If you enjoy making jewelry, you no doubt have considered selling your work. I believe that a handmade jewelry business is one of the best home businesses that one can start. There is a huge market for jewelry, it's a great impulse buy, and since everyone has their own style and likes, there is enough room for everyone in the marketplace. It is also really easy and not very expensive to create an inventory. You might not make a fortune, but you can at least pay for your beading supplies and make some extra money as well. For what you ask, to buy more beads, of course!
The first thing you need to think about is creating an inventory of your signature pieces. It is a good idea to create six or seven signature pieces that are simple to create. If you spend to much time on intricate beadweaving, you won't ever make enough to sell. I enjoy beadweaving and I have a few pieces that are woven, however, I like to make bracelets, necklaces and earrings from the two-holed Swarovski sliders beads and pair them with small silver or matching crystal beads. They are easy, quick, yet really elegant and cool and always get a lot of attention. Once you have created a small inventory of great pieces, you can always add new items, and experiment with new colors and styles, but if you have some pieces that are good sellers, then you need to keep them in stock and keep a small amount of jewelry with you at all times, so you can sell anywhere. I like to carry a large enough purse so I can keep a few pieces in Ziploc baggies with my business cards.
When you are just starting your jewelry business, you may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of marketing. This is one of the greatest things about selling your handmade jewelry, it is so easy to market. All you need to do is wear your creations or give them to your friends to wear. Of course, when you give your friends jewelry to wear, be sure to include a couple of business cards for them to carry in their purse! I have found that simply wearing my jewelry and giving it away as gifts is the greatest boost for my business. Use your personal style and flair to create great outfits and wear your jewelry with pride, people always ask about a great piece of jewelry. Then you can simply say “I made it” and make a sale.
For the beginning jewelry marketer, I believe this is the best way to start out. In this way, you can make some extra money and get your jewelry seen by more people, which leads to more sales. This is also a very inexpensive way of marketing. Another side bonus of this method of marketing jewelry is you can get quite a bit of your gift-giving out of the way, since practically everyone enjoys getting a piece of jewelry as a gift.
