This
week's Featured Item!
Starting and running a jewelry business.
(Part 9 in a series)
This is the concluding Part in our series, “Starting and
running a jewelry business.” I would like to start this
segment with a quick anecdote about frustration and burnout
among beaded jewelry makers:
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A woman spent her weekdays making simple, sweet necklaces that she would
sell for $29, and earrings that she sold for $8. When she got bored
making jewelry, she would make toll work and other inexpensive crafts
to sell, too. She spent her weekends selling her work, and although
she sold most of it, she never seemed to get ahead, financially. Also,
she felt her buyers didn’t appreciate the energy she had invested
in her work. All of this caused her to become frustrated and depressed.
Her friends asked her to “go out” with them, but she never
seemed to be able to find the time, and money. She realized that she
didn’t “have a life.” and this, too, added to her
frustration. She became angry, started denigrating the handcrafted jewelry
business, and blamed everyone else for her predicament.
When caring friends and other jewelry makers tried to help her, and
suggest changes in her operation, she would become defensive and very
angry. She refused to listen to their helpful suggestions, and she said
they didn’t know what they were talking about, but that she did.
She refused to look at what she was doing and continued to blame everyone
else.
This is just one person, but I have known a number of people with virtually
the same story.
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Now that you’ve read this series I hope you can pick out some
of the steps that led to her decline. Here are a few points that might
not be so evident:
¨ She may have had low self-esteem and was afraid
to go beyond a $29 price point.
¨ She continued to make simple, inexpensive pieces
of jewelry that would have to compete with mass-produced, low price,
imports.
¨ It takes the same time to make a $100 necklace
as it does to make a $29 necklace.
¨ It is said, “The best defense is an offense.”
Her anger and blaming others would be this defense.
Let’s review the quotes I gave in an earlier part of
this series:
¨ “……(Charge) all the market will bear.”
Ambrose Bierce
¨ “Make your own myths. That’s the way the gods
started.” By a famous Polish philosopher.
Plus, here’s a new one.
¨ “A definition of insanity is: Doing the same thing, over
and over, expecting a different result.” Bill & friends.
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Here are a few recommended books and magazines for you to read:
Bead and craft business – Books.
¨How to be Successful in the Bead Jewelry Business, by Kate Drew-Wilkinson.
¨Crafting for a Business, by Wendy Rosen.
¨Crafting for Dollars, by Sylvia Landman
Bead and craft business – Magazines.
¨The CraftsReport.
www.craftsreport.com
Beading – Magazines.
¨Lapidary Journal
www.lapidaryjournal.com
¨Bead & Button
www.beadandbutton.com
Sales source book.
¨Designer Jewelry Showcase
www.designerjewelryshowcase.com
Art show venue listings – Magazines.
¨Craftmaster News (AZ, CA, CO, ID, KS, MT, NB, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR,
SD, TX, UT, WA, & WY.)
www.craftmasternews.com
¨Art & Craft Show Yellow Pages. (CT, DE, MD, MA, NJ, NY, PA,
VA, WV, ++)
www.SmartFrogs.com
¨Where It’s At. A guide to Arts & Crafts Shows. (AL, AZ,
AR, CO, GA, KS, LA, MS, MO, NM, OK, TN, & TX)
1-800-972-8589
¨Art Fair Source Book (Includes a shop rating).
www.ArtFairSourceBook.com
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Note: Remember, the purpose of this series is not to tell you
how much money you should charge. Instead, it is meant to be a guide
to starting your business, and help you understand some of the basics
of business, how to understand and calculate your true component costs,
determine the value and selling price of your jewelry, and make a profit.
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