Where to start?

[Ballerinacaz]

Well, here goes...
I want to start selling crafts, I would guess I would start by using Etsy. But how do I get started?
I think I'll sell a mixture of everything. Some earring, charm bracelets, cards, scarves, whatever I think of, and that I know how to make. I think I probably wouldn't be selling soaps and stuff because I heard (is this right?) that I would need a license to do so?
Also is it true that after 3 months of selling stuff I need to contact the IR, even if I'm not selling much, just a few items on Etsy...
Any help is appreciated! Also I thought that if I got popular, which might not happen, I would buy a Mr Site, possibly the Mr Site beginner as I've never made a site before and I don't want to be spending too much to start with...
Sorry for a long post, I just need to get a few things straight.

[Caroleecrafts]

You have to register as self employed within three months of starting a business, don't panic as it is quite easy to do online now and since they have introduced the short tax return this is simple to complete. If you are working or expect to earn under a certain threshold used to be £3200.00 per year you can apply for an exemption certificate for NIC.

Good Luck with your venture

[cbld]

Agree with Caroleecrafts about IR - it's not a big deal to register but it DOES need to be done within 3 months.

As far as soaps go, you don't need a license, but you DO need to have your soap recipes safety assessed and certified by a cosmetic chemist. You also need to have good manufacturing practices, keep a Product Information File (PIF) for all your soap ingredients etc., use correct & legal labelling on your products and use a batch numbering & tracking system.

Phew. Sounds worse than it actually is - honest!! - but there is a bit of a learning curve.

[debs08]

Hi, new on here too, i was selling online with ebay but fees have changes and i decided to go it alone, i recently bought a package from mr site, its brilliant, although i would just advise, check all the different selections of packages they have to offer, i bought one and had to upgrade to the pro package within a few days as the other package didnt have on it what i needed. Not getting much traffic to it at the moment , but its very very early days yet.

Debs