell for (not listed at, but actually sell for), look at where you can sell (e.g. etsy and facebook), postage costs, selling/listing fees, what materials you'd need and the cost and basically do your own research on all areas of making and selling. There's a lot of information out there, but people won't do it all for you and give you all the answers, first of all, because you know exactly what you wish to make and, second, because (as I already said) you're the competition and have people have any great tips they'll use them for their own business.

Hermia

It is a very hard question to answer. The crafty market is a bit of a nightmare and I think most people fail or only earn pocket money. It does seem to be full of a lot of people who don't need to earn a full-time wage (housewives, people living with parents). IME it is very hard to make a full-time living wage from it. But if you get it right it can be great.

I have a friend who buys cheap secondhand furniture and gives it a shabby chic makeover. She sells via Facebook and is doing very nicely. I have another friend who makes a good living making garden ornaments with her husband. On the other hand if you make small, common items it can be hard to make a living even if the items are popular. Those sort of items sell best at craft fairs or on etsy, but then you have fees. The problem is you need to sell a lot to make money.

I think you need to think about whether your items are going to be unique and eye-catching enough to stand out. And you also need to investigate where you can sell them both online and offline.

alexadams88

home made business done the right way yields maximum profits. After developing your first product you need to make sure you advertise it to the market. I don't recommend paid advertising. For starters you could post sales lead of free popular sites like ebay and amazon. There are sellers on ebay making 10k per month selling household items. don't give up, give a try. You never know when fortune strikes.

jkl123

Thankyou everyone

jerrygriffin

Homemade business can help you earn lots of profit in your comfort zone, but make sure that your work does not affect the personal space of you and your family.