Honest opinions needed please

Shelley3774

Hi there this is my first post so I will apologise in advance if I make any mistakes. I started making Nappy Cakes about 2 months ago after I hit on the idea after my friend gave birth and I gave her one as a gift. After purchasing it I thought I could do this and better so that was where it all started. Each of my cakes contains baby blanket, baby vests, sleepsuit, johnsons products, nappies, dummy etc .I've now received 10 orders this week and the interest is incredible. I'm seriously thinking about starting a small business but I really don't know where to start !!??! Any advice would be really grateful?
I've posted some Photos on here of the ones i made this week and I would be grateful for any comments.

RustyFlange

Hi Shelley, they are lovely, Can I ask how much you charge for them?
I bought domains so that I have a .co.uk name and a .com name bought it from 123reg.com and was about £10 ish for both for 2 years. I am yet to make up a website.

for the pictures so they show up straight away you need to add the img tags ... i.e
[img][/img]http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=004ox4.jpg
Do this but remove the spaces between the img and the http and then again before the next img and it should show up. Depends on the picture size though

rainmac

Wow shelley, they are gorgeous!!! Do you wrap or box them?

I think these are perfect for a cottage industry! Before you embark on starting a business, make sure you are making enough profit out of it to make it worthwhile. Would it be possible for you to advertise your nappycakes at work/ your OH work/ friends work and get commissions that way? How about doing a local craft fair/fete? You could advertise yourself on noticeboards - local mother & baby group/ library/ local shop/ florist/ hairdressers...

A website would be helpful for somewhere to direct people to see samples of your work but obviously takes a bit of £ and time to set up.

There must be loads of stuff elsewhere on MSE about starting your own business and the kind of things you need to think about.

Wish you loads of luck, keep us posted with developments

RustyFlange

I advertise on most of the above places I am about to upload 75 auctions to ebay tonight ....

Shelley3774

Hello again thanks for all your speedy replies and lovely comments. I've started selling them at £30 to friends and work colleagues which makes me a small profit. Each cake is wrapped in cellophane with curling ribbon and bows.
Do i need to go self employed though to be able to sell through shops, craft fairs etc??


http://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jakessportsday017dp5.jpg

Siren137

My boyfriends sister is pregnant with her second child so was thinking of doing a nappy cake as a pressie for her as she has most of the stuff that she needs especially if she has another little girl. But all new mums need nappies so thought this would work well.

Thanks for the inspiration people, those cakes are beautiful!!

hemc

They are really lovley I would certainly buy from a website for my friends.
I buy lots from the sellers on http://www.wahm.co.uk/ they are all work at home mum's (or dads lol)
I have just bought some nice bracelets from thier fr my dd's birthday for instance.
I reccomended it to my friend who does cards today as you get a hosted website free for 12 months with them and all the advertising that goes with it which seems a good option for starting out.
Can I suggest it might be nice to offer a cloth nappy option too with prefolds and a couple of nice wraps I would have loved to recieve one of them!

C x

Shelley3774

Thanks hemc for your advice I will definitely consider doing a cloth option should be really popular with eco friendly mums! I will also look at the website you recommended. Thanks again x

RustyFlange

Hemc, I am already in the process of making one of these, the main problem is the cost of cloth nappies so again trial and error.

I now have 5 different styles of nappy cake and also make other things and all are selling fantastically well.
So looks like my thread worked wonders, thankyou for the kind words, and opinions.

moonpenny

Hi Shelley
I wondered how on earth you can make a profit on £30 for your lovely cakes?
I went into town today fully intending to get all the things to make my first sample cake but got nothing. I went to the next sale where they had some gorgeous clothes, but even sale prices added up too much.

I came home instead empty handed and after adding everything up at "sale" prices and nappies on offer - it came to about £28.
It's O.K. if they are just for family and friends etc but the figures don't add up as a small business! HELP!
Sorry - another question; Do you have a problem with buying clothes for different seasons? After looking around I realized everything was summer wear and the customer might be having the baby in winter!