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

hj82

Thanks very much picklepick and nykmedia! That's a great help... I'll investigate the hmrc website immediately! )

Frugaldom

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Are there not all sorts of tricky rules to follow when selling food - in terms of labelling, etc?

From the greenhouse, I'm not selling the food, I'm selling the plants, although I may be tempted to sell surplus veggies next year if my 'artichoke project' germinates.

Eggs, fruit & veg are permissible sales as long as it's direct to family, friends or equivalent to 'farm gate', otherwise, eggs need to be date stamped and subject to various quality controls.

Hatching eggs can be sold by anyone to anyone, they even trade online via eBay. (I bought some, I was amazed when they arrived safely in the post.)

Surplus chicks can be sold privately or via the poultry auctions, shows and sales.

I'm a registered poultry keeper and have my DEFRA number, so everything's recorded and above board. I haven't stretched as far as applying for a County/Parish/Holding number to allow me to keep a goat for milking etc (yet) but now's probably a good time to point out that anyone who does decide to keep a pet lamb/goat kid/calf whatever must, by law, be registered to do so, even for a single animal.

If you want to sell homemade foodstuffs, legislation varies depending on how often and what quantity you sell. If you search for online food hygiene courses, there are plenty of sites offering the minimum requirements along with various labelling minimums. It's also easy enough to call up environmental health and council to check local laws. Many houses have rules in the title deeds prohibiting keeping poultry, rabbits etc, so anyone deciding to keep chickens for eggs should check first.

Hope this all helps a little.

Now, I wonder if there's a market for broken eggshells? :rotfl:

chatnoir

Hi all,

Hope this is the right place.
Last year I customized an old chest of draws for my Niece, i found I really enjoyed and they actually looked pretty good:j.

Does anyone know if I would be able to buy ready made furniture and customize it to sell? Not sure what the law is on selling someone else's products.

Any advice anyone could offer would be great

Thanks:T

Frugaldom

chatnoir wrote: »

...Does anyone know if I would be able to buy ready made furniture and customize it to sell? Not sure what the law is on selling someone else's products...

Hello chatnoir I think you can do what you want with it once you've bought it, as long as you don't use anyone else's brand name, trademark or design or claim that it was manufactured by you.

Good luck with your enterprise.

Jo_F

nykmedia wrote: »

Now, I wonder if there's a market for broken eggshells? :rotfl:

Try your local allotments, I believe they are good for detering snails and slugs without having to resort to salt.

Frugaldom

Jo_F wrote: »

Try your local allotments, I believe they are good for detering snails and slugs without having to resort to salt.

I wouldn't have a clue where to find the nearest allotments, I live in the middle of nowhere. However, I did try the crushed eggshells around my lettuces last year and they did help - until the birds ate all the shells. :rotfl:

Sorry, the eggshells bit was meant to be a joke - I rinse them, crush them and mix them into the bird feed for extra calcium, or else they go in the compost bin. Either way, they are being recycled.

galatea34

Hello - have been reading this thread for the past few days on and off - it's great.

Now I'm on maternity leave I finally have a bit of time to think about making things more seriously (but not much time, what with the 4-month-old!) - I always have projects on the go and thought that if I made smaller things maybe I would have enough to start a small self-employed sideline. :j

Anyway, I'm trying to find out what the best way of getting my own website is - that way I can set it up and maybe start some kind of blog, though who'd want to read it I don't know! Meanwhile, I thought I might try Etsy, which my site could link to, as a way of potentially attracting more attention/possible customers.

Plus, if I register as self-employed, I can count money I spend on materials as a business expense which might help towards a tax rebate, right? Assuming I use the materials for some vaguely business-related activity, such as research, even if I don't actually sell anything?

I'm hopeless - I'd really appreciate some advice from your knowledgeable selves! :T

tiddly_widdly

Hi, Im new to this thread. Ive popped in as Im contemplating selling homemade foods such as chutneys, biscuits, melt in the middle choc puds. and other stuff. I know theres a lot of hoops to jump through for food. Someone else told me about the country -markets website and it looks fantastic. it may be worth investigating for a few others as well

Frugaldom

galatea34 wrote: »

...Plus, if I register as self-employed, I can count money I spend on materials as a business expense which might help towards a tax rebate, right? Assuming I use the materials for some vaguely business-related activity, such as research, even if I don't actually sell anything?

I'm hopeless - I'd really appreciate some advice from your knowledgeable selves! :T

I think you might be confusing income tax with VAT and you can only claim that if you're VAT registered. Being employed and self employed means you'll pay tax on all profits, but there's nothing to stop you registering (to make it all legal) and then just concentrating on making it break even for the time being. You'll also need to check your contract of employment, as some contracts state in them that you cannot work elsewhere at the same time without their permission. None of it is complicated, just a case of speaking to your employer and registering your other interests with HMRC. If it's something you enjoy doing, it will be fun making it pay for itself and any 'profits' after deducting all allowable expenses can always be reinvested back into your business. You really did need that new workroom redecorated and those magazine subscriptions are so you can keep up with the competition! :cool:

I'm no expert on any of this business malarky but I have been self-employed for many years and there's nothing complicated about it as long as you stick to the rules. If in doubt, phone local tax office and ask for advice - it's free and they are very helpful.

Good luck with your new venture and belated congratulations on arrival of new baby

Tiddly widdly, what's the web address for the country markets website? I'd quite like a look at that as it sounds interesting. Thanks in advance.

galatea34

This one? Sorry, I tried, but I'm a new user, not allowed to post with links yet. It was the first result I got when I typed country markets into Google, anyway.

Thanks nykmedia! I had a look at your website, and think selling hatching eggs is a great idea - I'd buy some if my garden wasn't weeny and in the centre of London. I promise I will just as soon as I convince my OH to move to the country...

I was kind of hoping if my self-employment makes a loss, at least at first - no great leap of the imagination - I'd get an income tax rebate from my paid work. Fortunately they're quite happy for me to divide my energies. If not, oh well. I'll check out those tax training courses, doesn't look like it'll be too hard keeping within the law.

Thanks lots again. Currently I've a few materials and a few proto-ideas but the mother's staying for the weekend so it might take me a few days to get off my backside - hopefully I'll have more exciting news to report soon.