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

jpwhittle

i have a few ideas for a cottage buisness biut im a little worried about going self employed and working out tax and things like that.
my ideas are
1- making hampers. the ones i made at christmas went down a storm and everyone said i should set up a buisness making them as they would sell well.
2- making the facecloth cakes that are on the special occasions board. they would go well alongside my hampers.
3- when i went on holiday last year i saw some marshmellow cakes that looked great and would sell well with poeple who have kids. but not sure were to get the marshmellows from.
4- putting photos onto canvas. but the oputlay for this is very expensive and i would have to get everything else up and running first.
im a little concerned as well that im moving to cyprus in the summer and dont know how this would effect sales, postage or a self employed status (would it be different over there? plus what if it goes wrong? i suppose if somehow i could make my first one very cheap theen keep doubling of the profits i could make it work but the move and goiung self employed scare me.

Hapless_2

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

Thanks Cassey
Any ideas gratefully received, there is a link to my blog on my profile, but it isn't for the faint hearted

Dap bags, I make dap bags for school kids, line them with PUL so they can be used for swimming too.

stourbridgeguy

Hi there first post so play nice, not throwing hard objects they hurt when they hit sensitive areas

Well here goes, I have a dream of living full time on a narrowboat but alas no cash. My aim this year is to save about £15k, this is intended to purchace said boat.

I used to produce soap etc, which I used to sell in a shop I was in partnership with, sadly no more. I have decided that unless I get off my !!! and do something I am going to be stuck in rented property untill me dying day.

The dream stops being a dream this year, I have started by already getting a domain name and web hosting, am spending time building the site at the moment.

The main reason I have decided to post in this thread is that I noticed earlier on that some poster broached the subject of Soap Making and were put off by the certification proccess. I use products that are pre-certified melt & pour soaps, along with lip balms, shampoo's.

I aim to do my first Craft Show at Easter so I am in the proccess of building up my stocks. My main aim is to amass as much money as I can to enable me to reach my goal, this, along with a tighter budget should get me somewhere near my target. In the long term I aim to continue to work full time and also run the soap making etc from the boat to enable for me to work part time by the time I am 55, so this is a year challenge and also a 7 year plan.

Hope this has been helpful to those who have no natural crafting talents, if you wish to google Melt & Pour Soap and good luck.

Take Care

Dave

x

Sallys_Savings

Good luck Dave, I really hope you reach your dream

Frugaldom

Stourbridgeguy, what a fantastic challenge. I'd like to wish you every success with your project and can assure you that you'll get all the helpful advice and support to see it through to a successful conclusion right here on MSE. It's a great site. Please keep posting progress updates as I, for one, will be really interested in following your progress.

Thanks for joining us all on here

Londongal_2

Really impressed by all you 'crafty' people! Just thought I'd recommend a recently visited site,
www.craftmarkets.co.uk
lots of different crafters with their own little 'stalls',lots of cards,but also loads of other things too! You can also open your own stall for about £25 a year!

Hapless_2

Londongal wrote: »

Really impressed by all you 'crafty' people! Just thought I'd recommend a recently visited site,
www.craftmarkets.co.uk
lots of different crafters with their own little 'stalls',lots of cards,but also loads of other things too! You can also open your own stall for about £25 a year!

Not being funny, but I wonder how many people actually make their £25 back each year?

Hardup_Hester

I'm with you on that one Hapless, £25 is quite a lot of money, though any form of advertising is expensive. I crocheting squares at the moment to make a throw, a la Cath Kidston

Pink_Fairy_2

Good luck, Dave, and all the best. Hope you achieve your dream, and if you're ever on the Brecon and Monmouthshire stretch, you can give me a wave. Keep us posted.

princesspoppypop

Has anyone ever ran a stall at a craft fair??? If so how did you find it and did you make much money after stall fees taken into consideration??

How else do people sell their crafts??? Ive been selling to friends and family.

Ebay doesnt really seem to be a good place and Im not so sure how many people will visit craftmarket.co.uk although it is advertised in many of my crafting mags.