It's All About the Ba-Ba-Bling: How to Start Your Own Home Jewelry Business

It's a great time to start a new business. More people are realizing that working in an office from 9-5 isn't for them. If you're one of them, you should follow your passion.

You might find that your passion is in jewelry, but keep hearing that the jewelry industry is getting smaller. That's actually not true. It's shifting, but the demand is still high.

It's still a great time to start a new jewelry business, as long as you start on solid footing. Keep reading to learn the steps you need to do to get your new business off the ground.

1 The Big Idea

You have an idea to start a jewelry business, but you have to figure out what kind of business you'll have.

You can do anything from being a luxury jeweler to having a jewelry bead store.

Once you have the general idea for the business, you need to explore whether or not it's a viable business. For example, if you have the idea to start a high-end luxury business, is there a huge demand that will support the business?

On the other hand, if you want to start a make your own jewelry business, is there a market that will support that type of shop? You'll want to target kids and adults who love to make their own jewelry.

The next step is to figure out your sales channels. Will your business be retail only, online, or a combination of the two?

There isn't a right or wrong answer. Your job in this phase of the business is to gather all of the data you can and let that help you to make a good decision.

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2The Business Plan

There are important considerations such as the business model, pricing of the jewelry, and your target market. These things get laid out in your business plan.

You don't want to just haphazardly say that you're starting a business and go all in. You need to build a plan to get the business off the ground and make it sustainable for years.

You'll need to develop your financials for your business plan. This isn't just to lenders that your business is going to make money. You need to prove that to yourself before you start.

Have several spreadsheets that keep track of your startup costs, initial profit, and loss statements and revenue projections for the first several years.

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3Get the Right Resources Early

It’s not easy to be a business owner. You have a lot to keep track of, and it feels like the world in on your shoulders. You're solely responsible for doing all of the work and making money.

It can be isolating, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can and should have a team to support you.

Your first step is to find a mentor. It could be a successful business owner in your niche or someone you trust to help you make good decisions.

You'll also need a good bookkeeper, accountant, and business attorney. A realtor is necessary if you plan to open up a retail location. You may need to have a person you can lean on for marketing advice.

Having these experts around for advice will prevent you from making expensive business mistakes.

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4Register the Business

You'll have to make the business official with your state. Your secretary of state's office is responsible for the registration of all businesses.

You have a decision to make when you register the business. Do you register as a sole-proprietor or as an LLC?

It depends on your specific situation. In most cases, filing as a single-member LLC is a smart move because you are legally separated from the business.

If something happens in the business and a person decides to file a lawsuit, your personal belongings are protected from the lawsuit.

However, that's not the case as a sole proprietor. A sole proprietorship is easier and less expensive to set up. It may cost you a lot more than you think in the long run.

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5Build the Store

The fun begins as you build a store.

If you're going retail, then you need to choose the best location for your store. A real estate agent will help you find a location that’s not too costly but has a lot of traffic.

You'll also need to have a website built for your store. If you decide to have an e-commerce store, you'll need to make sure you can securely accept payments.

Novice online users would benefit from signing up for an all-in-one solution like Shopify or Squarespace. More advanced users can set up a website in WordPress and connect the e-commerce platform accordingly.

As you build the store, you're going to need to get inventory into your shop. You should start placing orders for beading wire, beads, and other materials you'll sell.

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6Market the Business

It's now time to market your jewelry business. There are dozens of ways you can market your business. Initially, you want to focus on a few of them and do them well.

How do you know which ones are worth it? Go back to your business plan and look at your target audience. You'll need to do some research to discover where they are and how they look for things online.

It also depends if your store is retail or e-commerce. A local retail store would need to invest in SEO to be found by search engines.

An e-commerce store will need to have social media channels that your audience uses. They may be on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

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Start Your Jewelry Business the Right Way

Are you surprised by how many things need to be done before you open your doors? Starting a jewelry business takes a lot of work upfront.

If you have the right foundation and follow your plan, you'll be able to make a profitable business. You don't want to treat your business like a hobby. You'll only wind up with a little bit of side income for a ton of extra work.

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