Designing and making jewelry is a creative endeavor that can be extremely rewarding. If you’re thinking of taking your interest or hobby in jewelry-making to the next level and starting a jewelry business, here are some steps you can take to make sure you’re successful.
How to Make a Jewelry Business Plan
The first step in starting a jewelry business is to make a jewelry business plan. Putting in the time to really research your target market (the people who will buy your jewelry), define your goals, and calculate costs and income will really pay off in the longer term. Here are some of the essentials you’re going to want to include in your plan:- Executive summary What is your business? This is like a blurb for your jewelry business, or how you might pitch it to people who ask.
- Company description
What does your business do? Starting a jewelry business could involve:
- Designing jewelry
- Making custom jewelry to order
- Selling jewelry on a certain theme
- Repairing and restoring jewelry
- Market analysis
Who is your ideal customer? Describe the person who will buy your jewelry. Consider their:
- Gender
- Age
- Possible Occupations
- What they might do for fun
- Where they live
- Where they shop
- Their fashion sense and style
- The type of jewelry they like to wear (colors, materials, pieces)
- How much they have to spend on jewelry
- Who might give them jewelry as a present
- Products
What are you selling? How might your customers categorize or compare it? Consider:
- Inexpensive fashion jewelry
- High-end fashion jewelry
- Personalized keepsake jewelry
- Engagement and wedding rings
- Sets and collections
- Materials (metals and alloys, precious metal clay, gemstones…)
- Marketing and sales
Where will you sell your jewelry? This is one of the most important points in your jewelry business plan. When you’re just starting a jewelry business, will you sell through social media, online shopping platforms, go to markets and festivals, or go straight for selling wholesale through shops?
Think about where your ideal customer looks for jewelry and where they might hear about it. Maybe they listen to the radio, so that’s where you’ll advertise. Or they might be more likely to find you online, in a magazine, or see your business card at their favorite clothing store or café.
- Funding Next for starting a jewelry business, you’ll need to spend some time figuring out how much it will cost you to make at least one basic jewelry collection multiplied by the production size, plus marketing, packaging, and shipping costs. Find out options for getting a business loan, crowdfunding, or using your own savings to get started.
- Example balance sheets Use your calculations to make a projected balance sheet that includes what you’ll spend and what you expect to make in the first year. To work out your prices, you’ll need to use: cost of materials + time to make x hourly rate + profit (go for around 30%) You can also compare your prices to similar companies to see if they are competitive or not. It takes time to build up a business, so don’t expect to make a profit right away.
- Business license and a seller’s permit To sell to friends and family when you’re starting a jewelry business, you will not need any kind of license or permit. However, you WILL need these to sell wholesale to shops, get discounts on materials, and claim expenses back on taxes.
Design Your First Collection
Now you’ve got your jewelry business plan written up, you can think about designing the initial collection to start your jewelry business. The advantage of a collection over eclectic bits and pieces is that it keeps you focused on developing a signature style, and it makes it easier for your customers to buy a few things at once or come back later to get the matching bracelet, earrings, etc.
Thinking about your ideal customer, make a list of 20 keywords to help guide your collection. It can be things like “gold,” “sapphires,” “dolphins,” “waves,” “circles,” or whatever else comes to mind along with a theme that your ideal customer would like. Each piece will need to have something in common with all the others. It could be the same metal, the same shape, the same picture, or another similar feature. You can have a gold necklace and a silver necklace in the one collection if they both have the same pendant or shape, for example.
Draw 40 possible pieces for your collection and pick the most impactful to start your jewelry business with. Ask for feedback from family and friends on your designs, and think about making each piece comfortable to wear before you begin the manufacturing process.
Start Small and Build up Your Client Base
With your designs, you can either purchase the materials yourself or have the pieces made for you by a jewelry manufacturing company. Depending on the production size you want for starting a jewelry business (5, 20, 100, 1,000, 10,000 sets), you may be better off purchasing certain materials in bulk online or at trade shows to pay the wholesale price.
Once you have your product, you’re ready to start selling! Start small by selling in person, through social networks, websites, and at events such as markets and festivals until people get to know you and join your mailing list. Then you can save up and invest in larger-scale production, selling through shops around your state, the country, and even the world! Have another look at your jewelry business plan every now and again, and update the marketing strategy as you find out what works for you.
Streamline the Manufacturing Process
MKM Jewelry Inc. can help you with starting your jewelry business by working with you on your designs and taking care of the manufacturing stage for a professional result. We have all the tools, equipment, and high-quality materials needed to make stunning jewelry, and can make just about any quantity you need (small or large).
Contact us at (213) 689-4823 or via email at info@mkmjewelry.com to get started on getting your jewelry business up and running today!
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