Setting up my business - what I did... 

Part 1 - Insurance.
I have taken out Public and Product Liability Insurance. I used Ian Wallace, who does a specialised insurance policy for UK crafters, but there are others around, so if you are starting out then take a look around (Google is your friend...) and see what suits you. This one not only has the public and product liability, but also covers my stand if I am at a craft fair. It was fairly straight forward to do (though I did have to try a couple of browsers to get the site to work), and when I had sorted out a quote, I rang them up and a very helpful person discussed the options with me, and amended the quote once I decided I didn't actually need the cover for loss of stock, as most of my materials for the things I make cost less than the excess.

When I was contracting (and if I start again - which looks likely), I also have Professional Indemnity Insurance. And I have got Business Use insurance on my car insurance. I have had that for a long time - it means I can give lifts to colleagues, take stock to craft fairs, visit suppliers, and travel to clients, and be insured while I do it. But I don't take every insurance policy that I am offered - since I don't use them very heavily, things like washing machines get to take their chances (and a new machine is generally less than the cost of the insurance that is offered when you buy one).

Over the last few years, I have heard (and read) a few people saying things like 'I don't need insurance - it is just a hobby/I am only selling a few things/it is too expensive'. WRONG! Even if you buy a kit, make a few cards (or pieces of jewellery, or whatever), and sell them to get back the cost of the kit, then as soon as you start selling, you will be liable if anyone is hurt by something you have made, or is injured in any way by you while you are making and selling. And if they are injured, they can sue you, and if you aren't insured, then you can lose your house, car, possessions, and whatever else you have that has any value. I have also come across someone saying that they aren't worth suing because they don't own a house or very much; this would mean that is someone was hurt by them that the injured person can potentially have their life wrecked (or, at least, experience pain and/or inconvenience) while the person who caused it goes on their merry way saying 'oh, dear - too bad'. The courts are likely to take a dim view of that, and can take whatever income you do have for as long as it takes, so 'I am a poor ickle idiot' is not a good way to go!

Whenever I pay an insurance premium, I hope that I am'wasting' my money. But just occasionally (like when the staircase fell down in my house, or someone hit my car in the car park at Heathrow Airport and drove away without leaving a note), it is all worth while.

So, if you are starting to sell, get insured! And if you are selling food, or soaps/bath stuff, or toys - then you have a load more hoops that you must jump through, to prove that you are taking the approriate precauthions to avoid hurting your customers. This blog won't cover those, but I recommend the UK Crafts Forum as a good place to find out more.

I am  not a food blogger. But I do love to cook and eat and talk about food and so on, so maybe the occasional post about it won't hurt?

Like this one...

LEMON AND ROSEMARY CHICKEN THIGHS

Ingredients:
About a yard of rosemary (that is, roughly six six-inch sprigs picked from the bush)
A lemon
4 chicken thighs, with skin and bones.

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 200C, or 180C for fan ovens. (I am not sure what the Fahrenheit or gas equivalents are - but if, like I did, you bought a pack of chicken thighs from the supermarket, use whatever it tells you).

You need a roasting dish big enough to take the thighs without them touching. Wash the rosemary, and tear it into pieces. Scatter it over the bottom of the roasting dish. Peel the lemon and put the peel with the rosemary. Put the thighs into the dish, cut the lemon into quarters, and squeeze the juice over the chicken. Put the squeezed bits of lemon in between the chicken pieces.

Roast it for as long as it needs - probably about half an hour.

You could use the same method with other chicken portions, or use different herbs (thyme would be good). This isn't exactly a recipe - more a method - and I am tempted to end with the Medieval injunction to 'so messe it forth'!

I hope you enjoy it.