An unemployed mother has told how she reversed her fortunes by turning her favourite hobby into a fruitful career on eBay - raking in £1,000 a month.
Vicky Stephens, 35, spent six months struggling to find work after giving up the job she despised in London to start a new life in Camelfood, Cornwall, Phoebe, now 18.
It was only after a last-ditch attempt to earn some extra cash on eBay that she discovered her entrepreneurial flair, and now runs a thriving business selling miniature wooden crafts from the comfort of her home.
Vicky, who says she hated her London job as an admin officer, struggled hard to find work after she moved to Cornwall.
‘A lot of the jobs were too far so the travel expenses outweighed the wages, meaning by the time I had covered petrol, there wouldn’t be enough left over to cover bills and shopping,’ She said.
‘Also, I was considered over-qualified for some jobs, and too inexperienced for others.’
The final straw came when Vicky’s ailing car gave up on the way to an interview.
'The worse thing about being on a low income for me, is that I don’t get to visit my family nearly as much as I would like to.
‘They all live pretty far away from me at the moment and with little finances, suddenly no car and poor transport infrastructure in this part of Cornwall, it’s exceptionally difficult to see them.’
So, looking for ways to make money from her own home, Vicky decided to try selling craft supplies on eBay - having always enjoyed the art of scrapbooking herself.
‘I have used eBay a lot in the past to sell items from around the house that I didn’t need any more, and purchased things in the past myself,’ she said.
'It’s a huge platform already set up with its own customers, so it was very helpful in the sense that it take much to get started.
Vicky invested the last £250 in her savings account into buying stock and was delighted to make a £130 profit. And her success grew from there.