Friend beat me to a business idea

[Pashola]

This is a lightheaded AIBU...
I'm not usually a crafty person but lockdown has got me bored and thinking, I've found an idea that I want to start making and possibly start to sell, if it doesn't take off then no big deal.
I haven't told anyone about this idea (it's all over the internet anyway, it's not a new idea) but besides my DH, I was keeping it to myself until I'd made a few and was going to start a page.
One of my good friends has just messaged that she has made the same item and is hoping to start selling them 🤦🏻‍♀️

We live in a small town so if I do it too I'll be stepping on her toes and I don't want that. AIBU to be upset by my only idea that has failed before it even began?

@ChrisPrattsFace

If you’re already going to quit Because someone you know does similar, then business isn’t for you. IMO.

This

I make and sell and had the the same conundrum when I started. I'd been thinking it for ages but she said it out loud first. Friend was selling locally so I set up an online shop with a jaunty (really awful) name but also selling a couple of similar but different things I could make as well as the original item, so more of a range. As it happens the other items ended up selling more, so more reviews etc, which set us apart a bit. Neither of us were the only people making the original product and it didn't take long before there was a company mass producing something similar anyway. Also she favoured the craft fair/direct customer route and isn't a fan of social media, while I preferred online and also direct to trade.

It could have gone very wrong but we've each created and maintained differences between our businesses. There's not that much money in it, certainly not to end a friendship over. I think we're mainly both amazed we sold anything at all!

Just as long as its not Etsy /Bead Necklaces! 22,700,000 at last view!Usually if you have an idea then its unlikely to be original sadly .Why not try and have a go anyway .Just say to friend you have always enjoyed this and see what they say?Better than going behind their back?

Am laughing at the pp demanding to know exactly what the OP is making... when her issue is that her friend has nicked her idea.

But seriously, give it a go - as others have said more than 1 person can make any given craft.

Thanks guys, for the people telling me to let it go, I have already stated 3 times that I am letting it go.
I wasn't seriously upset about it, just a bit disappointed.
I obviously didn't think I was going to make a fortune or ever end a friendship over it.
And as I said in my first post, I hadn't told anyone about it so she didn't steal the idea, she just got in first in announcing it 😊

Ahh I love them! I thought it would be a wall hanging type thing when you mentioned children's decor. I'm currently renovating my home and obsessed with interiors and you're right, they are all over the internet. However they are really popular and you can branch out from rainbows - animals, macrame, clouds, etc and start by selling on Etsy? You never know your friend may lose interest first!

Roughly how much are those rainbows going for? They're not really to my taste, which is completely beside the point, but if you enjoy making them then carry on. Are they knitted? If you can make decent rainbows then start gearing up for the next big craze iyswim. It's all cactus, avocado, llama, pineapples ect at the minute. Try some different things and don't give up

Mmm, It wasn't your business idea or your friends though was it, you are both ripping off some other designers business idea along with half the internet & this is what you get for jumping on the bandwagon. By the same token, your friend cannot complain at you perceivably nicking her business idea, as it isn't hers either.

If you want to start a business, come up with your own ideas or reinvent in a way that changes & improves a lot, otherwise your business, won't be a business at all, but a flash in the pan that will die a rapid death the minute the trend expires

Join forces with her?

Yeah, it’s not a viable business, it’s a hobby with potential to recoup cost of materials (but not labour).

Just looked up macrame rainbows on Etsy. Prices seem to start at around £9 (though others much more expensive), which includes delivery. You would need to be able to make one in less than half an hour to just about break even, taking into account time, materials and postage!

To be honest, OP, if you aren't crafty, maybe you shouldn't pursue a business idea around crafting. As a rule of thumb, I wouldn't buy anything I could make myself and from what I can see if those rainbows, they aren't much more than rope stuck together. By all means, make them for friends and family, but it doesn't sound like a viable business.

If you want to start a business, focus on something you love doing or are good at.

Joint venture as said above?

I'm quite a good sewer. I could make face masks and sell on to cover my costs and time, but even though I love sewing ( I even do a weekly course!) I cant be arsed.

You need to start and see if it's worth the time, effort etc to sell. If it's not something I want to keep or gift I just find it boring