Handmade notebooks and cards from home

Gift buyers, market shoppers, online customers and small local gift shops that like handmade Australian products.

Selling items directly at markets and through your own online shop or a marketplace, plus small wholesale orders from independent shops at a lower price per item.

• Design sense and attention to detail
• Hand finishing such as folding, trimming and binding
• Basic online selling and photography
• Costing products so each one makes a margin

• Check with your local council whether you need approval to run a home-based business
• Only use fonts, images and artwork you own or have a licence to use commercially
• Public liability insurance is worth checking, especially if you sell at markets (many market organisers ask for it)
• Postage costs can eat into margins, so price shipping carefully
• GST registration is required once your turnover reaches the threshold, so check with the ATO

Estimates suggest startup costs typically around $500 to $3,000, depending on materials, printing and any tools you buy. Costing each product carefully helps make sure every item earns a margin.

Estimates suggest monthly revenue typically around $300 to $3,000, depending on your range, pricing and how often you sell online or at markets. Postage costs can eat into margins, so price shipping carefully.

Check with your local council whether you need approval to run a home-based business. Also check that you only use fonts, images and artwork you own or can licence commercially, public liability insurance for markets, and GST registration with the ATO at the threshold.