With the effects of covid-19 still being felt in all sectors of the economy, more and more people are choosing to take up a new career path. Be it to replace a job they were made redundant from, work alongside current employment, or do something they love and feel passionate about.
One such area that is seeing a boom is the more creative side of the arts. More people are exploring their hobbies to turn this into a new venture and create a viable business that can generate an income.
But what do you need to know before you take your hobby to the next level?
How Good Are You?
You need a passion and natural talent fr many creative roles, and while this can help open the doors and give you a base to start from, you need to ensure you have the right training behind you. You can delve into various training courses online and take them up at your own leisure and around other commitments.
The fact remains that, if you don’t qualify, people will be wary of doing business with you, especially when it comes to endeavours such as wedding photography or wedding cake makers etc.
Are You Trading Legally?
When you start your new venture, you need to ensure that you are working within legal requirements. Check for any permits you might need to trade, the license you need to apply for. For example, if you are starting a cake making business or catering from home, the Food Standards Agency has the following requirements;
- Floors and walls — floors and walls should be in good shape, well-kept, disinfected, and in good repair.
- Ceilings – should be in good condition, easy to clean, and free of mould, condensation, and peeling paint and plaster windows and doors – should be easy to clean and disinfect, and built-in such a way that dirt cannot accumulate.
- Insect-proof screens that may be readily removed for cleaning should be provided.
- Cleaning and disinfecting equipment — You should have adequate facilities for cleaning, disinfecting, and storing utensils, including equipment, as well as a hot and cold water supply.
- A sink – a sink for washing food and cleaning equipment, as well as a separate basin for washing hands (if you have a downstairs toilet, that should suffice as long as it isn’t too far away – all of these facilities should be kept clean and disinfected).
Check the legal requirements in your sector and how you can keep buyers covid safe too when they are collecting goods from you, or you are delivering them to reduce the risk of transmission. Make sure your home is registered as a place of work too.
Insurances
Are you insured for both making the product, taking orders or even employing staff? Public Liability Insurance is essential if you are opening premises or trading from home and having customers at your home to conduct business? Ensure you have all of your equipment insured too. If anything happens to your equipment, you won’t be able to work, which will directly impact your income and ability to earn a living. Aaduki is photography insurance for budding and established photographers and videographers.
Check your home insurance covers you, too, as some instances don’t allow for your residential property to be used as a commercial premise, and you may find that your cover will be invalidated should anything happen.
Register Self Employed
As soon as you start trading, you need to make sure you are registered as a sole trader to pay your own tax and national insurance. You can earn a nominal amount without being registered, but if you are likely to go over this figure, currently £1,000, you need to be registered as self-employed. £12,750 is the amount you can earn before you start paying tax. It is the same threshold for self-employed people as if you were employed too.
What Equipment Do You Need?
Next, once you are legally registered, you need to make sure you have the right tools for the job. Choosing to invest in your equipment can instantly change how efficiently you can work and the quality of the finished result too.
You need to invest in high-quality tools that enable you to work easier and are only dedicated to the business. As old, worn, or inadequate equipment will reflect in the product, you are selling. Be it the best camera for wedding photography, a custom oven dedicated to baking only, or a Cricut machine to enable you to expand your crafting limitations and provide a better result all around.
