Help me get ideas.

[jane99]

As i said in another thread I am starting this one so you can all give me some ideas of how to get started.

I am taking some time out from work. I did work in a special school at lunch times but I must admit im feeling rather guilty about be at home.

Since coming to this site I have noticed just how many of you work from home and im thinking to myself "well I can do that".

So how do you start?? How do you decided what your going to do??

I have so many questions to ask.shrugshoulders111

[Lemon]

I sort of fell into mine. I wanted to sell some things on Ebay and don't really know why I chose children's clothing ? I bought only a few things and sold to the village mum's to start with aswell.

I slowly built it up and then decided to have a website built. I am now busy trying to promote that, it does take a lot of perserverance (sp) !

[Lemon]

Is there anything you particularly enjoy ? Hobbies ? Interests ? It's always a good place to start for ideas.

If your going to do it, you will want to enjoy it, makes it far more interesting and rewarding.

[Tanya]

same as Lemon really, I started selling on Ebay all the clothes the kids had grown out of and when I had run out I decided to register as self employed and buy some new stock and it all started from there. Not had my website long though and am just in the process of redesigning it before promoting it like mad. I look on mine as being a hobby and don't make much money but I suppose you only get back what you put in (so to speak)

ask as many questions as you like

[MrTempleDene]

Good place to start is simply your list your skills

Maybe then something will jump out at you as an obvious

[jane99]

Not really, I was into making card a while back. I made all the christmas cards for my husbands buisness last year and i enjoyed that.

I did look into buying from wholesalers and sell on Ebay but just never did.

Do you think that would be a good place to start.??

[Tanya]

Not really, I was into making card a while back. I made all the christmas cards for my husbands buisness last year and i enjoyed that.

I did look into buying from wholesalers and sell on Ebay but just never did.

Do you think that would be a good place to start.??

I suppose it all depends on how much money you want to make each month. Will making and selling cards be cost effective enough?
will you have to sell lots and lots to see a reward? I'm not sure I don't know anything about making cards.

but if it's something you enjoy doing then look into it a little bit further.

HTH

[Ravenfire]

It was easy for me - I used be a secretary/pa before children so I looked into becoming a Virtual Assistant. Although saying that the works not as easy to come by as people think.

[jane99]

There wouldnt be much in card making I dont think.

Not that its the money really just something for me to do, maybe something like stocking filler toys this time of year. But then its the web page. Ohh all seems too much for me.

[Tanya]

if you want to do something to keep you occupied then do the card making, if it doesn't matter too much about the money, you never know you might make a fortune, sorry didn't mean to put you off. I didn't mean to sound horrible.

[Lemon]

If you enjoy card making Jane and you want to keep busy, I would go for that. There is a lady that does that in our village and makes loads of Christmas ones and sells them at the School Christmas Fete ! She probably doesn't make loads of money, but am sure she makes pocket money to help towards Christmas.

[Tanya]

my answer came out all wrong, Jane I'm really sorry.

Listen to Lemon not me lol, I'll just shut up now

[Lemon]

Don't be daft TJ !! At least your trying to help her xx

[Tanya]

I know but I've got really bad ear ache and I think it's affecting my brain :laugh:

[jane99]

Tanya you didnt sound horrible at all.

[Tanya]

thanks Jane, I hope you find something to do that you really enjoy

[Chell]

I googled for months trying to find something to sell. I thought about childrens clothes but there seemed to be so many sellers with mega cheap prices that it would be very hard to compete with them.

What about Body shop at home, Avon, Virgin Vie, Phoenix cards, Usborne books etc?

[Tanya]

I had an idea a while ago but it's never going to take off so I may as well share. It's not a new idea and there are other people out there selling them but you need to think of a twist to make them more unique.

The idea was gift baskets for newborn babies and also new mothers. I found the supplier of the baskets, tissue paper, cellophane wrapping etc. I thought about filling them with a babygro, bib, teddy, money box, or maybe giving the buyer a choice and letting them choose from a selection of products to fill the basket with and the choice of different price options, and for the new mother gift baskets maybe something alcholic :cheesy: that's as far as I got with that one lol

I may still do this in the future but atm I really don't have the money to get it started.

How does this sound Jane??

[Chutney]

I think you need to find something you enjoy doing otherwise it is hard to stick at. When you start making a business out of an idea, it can be very slow so you need to be enthusiastic about what you are doing. That is why so many people give up in the first year. Don't worry if you pick something other people are doing (although fab if you can think of something else!). Just think of ways to be different in what/how you offer your products or services. And if you think of something good, please tell us so we can copy - ha ha! Good luck.
Chutney
XXX

[jane99]

Thanks everyone im taking this all on board and will give this lots of thought.

[gemmum]

Hi,
I kinda got pushed into working from home...childcare is just soo expensive and if i can make just something whilst i'm looking after my girls i'm happy :)

I sell both avon and usborne and i really enjoy it...i think it honestly keeps me sane, lol. It does get hard when there ill and i have work to do of an evening but it would be even more difficult to go out to work in a bar or something and leave them with dh (and his short patience after work).

I'm not creative at all and don't have much money to set up a business so i looked at the direct selling agancies(www.dsa.org.uk). I asked round friends and neighbours and started doing avon in january then Usborne in june. I personally think if your trying to sell something and have to devote a lot of your time to it you need to like the product your selling. I am no sales person at all and thankfully i don't need to be with avon or usborne as they are established companies.

HTH and goodluck
Gemma

[vikki]

i know what you mean about feeling guilty Jane. I've tried bits and pieces but no joy. The card making thing sounds good, to be used at fetes etc, build up a stock pile of nice bits, and then look around for indoor bootfairs etc now the weather is getting yuk. The prob with selling cards on line i think is that there are lots of cheapy shops around etc which people would use. But i'm a sucker for a nice frilly stall with handmade pretty accessories

[babybiz]

I agree with Chutney if you try to make a business out of an idea it'll be 20 times as hard as making a sucess out of something you enjoy doing. The card making industry is absolutely swamped now so if you're going to do that you'll need to have a really different style or angle. If you do it would be a lovely way to make money from a hobby. Whatever you decide to do I would do a thorough search to see what the market is like and whether you feel you have a unique angle to compete with but when all's said and done if you're not going to invest a lot it can't hurt to just jump in and see how you go :) Learning as you go is the best way of learning I think.

Good luck :)

Tashxx

[melissa]

I'm in PR - always have been. I decided that I wanted to make baby food so I went and researched the market and discovered that there were quite a few companies who make frozen baby food - so I wrote to the founder of the company I thought was the best (Babylicious) and gave her my ideas on how I thought she could grow the business. She hired me to do their PR and communications as a freelancers. So I thought, well, if I can do it for them, I can do it for other baby related companies. So I set up a little business doing exactly that.

So I agree with the others - decide what your skills are and what you enjoy doing and then try figure out how you can combine them to earn money (easier said than done I know!)