HOW TO MAKE MONEY FROM CHOCOLATE...

Watching the 2nd episode of Give it a Year on ITV this week was one I didn't want to miss as I enjoyed the first episode last week. This week Karen Brady meets more brave people who decide to go it alone and start a new business. Two sisters embark on making their own chocolate so bespoke that the boxes would start at £15. Their ambition was to be in top stores in London like Selfridges, Fenwicks, and Harrods. One year on the ambitious pair already had their bespoke chocolates in Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, and Fenwicks. Anyone who has ever thought of starting their own chocolate business would be inspired to give it a go after watching this program.

If you love chocolate like me then you need to know about craft chocolate online.  They say chocolate arouses our passions and tempts our senses. Chocolates are loved by most and they come in various forms ranging from dark chocolates to milk chocolates and they leave memories of happy moments.

Chocolate is tasty and delicious but making your own chocolate at home can easily be done if you know where to buy your ingredients. Before making your own you need to check that you have the right equipment to make your chocolate in.

Some essential tools include digital thermometers, various sizes, and shapes of molds, a dipping fork and other utensils. Buying the right products to make your chocolate is also something that you need to investigate. Principally start your chocolate making with buying cocoa beans from a reliable source.

With so much chocolate available on the high street you will have to think outside the box and develop a recipe that will be unique as well as tasty.

If you get the right ingredients and utensils, making edible gifts really doesn’t get much easier than making craft chocolate bars.  Get your juices working on handmade gift ideas you could make with your own chocolate. You could start a new trend and even put kits together for people to create their own chocolate.

After making the chocolate, the next challenge is where to store it as they advise you not to store in a refrigerator full of other foods. They suggest you store the chocolate in a tightly closed container away from direct sunlight. This will help your chocolate to last longer.

Chocolate making is an art and a science. The best way to create your own delicious chocolate whether you want to make it for personal use, for friends or even to sell is to go to Craft Chocolate UK who say they ‘make the dreams of chocolate lovers to come true’ by teaching the art behind the chocolate making. For anyone looking for a place in the craft chocolate art, Craft Chocolate UK are the ones to contact.

Anyone can put a few ingredients together but knowing how to make it the correct way has to be the best way forward. All this will take time and money but if two sisters on a £5,000 loan can get their chocolates in 3 top department stores within 12 months it makes you realise that it's worth giving it a go.

TOP FIVE FREELANCE WEBSITES FOR JOBS...

Upwork is a very popular site for freelancers as you choose your own clients and projects. They say that clients are now posting jobs in hundreds of skill categories, paying top price for great work. The greater the success you have on projects, the more likely you are to get hired by clients that use Upwork so create a great profile and start working. Companies Odesk and Elance merged to form Upwork.

Freelancer would be my second choice. It is very similar to Odesk where you can find just about any job you can imagine ranging from delivery to website development. Again, you simply fill in a profile with your skills and Freelancer will match you to the right jobs. Membership is free but you can only bid for a job 8 times a month.

My third choice would be Fiveer which is popular as you can sell gigs to others at the minimum price of £5. It’s different from the other two as you do not bid for proposals on those sites. Instead, you have to sell gigs and potential clients look through all the lists of gigs in their chosen category. However, Fiveer is a great place to start getting a few freelance jobs under your collar.

ProBlogger site is always full to the brim of blogging jobs but also a great site to access tips, courses and topics on everything to do with blogging. I’m sure most of us bloggers have heard of Darren Rowse founder of ProBlogger at some point or another.

My final choice would be Linkedin which they say is the biggest social networking site for professionals with jobs being posted daily. You can also develop a large following through Linkedin who know what sort of work you are looking for. If you find a position fitting right for your field, then you can always apply for it and it is completely free.

HOW TO MAKE SOME MONEY FROM A SPARE ROOM IN YOUR HOME...

Following on from my previous post about working from home or finding a desk somewhere else to work from. What about expanding the idea and if you have a spare room at home which could double as an office space or desk space for someone else then you could advertise this as office/desk space to rent.

It targets the growing army of freelance workers, looking for a short-term, space to work in. Prices seem to start at £17.20 but there are a number of websites who offer this so it would be best to research price in your local area first. Some of those websites include Office Genie, Desk Near Me, and Deskcamping to name a few.

The best thing is that you have the property to yourself in the evening. Obviously wifi would have to be available but how many houses can you think of that don't have wifi. Some US companies have even jazzed up their rooms with yoga mats, settees and flip-boards.

Having somewhere easy to park and no fees for a parking space is another factor in the why this has become popular and ideal for someone who is setting up on his/her own in business.

WHAT IS A SOLOPRENEUR?

What is a solopreneur  - well according to Wikipedia the word does not exist, but some say it means starting out on your own.

It takes a lot of guts to set up a business on your own and can be extremely lonely but more and more people are giving it a go.

Research says that they are seeing a huge growth in the number of fifty something's (women in particular) who are setting up as one man/woman bands,

Many who start up don't know their own value but setting the right rate is the key first step and something you should review and research well before going on your own.

If you cannot stand to work alone at home and only need a desk then there is always the option to hire a desk, companies like neardesk.com, and deskcamping,com to name a few can help with available spaces where you can work from.  Of course a library is another good free place to set up your space and not feel alone. The Independent Newspaper has written a great article on 'Don't want to work alone, rent a desk instead'.

One important thing to remember when you are working alone is to make sure you have time off, book it into your diary, have a coffee break and a lunch break otherwise you will just burn out and begin to think it was not the best idea to work alone.

Don't forget when you start up that you need to register your business with HM Revenue. Another place for advice when setting up is the Gov UK who offer free help for start-ups.