Doing something you love is the most rewarding thing in the world, especially if it's paying you money, but many people go broke when starting out their own business. Having the correct management structures in place at the outset is critical to your success, or failure.
What do you think the number one thing is you need to be aware of when starting out?
Keeping your cash flow positive!
It's that simple. If you are not Beading for profit then you are going broke. While you might love what you're doing there are still bills to pay so why not make a buck or two?
When starting out your own jewelry business, or any business for that matter, there are many things that need taking care of and there is normally no one to help. You need to be the business development manager, accountant, stock controller, customer care operator, printer, designer and many more things rolled into one.
These simple but important steps will help you to make sure that you get started on the right foot in your jewelry business.
1. A good inventory system for all your beading accessories is essential.
Keeping track of your parts so you know exactly what you have in stock will save you hours in the long run. Also a good inventory system will help you keep track of the completed jewelry pieces that you have in stock.
With simple inventory control you can save hours of your precious time, which can easily be taken up by counting and looking for parts.
2. Calculate your jewelry piece prices for maximum profit!
You must make a profit! If you don't your going broke and where so many people lose money is by not pricing their jewelry pieces correctly. You must calculate exactly what a piece has cost you to produce, including your time!
3. Have a good invoicing system. When you sell your completed jewelry pieces to your customers you need an invoicing system that will track your payments. Being able to look back at your records and see what money's are outstanding to you will help you quickly and easily chase up payments from customers.
4. Get other people to sell your jewelry for you. Your friends may be willing to host home jewelry parties on your behalf and invite other friends or work colleagues of theirs that you may not know. Offer your friend an incentive such as a share in the profits.
The four steps above should outline some of the major factors that you need to consider when running your own jewelry business.
