Beading For Profit

If you start a beading business then you have to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. Essential business practice is to have a plan, then put it into action. So, take time to sit down and draft out your ideas for your beading business.
1. What market can you sell to?
2. Who are your customers?
3. Where can you advertise?
4. What start up costs will be involved?
5. How can you minimise your costs?
6. How can you maximise your profits?

While the first four steps will be very different depending on the 'Grand Plan', minimising costs and maximising profits have the same fundamentals for all. Some may plan to make a few dollars selling jewelry to friends and neighbours, others may have larger plans for retail outlets and maybe even a franchise chain but the goal must be the same for all, Beading For Profit!

Lets start with minimising costs and a couple of the things you can do:

Buy in bulk at wholesale rates:
If you are just starting out this may be hard to do. Look at joining forces with others, buy in bulk and split the cost and the product. If you don’t have others that you can share the costs with look for smaller wholesalers that may be more interested in dealing with your business. Try to establish a relationship with them. It is so much easier in business to get what you want from someone that you have built relations with.

Keep your time to a minimum:
Your time is the most precious resource that you have. Keep track of the time you spend making and designing your jewelry pieces and add that time into the price. Don’t spend hours perfecting a piece then sell it for only a few dollars as you cant justify the time that you have spent making it in the price. DO NOT compromise quality as that can only hurt you in the long run but forcing your self to work for minimalist wages will not help you either.

Now maximising your profits should be the fun part:

Know exactly what an item cost you to make:
If you know what it cost including all the parts that went into it and your time then you can start pricing for maximum profit. Calculate wholesale and retail prices for your jewelry pieces. If people want to bulk order from you they will be sure to want some sort of discount so calculate these prices in advance so you are still making a profit.

Test your prices:
Its as simple as changing the price on a few items and then seeing which price makes the most profitable sales point. So how’s that work? Easy, if you sell a piece for $10 and you normally sell on average 4 at a jewelry party then next time change the price to $12. If you still sell four or more the next time increase the price again. Lets say you get to $16 and find that now on average you are selling only 3 pieces, well you might think ‘that’s no good, I used to sell four when it was $10’.

But wait, 4 pieces * $10 = $40. 3 pieces * $16 = $48.

That means an extra $8 plus you have used fewer parts as you only made 3 jewelry pieces. You saved time making fewer pieces and you saved money using fewer parts. It’s cash in your pocket!

To beading for profit!!