Capitol for business.

[Seahorse]

If one day, in Lalaland, I were to start a business selling my craft/jewellery, what is a resonable amount of capitol(is that the right word for business money)to put in?

Or how much did you put aside to start up a business?

[0103media]

Or how much did you put aside to start up a business?

First you need to work out what its going to cost before anything..

What you intend to do make a massive difference.. E.g. do you need a warehouse ? Then shipping etc..

Web = hosting, advertising and up keep

The thing is you can get people to do stuff for you but that costs so what can you learn about to save $$$$..

If you going down the web route it all depends.. you can get free shopping carts like oscommerce and the site would cost you your hosting e.g. £20 -£100 per yr...

Plus your stuff for making your crafts..

Then advertising and promotion.. This is the big money ... So many ways to track your ROI now just drop me a pm when your need it..

(roi = return on investments..)

Hope that helps a little?

[Seahorse]

Ooh, it does.Im just thinking about setting up a site, not advertising tho I think it would be a necessity!!

Ive been working out what things cost me all morning re jewellery and ty to work out costs re each project as I go, Ive found some cheaper suppliers today and ive been bugging friends as ot how much theyd pay for a necklace of mine that that saw and liked at the weekend, so Id have an idea of what the public would pay.Like a mini questionaire.
My best friend guessed very poorly,she said £8 for something that cost me £8 to make.I ownt be selling her anything

My friend says he will set up a site for free!!!Il have to buy a computer/camera etc I cant expect him to do everything for me so hopefully I can pay attention and he can teach me.

Its all so much to think of.But fun at the same time, as the most challenging thing Ive had to do all week at work is find an address for a colleague.

[Bea]

Sadly quite a few businesses don't make any money from day one, actual lose money in the first years - be warned. You need to make a business plan if you want to do this right. There's free templates on business forums, it will give you an idea of costs involved. Try www.start-ups.co.uk or www.teneric.co.uk
You'll have to register as self employed but it's no big deal - you'll just received the dreaded self employment form to fill in every year! Lots of free training available from the IR (inland revenue) when you set up your business, worth checking.
Advertising is a necessity but certainly costs a lot.
With jewellery though, doing parties seems a good way for some of my customers to sell, as people come with the intention of buying. Jewellery does usually well at craft fairs. You can also take your stock to small shops and sell direct, although some of them want an ''exclusivity radius'' of 5 or 10 miles, etc. Not sure about online, I think you have to be different. One of my customers built this great website but is hardly getting any sales (despite advertising) - people want to see and touch. You might describe the beads but some people won't have a clue. A lot of stuff in the stores is made of plastic (I can tell by touching them) whereas handmade jewellery is glass and semi-precious most (if not all) of the time.
I would try craft fairs first if I were you, to see how people react to your jewellery, etc...

[euston-74]

Hi there,
I think 0103media has said everything there is to say. I'd just like to second that advertising will be crucial - websites don't get hit unless there is something driving people to it. You can get google ads - they have all sorts of payment options based on the number of people who click on your ad.
Also, I agree with you about the excitement, the thinking you have to put into a thing like this is a great buzz and highly creative! Good luck.

[Seahorse]

Thanks for your comments.Ive posted on teneric but Il have a look at the other site.
Darned advertising/selling!!! I only want to make the things!!

[swirlyarts]

Might also be worth checking if there are any 'enterprise initiatives' (I know what I mean!) in your area. There is one in mine that offers loads of free advice and you can drop in whenever you like for advice etc. There is also a womans business centre in my area too that I have heard is quite good.
You will have to let us know how you get on with it all!
Lynsey

[Seahorse]

Thanks, Il have a look into the enterprise initiative thingy.

[Dotty]

To set up a resonable business, registered, computers, equipment, book keeping systems, stock, storage, advertsing etc To start £25000 - £35000. As you make your money use that to build up more stock etc.

hope this helps

[Peter]

HOW MUCH!!!!! If that's right I owe the bank a hell of a lot of money.

[Seahorse]

HOW MUCH!!!!! If that's right I owe the bank a hell of a lot of money.

Ditto!!!!!!

[0103media]

All depends what your after...

My main client set up cost was in the region of £3-5 million

All depends..

I've set up sites that cost me £5 a year + £500 in advertising that make £10k ... so what are you after is the question ?