My Passion

Start A Jewelry Home Business

by Karen Barnes, IAHBE Staff Writer

Making jewelry can become a very successful part or full-time home business. With women and men’s fascination with jewelry, starting a jewelry home business or taking your jewelry hobby into a full or part-time home business can lead you down the road to a nice income. Being able to create hand-crafted unique pieces of jewelry can attract customers who are looking for something different than what they find in stores.

By becoming a jewelry artist, you can find a fun and rewarding home business that you will love. Making jewelry is a creative way to be able to express yourself and create an extra income for you and your family. I would suggest, if you have never made jewelry before, you purchase a starter kit (these can be found at any craft store, Wal-Mart or Target) and practice making jewelry pieces that are given in the starter kits. I would also suggest that you start part-time with your jewelry making business to get a feel for what will and won't sell.
Once you have an idea about what is selling, you could make $50 to $100 a month on the low end of the spectrum. This will depend on the kinds of pieces you make and how they look once completed. I would suggest looking in your area for consignment shops in your local phone book, and take a few pieces of your jewelry in and ask the owner of the shop to give you an opinion on them. You can also ask for ways to improve the way you are making your pieces. In many cases, consignment shop owners can put you in touch with a person who makes jewelry to help you in perfecting your techniques. In cases like this, referring people to other people who will be bringing more business to their shops will be a win-win situation for everyone.

There are many books and magazines today that can help you keep up with the latest trends in beads, wires, and all the other tools that you need to create jewelry (see Sources below). You’ll find catalogs from which you can order your jewelry making supplies at a much cheaper cost than buying retail.

There are also many other sources of information to help you start your business and find your markets. Online jewelry forums (see Sources below) often provide the best support from fellow jewelry makers because the members of these forums are currently running their own jewelry home business. Their knowledge of how to find local shows is invaluable. They can advise you on the appropriate tools that are needed, the latest trends in beads, bead wire, and other various subjects. Learning from someone else can help you avoid the same mistakes they made when starting out.

Start out selling your jewelry items locally through craft shows, bazaars, and consignment shops to help gain exposure in the beginning of your business. The resources listed below will take you to a wealth of additional information and business-building tools.
Don’t be discouraged along the way if you find that some of your items don’t sell. Listen to what your customers are looking for in jewelry and learn how to make the items they want. This can help you overcome the downside of the slow sales times in your business.

Everyone has different tastes when it comes to jewelry. You may also find several different genres that fill a need in your area or that are not being tapped by manufacturers. Niche markets might include products for younger children, the elderly, teenagers, young adults, middle-aged, and those who have special lifestyles or cultures (e.g., professionals, vacationers, Hispanics, military.)

By offering a line of jewelry rather than just one type such as earrings, you will find that you might open up a whole new niche. For instance, there are many people, both men and women who would like to have bracelets to match their necklaces or earrings. Let’s not forget those who wear their jewelry as a self-expression of their personalities. These looks might include conservative or showy or patriotic or flamboyant. Many people like holiday themes in their jewelry. While creating jewelry that you like and pieces that are fashionable and trendy, you can also add to your diversified collection by taking orders for custom pieces or specific colors. This can also add to your jewelry business income
When you sell your jewelry pieces at arts and craft show, notice how the other jewelry makers have their jewelry displayed and whether it seems to be helping them make more sales. Learn from others instead of reinventing the wheel! Having a professional looking display can help increase overall sales, because your customers will be able to easily view your jewelry rather than having it spread out on a table.

While you do not have to have an elaborate display set up, you can create a pleasing view of your pieces with small displays in cases that can be stored easily and not have to be boxed up when you finish your shows. Not only is having a portable professional display more manageable and less time consuming for you, it also can help increase your sales when you have a customer who wishes to view your jewelry at other times too. You can have a portable studio that you can take with you anywhere.

You can also increase your sales by offering free gift wrapping or even being willing to mail packages for a customer (be sure they pay for the postage, though). Keep a supply of gift bags, boxes, and wrapping paper to wrap pieces that are being purchased as gifts. This can help increase your sales around the holidays and can keep a flow of business throughout the year with birthdays and anniversaries. Create your own packaging for a unique and professional look. Use earring cards for your earrings and jewelry hand tags with information about the piece, your business information, and possible cleaning and storage tips. Make it easy for someone to find you if they want to order more in the future.

It often helps to be able to accept credit and debit cards. People will purchase more from you if you accept at least MasterCard or Visa. Many times at craft shows, people carry a minimal amount of money and have a tendency not to carry their checkbooks, thus leaving you possibly short on sales if you don’t accept the plastic for purchases. Learn about this before you make a commitment. If you only sell a small amount each month, it may not be worth it.

If you wish to sell your items on eBay, you should take some time and research eBay to check out your competition. Selling on eBay is rather a competitive site to start on, but with the right attitude, you can make a nice income. You will need to be patient while developing your own following with eBay. In order to become a successful jewelry seller on eBay, you will need to have a constant presence and at least two or three auctions up at all times so that your repeat customers can find you. You will also need to have clear close-up photos of your items so that your customers can see what they are purchasing. If you’re familiar with the eBay community, you know that it is critical to be honest in your descriptions and to ship your products right away. It’s also critical that you resolve any disputes with customers quickly.
There are many ways that you can create clear pictures of your jewelry pieces. You can use a digital camera that has the ability to take close-up pictures so that you can download them to your computer. You can sometimes use your flatbed scanner to create photos of your pieces too. Whichever way you choose, create a photo gallery of your jewelry for your Website, auction listings or any other type of literature for marketing your jewelry.

Selling your handcrafted jewelry at home parties can be one of your most profitable venues. You can do this without cutting into your profits too much by setting up a game plan before offering this kind of service. There are many who use an open-house type of gathering to sell their jewelry. You can offer light refreshments with no party games to gain the best attendance; this allows your guests to come and go at their convenience. You should have your host or hostesses call their guests a day or two in advance to gently remind them of the event and this will increase your party profits and attendance. The kinds of incentives that you can offer your host or hostesses are five dollars off their own purchases for twenty people attending the party, a free piece of jewelry when the total sales reach $100 or more in sales, or two free pieces of jewelry with two home party bookings from guests or outside orders from her party.

Creating your own Website can help boost your sales with customers and shop owners. You should have a simple layout and design with a shopping cart so that you can accept payments online. By creating a simple, non-flashy Website, your jewelry will stand out on the pages. Flashy Websites and background images have a tendency to slow down your Website and take away from your jewelry. A plain or light-colored background is the best feature to use with Times New Roman and 12 pt. fonts.
Keeping your jewelry dazzling and clean, will catch your customers’ eyes and increase the value of your work. You will want to check into an ionic jewelry cleaner and tarnish-prevention strips to help keep your jewelry at a “jewelry-store” level when it comes to the dazzling sparkle of your pieces.

By joining jewelry-making forums, you can keep up with trends and learn different techniques through the forum members. Meeting and talking with other jewelry artists who are having fun with their business gives you a creative edge for staying competitive and can inspire a whole new business attitude for your work.

Let your imagination fuel your creativity and let your brain take care of the business side of your business. By using both, you can set your business up for a successful run. Make sure that you set up record-keeping for your business so that you stay organized. Concentrate on providing solutions for your customers’ problems so that you can encourage repeat business.

Once you have plunged into the selling aspect of your jewelry, notice which types of pieces that you are selling to what kind of people. Keep a card file on each customer so you’ll remember what you sold them and what kinds of things they like or might be looking for. Make a note of their birthdays and their spouse’s name. Then send a postcard to their spouse a month ahead and suggest that jewelry would be the perfect birthday gift! These techniques can help you get more sales from a smaller customer base, increase your profits, and cut down on your overhead by making only things that you know have a good market.

Sources:
Lasley, William T. "How to Attend a Craft Show." Tips to help you attend craft shows in your area.

Lasley, William T. "How to Price Your Crafts." Steps that you can use to help price your jewelry pieces.

Jewelry Forums
BeadandButton—It’s a professional operation with moderators and a very active community. There are places for showing off your newest creations, asking questions, sharing discoveries and just saying hello.

Jewelrydiscuss—This forum is dedicated to jewelry makers.

Michael’s Arts and Craft Store Forum—At this forum hosted by Michael’s Arts and Crafts Store you will find a plethora of information on how to make jewelry, finding supplies at their stores, and more.

Online Jewelry Magazines
Bead and Button Bead and Button Magazine is dedicated to jewelry makers with tips, patterns, and other various jewelry making how-to’s. There are also other jewelry magazines that Bead and Button recommends for jewelry makers.

Step by Step Jewelry includes projects of all types - rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.

BeadWorks has a Website that you can order from or you can search their website for stores near you.

Caleb's Lighthouse—Bulk Swarovski discounts, alphabet, bali silver, gold and silver findings and much more. Wholesale prices. We can provide customers with great beading supplies at low prices.


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