Small business ideas for new mums?

[newmummylucy]

Hi all

I'm after small business ideas for new/stay at home mums please? ...it doesn't have to be anything fancy, just something that earns a little extra on the side of being a mum that could be done 1 or 2 days a week from home!

So far I've thought of:

Biscuit/cake business
Hair extensions/beauty
Small online clothing boutique

Thankyou :)

Lucy

Of those options I'd say hair/beauty is going to be the most popular. Everyone needs a haircut so you'll have the demand and if you're good enough - word of mouth would spread.

Are you qualified?

I'd stay away from biscuits and online clothing personally

@doesparentingsuck why would you stay away from biscuits?

Nails ? Eyebrows and lashes ?

Food means you need to be inspected by the Department of Health and register as a food business and so on:
www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/starting-a-food-business-from-home

And at the end of the day, unless you're a sought-after highly qualified baker/chef with something new to offer, it's unlikely to get off the ground.

Online clothing - as in, buy cheap from a wholesaler and resell? Or gather up charity shop finds and resell as vintage? Again, it's low effort stuff a lot of people already do and make very little money on, unless you can bring some skill to it - go out and source good clothing from suppliers, invest some capital into it, have manufacturers make your designs. Otherwise, what's the business model? Where would the profit come from?

If you're trained in hair and beauty that would be the best place to start - you have a marketable skill.

Remember , if "anyone could do it", then anyone already is.

Stay clear of any MLM for a start

Cakes are difficult to make much profit from as ingredients are expensive. And lots of people on FB are doing it badly

Clothing - depends what you're selling. A lot of the stuff on online SB looks like the same stuff - the One Size things . If you can source different styles than usual, might be ok but you need the ££££ to hold stock.

Beauty never goes away! Yes, there's a lot of competition but I can't see the industry shrinking. Get on an emerging trend!

Look up which "small businesses" are MLMs so you're not sucked in unwittingly too. They are clever!

@newmummylucy because if I survey 10 people and ask if they need or want biscuits maybe half would buy? If I ask the same 10 people if they get their hair done more likely 9 out of ten would so I just think there's more demand.

You'd also have to sell a LOT of biscuits to make a living

I have a friend who scours tk maxx for bargains, buys them, lists them on eBay (?), tries to sell at a profit and if no luck returns the item. Bit niche but there you go. Compatible with a young family, at least.

Selling on Etsy can be profitable. My friend makes pictures with pebbles glued on cardboard and put in IKEA frames. Another friend does hand printed greetings cards. Someone else I know does custom vinyl decals on water bottles and lunch boxes etc. Have a look and see what people are selling. Do you have any skills you could use?

Also, beauty, you can do 1 or 2 days a week. Selling things, you can't. If someone orders, you have to get it in the post / courier with 24 hours as a standard.

Are you actually good at any of those things?

Examples of the sort of stuff they sell.

@EssentialHummus

I have a friend who scours tk maxx for bargains, buys them, lists them on eBay (?), tries to sell at a profit and if no luck returns the item. Bit niche but there you go. Compatible with a young family, at least.

I’d use vinted… no fees

Do you know anything about running a business? Have you got experience in any of the things you're suggesting? Do you have a space at home to do beauty, or would you be mobile? Have you thought of overheads like insurance (home/car/public liability)? Does your mortgage company/landlord allow you to run a business from home? Will you register with HMRC as self employed and complete tax returns?

Basically, whatever you decide to do, please do it properly. There is a lot more to running a small business than just doing the actual service a couple of days a week

Assuming you’re qualified then beauty is the way to go. You’ll make a reasonable profit rather than pennies.

Thanks all!

@doesparentingsuck

I'd stay away from biscuits and online clothing personally

Agree. Stay away from anything with arduous regulatory requirements or small profit margins.

Providing a service, like hair and beauty, is selling your own time and skills, so more pure profit. Just consider carefully whether to work from home or be mobile, and the insurance requirements of each.