Starting a craft business

lally25

Hi, I'm looking for someone to give me a bit of advice, I'm on job seekers benefit and I've recently done a few private craft fairs with a friend (who's currently on a job bridge scheme) it's looking like we might do well next year as we've had a few big companies express interest and been asked to be stocked in a few shops scattered all over the country.
How do I go about becoming legit?? We're not gonna make huge profits outta this as it takes hours and hours for us to make out stuff and it's pretty reasonably priced.... Any advice at all would be great...

viztopia

What pary of the country are you based in? Your local enterprise board would be your first port of call

dharma200

If you have been in job seekers for a while look into back to work allowance, this allows you to keep a portion of your benefits over a three year period and also I think lets you go t a short business course too. Go to the government social welfare website or google back to work allowance for all the details.

lally25

Thanks for replying guys. I'm in Galway, my main concern is how it would work with two of us. Thanks, I'll see what enterprise have to say

viztopia

It would be good to go and see an accountant as well. They could advise on the best set up. There is a forum here under accountancy where you can request contact/quote.

wmpdd3

We're not gonna make huge profits outta this as it takes hours and hours for us to make out stuff and it's pretty reasonably priced....

This is the major issue, this is the reason so many shops what your item, they will be thinking of sourcing your product for ~40% your current retail and are thinking of the possible markup they can achieve.

If you can't make a profit now you haven't a hope if you sell through a 3rd party retailer.

I also make some items but I now sell for 4 times what I used to charge and I only come out with about €3.50 per hour, but obviously I love making the items.

You should firstly cost each item honestly, supplies , equipment , time x €8.65 (for example). If this total is way more than you retail at now you have a problem.

Also cut out the middle man, look into selling on Etsy or maybe once or twice a year at a fair.

I am not totally sure about this but I would only approach the Social Welfare office when you have actually made money and have a business up and running.

Axwell

mod note: duplicate threads merged

jimmii

I have a store that stocks a lot of Irish design stuff and it seems to be pretty tough to crack for people. To be able to compete with the international stuff you need to be able to price it really well which is tough to do on a small scale.