[Phoebe]

Dh and I lost 1/2 of our income when I had my son in April and I also lost my job a week before he was born so there isn't a job to go back to even if I wanted to. I am REALLY loving staying home with my son and I want to make it work. I need to find a way to contribute financially but I'm not sure how to start. I've always joked about how I'd love to make a living crocheting (I can knit now too). I'm actually very good at crochet and I'm very fast. I thought about selling crochet baby blankets, knit diaper soakers and another thing I do is make canned jam, pumpkin, tomato sauce...not that that goes with baby stuff but canning and gardening is just somthing else I love to do.<br><br>
I'm not looking to support the family with this but I would like to just bring in a couple of hundred $$ a month just to help out so that I can stay here with my boy.<br><br>
Where do I start. Any books/websites I should read? Any help is so appreciated. I admire you WAHMs so much. It takes so much creativity and ingenuity. I was hoping I could borrow some to start me off!<br><br>
Thanks,<br>
Amy

 

[EmmalinesMom]

I just have a second, but what I'd do first is research the market on what you're interested in selling....check google, yahoo, etc (as well as the advertisers here <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wink1.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wink1"> ) and it will give you an idea of how many people out there are doing what you'd like to do, what they charge for products, etc.<br><br>
Figure out how much your supplies will cost and what your profit will be on several of your items before you jump in with both feet. (That way, if you change your mind, decided it's not worth it, have a different idea, etc, you don't have a lot of supplies or inventory to deal with). Remember to consider your time when looking at profits. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"><br><br>
Your local Small Business Administration will have tons of good information for requirements on setting up a business (licence, fees, etc). I am anal about making sure stuff like that is done through the proper channels (for my business, not anyone else's, lol) just because it reduces my stress level.<br><br>
Ok, I hope this made sense. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin">

 

[yitlan]

Yes, it IS possible. My one point is that you may need childcare in order to have dedicated work time. If paying for that is completely out of the question, find out about babysitting co-ops or if you can find someone to trade babysitting with. That's what I did at first and now we feel it's worth it to pay for some childcare (preschool for my toddler and a mommy's helper with the baby) to give me some consistent dedicated time. It's just two mornings a week. But that, combined with evenings, is enough.<br><br>
Having a supportive spouse is also a HUGE plus!

 

[RomansMamma]

Hi Pheobe,<br><br>
I see you're in my neck of the woods! As I'm sure you know St. Paul has an awesome Farmers Market. I haven't been yet myself, but I hear it's wonderful. I have no idea what booth prices are but you may be able to sell some canned goods there! Also, I be some of our local co-op markets would be willing to talk to you. If you could use only organic berries from MN farms would be a ++! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love">

 

[annethcz]

I'm in MN too. When I first started my business, I requested a book from the MN dept of Revenue entitled <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Starting a Business in Minnesota</span>. That was invaluable to me for the business side of things. This was 4 years ago, but I assume that it's still available (free)- look around the dept of rev website, that's where I found it.<br><br>
One thing did strike me about your post- you talked about selling jams, etc. I remember seeing an article in the Strib a few months back about regulations regarding selling items that have been home canned. There was a push to ease regulations, but IIRC, the strict regulations are still in force. That means that you'd need professional equiptment and need to be inspected by the state if you were to can items intended for sale. Something to look into, for sure...<br><br>
Good luck making wise decisions!

 

[CarrieMF]

I was going to suggest the farmers market too. The one I go to is small and I do okay considering at least 75% of the people that walk through there are seniors and not looking for baby items.lol Canned food, home made prepared foods like breads, buns, cakes, cookies, homegrown fruits and veggies go really well. It is freaky to watch people when the market first opens. There are literally line ups at the fruit and veggies vendors. They flick the lights off and on to signal the start of the market and some days you'd swear they just opened the market on Wall Street. A good tip I recently learned is to go the first and 3rd markets in the month, they follow the main paydays. Going the 2nd & 4th weeks I have never sold anything and it is really slow for most people.

 

[RomansMamma]

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<div style="font-style:italic;">A good tip I recently learned is to go the first and 3rd markets in the month, they follow the main paydays. Going the 2nd & 4th weeks I have never sold anything and it is really slow for most people.</div>
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This is pretty much the norm for anything! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wink1.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wink1"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin">