From Hobby to Full-Time: Why You Don’t Have to Be Big to Belong

Are you sitting at home right now with a hobby that makes you a little bit of money and wondering whether it could ever be something more?

This blog is for you.

I want to tell you about Jane. Jane Scates runs The Little Crochet Den. She makes the most beautiful crocheted items — cacti, gnomes, hanging baskets, flowers, custom commissions — and she now does it full time after handing in her notice as a teaching assistant earlier this year.

But when I first met Jane, she was a couple of stalls down from me at a craft fair. She had her crochet, she had her little cacti in pots, and she absolutely did not think of herself as a business owner.

In fact, when I suggested she come to a networking event, her first reaction was: I’m not big enough for that.

I’m so glad she came anyway.

The hobby that became a business

Jane’s crochet journey started in 2020 during her recovery from breast cancer treatment. Unable to do much through fatigue, she wanted to learn a new skill. She tried videos and books but couldn’t get it. She booked a one-to-one lesson, and everything clicked.

What started as something to do during recovery slowly became something people wanted to buy. And then something people wanted to learn. And then, quietly and steadily over four and a half years, it became a full-time business.

Jane didn’t set out with a five-year plan. She didn’t invest thousands in a brand or a website. She just kept making things, kept saying yes to challenges, kept turning up — and built something extraordinary one small step at a time.

Sound familiar? Maybe your story looks a little like Jane’s. Maybe you’re making things at home, or offering a service, or doing something you love that happens to bring in a bit of money — but you’ve never quite allowed yourself to call it a business.

I want to gently challenge that.

You don’t have to be big to belong

One of the things Jane said in our conversation that really stopped me was this: she didn’t think she was big enough to network. She thought networking was for corporate people. For established businesses. For women who had it all figured out.

I hear this all the time. And every single time it breaks my heart a little.

Because here’s the truth: networking is not for people who have already made it. It’s for people who are in the process of making it. It’s for the woman who is still figuring things out, who have imposter syndrome on a daily basis, who wonder whether anyone would actually pay for what she does.

That woman — the one who doesn’t feel ready — is exactly who WIN was created for.

Jane came to her first event not knowing what to expect, terrified she’d have nothing interesting to say. She left with ideas that she hadn’t ever considered, connections she hadn’t imagined, and a suggestion from someone in the room that would change the direction of her business entirely.

Someone suggested she should teach crochet.

Her immediate reaction? “No, I’m not good enough to teach people.”

She started teaching anyway. And she loves it.

The magic of building one small step at a time

One of the things I love most about Jane’s story is how she approaches everything. She doesn’t try to do it all at once. She never has.

Every year she looks at what’s trending, makes a few things, sees if they sell. If they do, she makes more. If they don’t, she moves on. No huge investment, no pressure, just small experiments that keep the business evolving.

She learned Canva from someone she met at a networking event. Now she does all her own marketing. She started teaching one-to-one lessons, kept the groups small, refined her approach. She said yes to a craft fair here, a commission there, a challenge she wasn’t sure she could do.

Bit by bit. Year by year.

And now she’s left her job.

Jane said something in our conversation that I think is the most useful business advice I’ve heard in a long time: “You don’t have to achieve everything to start with. Just pick one thing. Do it. Tick it off. Then pick the next thing.”

Social media feels overwhelming? Just do one post today. Not a strategy, not a content calendar, not a whole brand overhaul. One post. And then another tomorrow.

Networking feels daunting? Come to one event. Speak to three people. Go home. Come again next month.

Building a business is not a sprint. It’s a series of tiny steps that compound over time into something you couldn’t have imagined at the start.

What happens when you say yes anyway

I asked Jane what she would have said to the suggestion of making me a crocheted aloe vera plant four years ago. She laughed and said she’d have said yes — because she always says yes. She figures it out afterwards.

That willingness to say yes to things that feel slightly out of reach is, I genuinely believe, one of the most powerful business skills there is. Not reckless. Not yes to everything. But yes to the things that stretch you just a little further than feels comfortable.

Yes to the first networking event when you’re not sure you’re good enough.

Yes to the teaching when you think you’re just an amateur.

Yes to the podcast when you’ve never done anything like it before.

Yes to leaving your job when someone you love says you’re ready even if you don’t feel it yet.

Jane said: “There’s nothing to lose by trying it. You could be more successful than you think. There are skills you probably didn’t realise you have.”

She was talking about herself. But she was also talking about you.

Where would she be without networking?

I asked Jane this directly. Where would she be now if she hadn’t come to that first event?

“I would be sitting here completely overwhelmed,” she said. “I wouldn’t be as visible as I am. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to sit and do a podcast or speak to people at events. The groups have given me a huge amount of confidence and a willingness to try unfamiliar things.”

The imposter syndrome hasn’t gone away entirely. She’s still Jane — quietly modest, always slightly surprised when something works. But she shows up anyway. She tries the new thing anyway. She says yes anyway.

And her whole house is covered in yarn. Which I think is a very good sign.

Jane’s advice for anyone who feels like they’re not big enough yet

Bring a friend if you can — someone who knows your journey and can champion you when your confidence wobbles.

Look at the directory before you come and identify one or two people you’d love to speak to. You don’t have to speak to everyone.

Come to more than one event. The confidence builds each time. The imposter syndrome really does start to ebb away.

Don’t try to tackle everything at once. Pick one thing. Do it. Tick it off.

And most importantly — just come. Because you belong in that room. Whatever stage you’re at. However small your business feels right now.

Jane started as a woman with a hobby crocheting at her kitchen table. She’s now self-employed, teaching people of all ages, travelling to events across the country, and building something she couldn’t have dreamed of four years ago.

If she can do it — so can you. 💛

About Jane

Jane Scates runs The Little Crochet Den, creating beautiful handmade crochet items including cacti, gnomes, hanging baskets and bespoke commissions. She also teaches crochet in small, friendly one-to-one and group sessions for all ages and abilities.

Find Jane here:

🌐 Website: https://thelittlecrochetden.co.uk/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelittlecrochetden/?hl=en

👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuffolkJane

Want to hear the full conversation?

Listen to my full chat with Jane on the Women Inspired Networking Conversations podcast, available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471

📺 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk

Come and find your people:

🌐 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events

👤 Facebook: Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business

📸 Instagram: @women_inspired_network