Christina shopped for jewelry as though there was no tomorrow. On her 30th birthday, she received a gift that changed her life completely - a jewelry making tool box. She was thrilled by the thought of making jewelry herself. Lots of catalogs and jewelry making supplies found place on her shelves as Christina began turning out dozens of pairs of handcrafted jewelry.

This is what she had to say on how she set up a home based jewelry business.

“I made far more jewelry than I could ever wear myself, so I gave them to everyone I knew and kept making more. Finally, when my jewelry supply reached critical mass, my husband said, "I think you had better stop making jewelry or start selling it”. And so my jewelry business was born.

The following are some tips that Christina would like to share for the benefit of entrepreneurs who want to start a home based jewelry business:

Start small: Small orders from local art & craft shows gave Christina's business the initial momentum. She also took up work for gift shops and galleries. This helped her learn the tricks of the trade quickly, without risking too much investment.

Customize & diversify: Soon Christina learnt her first marketing lesson, which was that she had to make what people wanted to buy, if she had any hope of increasing sales. That was a turning point for her home based jewelry business, which until now, had taken no note of market requirements. Christina also realized that there was profit to be made by offering a diversified range of jewelry, including accessories such as watch straps, belts and pins.

Package elegantly: A professional display sells ten times more jewelry than a careless scattering on a table cloth. Gradually, Christina's home based jewelry business took on a smart new look. She preferred to design the packing cases and jewelry tags herself, so they not only looked aesthetic, but could also be matched to the different collections. She took care to ensure that the displays looked professional and were lightweight and compact for easy storage & transportation. What's more, Christina provided a selection of elegant pouches, boxes and bags as a complimentary gift wrap. This simple gesture never failed to delight her customers.

Don't forget after sales service: Christina also has some words of “common sense” advice. “I discovered that keeping jewelry dazzlingly clean and shiny increases their perceived value. So investing in an ionic jewelry cleaner and tarnish-prevention strips are a must.” She began to offer free jewelry cleaning as an added service, and needless to say, this presented further opportunities to sell to old customers who came in to get their pieces cleaned!

Offer many payment options: A crucial selling point, says Christina. “People will buy more if they can do so on credit instead of having to shell out cash right then and there.” That's why even her simple home based jewelry business accepts credit cards, charge cards and checks.

Go online: Not one to stay behind times, Christina signed up on eBay at www.ebay.com. Now, several jewelry collections from Christina's are on auction. She also made sure that she featured close up photographs of her favorite pieces to attract customers.

Encouraged by the prospect of online sales, she revamped her old website and added an online store. She encouraged people to give feedback about design and color preferences, and often incorporated customers' suggestions while designing a new collection. Needless to say, they bought willingly!

Create events: By now, Christina was marketing savvy, and she hit upon a novel way to promote her products. She threw “open-house” parties where anyone who was interested in jewelry and light snacks was welcome! To her delight, she found that these jewelry parties drew in hordes of people and resulted in brisk sales. Her home based jewelry business really began to flourish.

We are sure you'll benefit from Christina's guidance when you set up your own home based jewelry business. All you need to do is follow your artistic heart and use your business brain to make it big. If you still need some help, visit wire-sculpture.com or pick up ‘Jewelry making tips & tricks of the trade' on amazon.com.