I've been making jewellery and figurines (think wedding cake toppers and popular character personalised gifts) from fimo clay for a while now, I think I'm good enough to set it up as a business and from the feedback I've had from giving them as gifts and people asking if I make something for them I think there's a gap in the market for it locally. I'm not fussed about making a lot of money, this is just on the side whilst I'm doing a degree and possibly seeing where it goes.
I've had a look on the gov website but I don't even know where to start setting up, whether I need to register as a sole trader? Can anyone give me some ideas on where to start? Is it better to use sites like etsy, or a facebook page, set up my own website? I'm thinking of facebook and eventually my own website as I've seen lots doing similar things on etsy and I think that means people may be less likely to buy from me just because I'm local.
I was thinking of going this morning and stocking up on materials - should I write everything down? Is there anything I need to know? I'm sure you can tell I really don't know how it all works. I just want to make sure I know everything I need to know before I start to offer them for sale.