daughter wants to start a hobby business??

[missjones84]

hi all,

My darling daughter has always had an interest with making jewellery and such and wants to make 'sea glass' jewellery, shes got a little plan and some ideas set up and I'm willing to lend her some money to start it up. I'm worried about legalities though, does she need to register for anything?? She said she'd like to sell on something called "depop" and marketplace. Should I let her go ahead with it?? TIA xxx

Once she makes over 1000 pound she needs to register with HMRC. That’s turnover/sales not profit of that much.

How old is she?

Oh gosh yes! how old is she? she could even use something like vt cash. which is a very simple free bookkeeping software!

@toomanyspiderplants

Hiya, shes 16 currently, 17 in a few months. She said she like to do it as a hobby thing and not as a full time as she's starting her A levels. I'm in full support but I was just wondering about the legalities of it, I'll let her know about the software xx

@delilahbucket
16, 17 in a few months x

@LouiseTrees

I'm awful with these types of things, thank you for the input, I wouldn't have known otherwise lol! X

She'll need more than just cash from you to get started as she is under 18. To sell on depop you need a PayPal account, which you have to be over 18 to have. This will need to be a business account. She will need to learn about and adhere to the consumer contract regulations and sale of goods act. You can teach her how to calculate profit based on the cost of materials, selling fees, postage and packaging and potential returns (she will have to accept them as it is a legal requirement).
As Louise said, she can turnover £1000 in a tax year before she has to register as self employed. A simple notebook with money in and money spent (which she can deduct if she then hits the threshold and registers as a sole trader) is sufficient in the early days, or a spreadsheet.
It's a real learning curve starting a business but good luck to her.

Depop is rife with issues, everyone baffles and it's more used for selling secondhand stuff. What about Etsy?

I also agree. I’ve never bought from Depop but I trust Etsy way more.

@macaroniinapot

I was going to mention etsy to her but I didn't know if it deducted anything/needed any papers or such to register a business on the site x

@delilahbucket

It all sounds so complicated 🙈! I'll mention it to her, whether she'd make the £1000 pound limit im unsure as its only small jewellery pieces shes considering selling, high hopes they say! Thank you for the information also xx

@LouiseTrees

I've just downloaded it and had a look myself, maybe Etsy is the better choice between the two as its main thing is handmade items. I'll see what DD says x

She might be better off selling on facebook or perhaps getting a stall at a local craft fair?

I have a craft business, mainly selling through Etsy.

There are still good things about it: for example, they calculate and remit the different US states' taxes on orders from America and Australia, which is something other marketplace sites don't necessarily do, (that would be a major piece of admin to do myself). There are really annoying recentish developments too: you have to agree to them advertising your products off Etsy, and if a sale results from those, you are charged a 12%-15% advertising fee. You can't opt out of this. My product sells for about £20, half of which represents my costs, half is my profit/earnings. When they take the 12% extra fee, instead of my earning £10 per item, I only earn £7.80.

Etsy is not so hand-made and independent anymore. They have a very secure place dominating the marketplace market, but the character has changed.

But I would still recommend it! Sounds like the best fit for your daughter, as she's starting out. She can always change later; I have moved between a couple of sites, changing where my website directs to, therefore not losing potential customers.

I don’t know much about Folksy but it seems to be presented as the U.K. version of Etsy for crafts.

Etsy is definitely a better marketplace than Depop - although Etsy is already absolutely flooded with sea glass jewellery. I’d suggest using the money to do a proper silversmithing course if she hasn’t already.