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

princesspoppypop

I`ve been creating gift hampers for family and friends for ages but have no idea how I can actually start a business selling them for profit.

Everyone says I have a natural talent in creating things....

Anyone any ideas on getting started???

Poppypop :j

Pink_Fairy_2

Hi. Thanks for the welcome.

Sorry I've not been back but fighting the usual winter bugs! My sister, who is a teacher, sews bags and takes them to Craft Fayres, to earn a bit extra. She sometimes only sells enough to cover her costs, but says she enjoys the atmosphere anyway. (She also has a bit on a website)

I'm not great at sewing. I do a lot of cross stitch, but that's not something that would sell well at fairs, as the income doesn't match the outlay. I make cards, but as someone else has said, there are a lot of people selling those. I also knit and have found some patterns for knitted bags and socks! Do you think they would go? I did also find a pattern for a reusable bag knitted from plastic carriers, but I should imagine the cutting and preparation would be tedious.

Pink_Fairy_2

princesspoppypop wrote: »

I`ve been creating gift hampers for family and friends for ages but have no idea how I can actually start a business selling them for profit.

Everyone says I have a natural talent in creating things....

Anyone any ideas on getting started???

Poppypop :j

Sounds like a great idea to me. Could you "design" some themed hampers (i.e Baby, special birthday, anniversary, Christmas) and advertise them to gauge response? My daughter bought me a hamper for Christmas for £15. Lovely idea, but probably not even £10 worth of goods, but all Scottish produce, so perhaps a "Burns Night" hamper.:D

Pink_Fairy_2

Does anyone else Freecycle? I advertised for wool as I was knitting dog coats for a charity, but, having seen some of the other posts here, perhaps you could advertise for other "unwanted" materials that you could use for your ventures. No one on Freecycle is allowed to charge.

Frugaldom

Hi Pink Fairy, I don't use Freecycle but I do recycle just about anything I can lay my hands on, basically. Best bet is to ask around friends, family, work mates etc and get them to rake out whatever they have or can get. Other than that, there are a few bargains going around (see the earlier threads here) for wool

Pink_Fairy_2

Sorry. I didn't say - I got the wool and obtained two converts to knitting for the charity as a consequence! Bargain. I thought it could be useful for others to try.

geordie_joe

Pink_Fairy wrote: »

Does anyone else Freecycle? I advertised for wool as I was knitting dog coats for a charity, but, having seen some of the other posts here, perhaps you could advertise for other "unwanted" materials that you could use for your ventures. No one on Freecycle is allowed to charge.

You could, but in a thread on another board a lot of people have said they don't like people who ask for things that they intend to sell. Personally I would not give an item to someone if I knew they were going to take it straight to a boot sale, or list it on ebay, and they do that as a living.

However I would willingly give something to someone who was just trying to earn a little extra money and was going to put some work into it by improving what I gave them.

As an example, I would not give wool to someone who was going to take it straight to the scrap yard to sell (if they still buy it). But I would give it to someone who was going to knit it up and sell what they make from it at boot sales.

Pink_Fairy_2

geordie_joe wrote: »

You could, but in a thread on another board a lot of people have said they don't like people who ask for things that they intend to sell. Personally I would not give an item to someone if I knew they were going to take it straight to a boot sale, or list it on ebay, and they do that as a living.

However I would willingly give something to someone who was just trying to earn a little extra money and was going to put some work into it by improving what I gave them.

As an example, I would not give wool to someone who was going to take it straight to the scrap yard to sell (if they still buy it). But I would give it to someone who was going to knit it up and sell what they make from it at boot sales.

No, I realise that, and I feel as you would, but I meant if people had unwanted fabrics etc that they were Freecycling, that someone else could use to turn into a saleable object. Surely that would be OK if they said what they wanted it for?

Hardup_Hester

Princess poppypop, I make hampers too, but cannot find a cheap way of advertising, I've advertised in a few local directories at the cost of £30 a go, but had no response at all. So this year I'm taking them to the local school fayres, I don't expect to sell many, but am just hoping to get them known.

I know this doesn't count as a cottage industry, but I've just been offered £80 to look after a workmates dog for a week. It's all extra money in the pot.

Hapless_2

Oh a word on gift baskets, don't put wine or any other form of alcohol in them if you are selling them. Licensing laws and all that.