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

RosaThorne

:rotfl: I don't have the Pigsback excuse anymore, it won't let me log in! We've got jammed packed lives, that's the problem - I'm shopping on Monday, dying my hair on Wednesday, and if the sun comes out I have to go to the beach... There's no escaping the chores!

I need to make a check list type thingy to get things done... Might take me a few weeks to finish it though!!
Fresh start on Monday.... I have to do something, no beach trips until I've made something - That'll work!!

Ooh, there's a film on....

Jo_F

Well I made a load of jewellery the other day, the link to my photobucket album is in the Jewellery thread in the Special Occasion forum.

Have all been listed on my website, and one of my work colleagues has fell in love with a bracelet and is waiting for payday so that she can buy it, after checking with the RM site, airmail to the States is not all that much more than sending it around the UK.

So that's 2 sales from my website, I have some items listed on pinkdoodle, just need a bit more exposure and people that will actually spend some money!

Frugaldom

Jo_F wrote: »

...just need a bit more exposure and people that will actually spend some money!

:rotfl: Don't think we'll find any of them on MSE, I can't even find them on eBid or eBay! Come to think of it, I haven't even met any in town recently!

Jo_F

Well I managed to find one before, one of my managers had ordered a necklace, and what started out as a £7.50 order suddenly went up by £20 when she went and had a look at my new stuff

She added a bracelet and then ordered a commssioned necklace to go with the bracelet.

So I is a happy chappy!

RosaThorne

That's fab - Hope the orders keep coming

I've had a productive day, went into town and forgot why I was there, so joined the Post Office queue and ended up buying a book of stamps..
My shopping list was: 3yds med. blue cotton, 3 large white buttons, 4yds rust coloured wool fabric, 2 oz of green 2ply, 2 oz of rust 2ply and a pack of kirby grips
Someone want to do my shopping for me, I'm clearly useless!!
Though I did remember to get to the library and borrow the Resin jewellery book - A saving of £12.99 had I bought it!

princesspoppypop

I`m trying really hard with my cards and novelties, but I`m having no luck at all. I signed up with Etsy but have sold nothing! My family love my things so I can`t understand what I`m doing wrong???

Frugaldom

princesspoppypop wrote: »

I`m trying really hard with my cards and novelties, but I`m having no luck at all. I signed up with Etsy but have sold nothing! My family love my things so I can`t understand what I`m doing wrong???

You aren't doing anything wrong, many people just aren't buying non-essentials at the moment and if they are anything like us on MSE, they are making their own, doing the exact same as many others here. The more people who see your items then the more chance you have of someone spotting something they want to buy, so perhaps you could set up your own website. Join http://www.officelive.com/ FREE and get a free domain name and build a free website. Submit your URL to all the major search engines. List your goods anywhere you can list free, such as eBid. Submit your web link to as many other sites as possible and offer to reciprocate. Send for some business cards via somewhere like Vistaprint and include your website address then had these out to everyone and anyone who is interested. Try asking your local gift shops or fancy goods shops if they would be interested in having some items on display on a sale or return basis (work out prices so you can cover their commission) and consider having a few get togethers with friends on a party plan basis. If you organise them early enough in the year, they have time to pay deposit with order and save whilst the items are being made for them.
I was once told that selling is the easiest thing in the world to do IF you are doing it NOW but nobody ever explained to me how to find the customers without a multi-million pound advertising & marketing budget so, for now, keep plodding along the best you can.

I may be slow at getting things made, but I have managed to get a couple of items into our local gift store and sold some already. I have set up my website for my wooden (offcuts) items and have sold several of those, mostly via eBid and one single one through eBay, which was a waste of time when I included the fees.

GOOD LUCK and never give up. I'd far rather be living on a budget and working for myself. My garden has now become an extension of my cottage industry as I planted far too many seeds this year and am now selling cuttings and seedlings. Never be scared to diversify. The worst that can happen is it won't work.

RosaThorne

I love the idea of selling plants etc - It sounds so much more relaxing than crafting... I want a garden
Princesspoppypop - Things will pick up soon, I'm told Autumn is a good selling time when people are readying themselves for Christmas

taka

princesspoppypop - I had a quick look at your Etsy shop. One thing that jumps out at me is that you only list UK postage. Etsy isn't very well known over here so maybe you should try and put international postage on there? The royal mail website should give you an idea of postage prices for shipping to USA or wherever. You could also try going into the forums on etsy as you will find out all sorts of helpful things eg tips on how to market your shop, using your tags, how to get your stuff seen, how to take great photos and a whole host of other things. I'm trying to get ready to open a shop on Etsy (I'm struggling to take decent pictures of my jewellery that do the pieces justice) and some of the threads have been invaluable! Good luck!

cazac71

Hi all,

I joined this site a couple of months ago, but have only started reading this thread tonight...and i`m glad i did! (Havent read it all yet tho!)

I`m always having ideas, but hardly ever put them into practice, this thread is giving more of a push.
I`d like to make some extra money by working from home, ive got an idea, (It could run alongside our Bouncy Castle Biz). I was wondering do charity shops take peoples stuff on as sale and return? I know Oxfam do alot of "New" stuff nowdays.

Oh and is there anywhere on the net that can show me how to work a standard sewing machine, ie threading it up etc, i`ve no idea! Although sewing isnt needed for my "Newest" idea, it would be handy to learn how to use one, i cannot stand sewing by hand!

Keep the thread going its Brill