5 Mistakes I Made when I first started

I read something that made me stop and think this week; not all hobbies have to turn into a business. It was on a post another small business I follow put on Instagram, and I had to pause on that.

Trying to sell everything/ making too many different products too soon

Miss MarshMelody, like many others started, because I love crafting and because I grew up not having my name on anything. I wanted to put my name on everything now. Looking back, that was why I started, but it’s not what my brand said: anything I enjoyed making became something to sell, and my want to personalise everything didn’t come across. I struggled to make personalised items at in-person events, so before I knew it, most of my stock was only personal to me. Don’t get me wrong, they sold, and I enjoyed all the crafting, but it wasn’t why I started Miss MarshMelody. The few items I could personalise were my best sellers, and despite my instincts and my partner telling me to follow what sold, I kept ignoring it.

Market research is important, but there is nothing more important than learning from your sales, both online and in-person. Sometimes this is paying attention to what sells, sometimes learning your prices are too low, but the main thing to do is analyse everything and spot trends. Time and time again, the few products I could personalise stayed being my most popular, and the next top-selling items were always my bookish merch. 

Five years on, Miss MarshMelody has two sides of the business: the bookish side and the personalised stuff. Of course, when I can, these will crossover—in fact, I almost insist on it! Thanks to my trusty xTool, I’m able to personalise so much on the go, and honestly, engraving and waiting for my customers’ designs to come out is one of my favourite things to do, second to seeing the reaction when I give people their finished products.

Doing every market I could get into and expecting the same results

When I was employed full-time, I only did three to four events every year, but when I quit my job, I booked myself into everything and anything: craft markets, Wednesday markets, gift markets, every Christmas market in range/budget, and village fetes. 

I very quickly learnt that attending an event/market didn’t automatically mean sales would happen and that more expensive ones didn’t mean better results. In 2025, I did 61 days of being at events/markets and selling my stuff. I crammed so much into November because I thought it being Christmas events it’d be super busy, but it actually meant that the few successful events I did meant I’d only actually break even for the month! In 2026, I’m being very selective about the events I’m going to. I know which events work for me and what kind of events aren’t worth it. The conclusion I’ve come to is that the very expensive events that seem like a risk are the ones that are worthwhile for my business (please note this isn’t the case for all businesses, so don’t go diving in and spending £200+ on an event just because they work well for me). 

All I’ve got booked in this year is my usual Wednesday markets so I can keep my presence and build upon the customer base I have, and six big events planned to attend. 

As mentioned in mistake number one, market research is very important. The same comes to booking events. When you’re looking to apply for a market, here are some things to check:

• Social pages of the organiser/event: you can tell a lot from their socials as to how much they advertise the event and how far this advertisement might reach. 
• Attend the event: if it’s regular, go to one and see what kind of sellers are already attending, what the footfall is like, check out the layout etc. If not, check socials for any videos of the event to see what it’s like, or contact a fellow small business owner about their thoughts on the event/organiser. 
• Cost: Compare the price of the event to similar ones in the area to see if what they’re asking is reasonable. If you’re booking through an intermediary, then check to see with the main organisers first to see if they have space for you in their craft tent or on the grounds. I’ve found they can often be cheaper, and you can be on their map and advertised on the lead-up, etc. 

Thinking being busy was the same as success

Much like the point above, booking and attending lots of events looks like you’re doing well, but that isn’t always the case. If you averaged out my takings from 2025 over all 61 days of events, it wouldn’t look good because going to events does not equal sales. Do your research and don’t spread yourself thin; only attend events that work well for you and fit your aesthetic. If the event aesthetic doesn’t match your business, the customers won’t either. 

Not being prepared for the markets I was going to

If you’re going to attend a market or event, do not underestimate what you need. Always check what is provided too - I highly recommend using their tables if that’s an option and there is no extra cost because it means less to transport. 

For my first market, I turned up in a normal garden gazebo with just large water bottles for weights. If it weren’t for the market manager, my gazebo would have 100% taken off in the winds like most of my stock. Not only that, but having no sides left me vulnerable from all angles, and people were using my space as a cut-through!

For outside events:

• Get good weights - if you can’t lift much, you can usually fit four sandbags around each leg if needed (although they do take up a lot of space). Good weights are worth the investment.
• Get a good, sturdy gazebo - a garden gazebo could work, but make sure it’s not cheap. I’ve seen other small business owners have the legs of their gazebos sheared off in average winds. You’ll never underestimate the advantage of having sides too. It helps keep off the elements and allows you to guide customers to the area of the gazebo you want people to look at.

Not knowing my worth

When I started, I was pricing things based on what I thought people would want to pay and not what my time was worth. While taking what customers would pay into consideration is important, you need to make sure your costs and time are covered. 

Don’t make yourself cheap either, because people associate cheap with bad quality. 

Here’s how I work out my prices now:

Cost per item + time taken to create item + 10% (to take into account A LOT of extra costs you forget when running a small business, including: time taken to transport goods to events/take it to the post office/setting it up at events, time spent at the events, and costs for attending events/card transaction fees)

Also, think about the time it takes to design the product; for example, one of my sublimation designs will take anywhere from 1-6 hours to create. But I can’t charge that on top of every product! So I have to take into account how far that design can go (how many products will it be on) and their quantity. 

Going back to how much a customer would want to pay for your product, if doing this sum makes your products that much higher than you’d expect someone to pay, then you need to think about if this is a product you really need to sell/how can you bring those costs down. Obviously, buying in bulk can help alleviate some of those costs, but if you don’t sell enough, then this makes them more expensive in the long run. 

You’ll probably find I’ll go into more detail on my tips in upcoming posts, they’ll give more insight into how I learnt these lessons and I’ll probably even update these a little as I continue to learn. Maybe there will be a part 2?!