Since the beginning of time, jewelry has been the universal sign of self-expression. The first jewelry signs of established jewelry date back 5,000 years, from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, to an industry today worth upwards of $348 billion per year.
Looking at jewelry from an investment perspective, jewelry has grown 138% in value over the last decade – only outperformed by collectible cars, fine wine, and rare coins. Starting your own jewelry business can make sense given the desire to use jewelry as an investment and also an important self-expression tool.
From deciding the type of jewelry that you want to make to learn how to use electroplating products, there are a lot of steps to take to make your jewelry business take off. Here are some steps you can take to start a successful jewelry business.
Decide What Type of Jewelry
The jewelry industry is very diverse. It is best to first focus on one niche. Do you want to make beautiful, hand-crafted watches? Do you want to make gold rings with jewels on the rim?
You should consider the possibilities for your business and find your target market. You can even choose which type of metal you want to focus on.
Who’s The Buyer?
Are you aiming your market toward tweens with brightly coloured jewels or the wedding market with rings set with diamonds? You need to know who your target market is so that you can narrow down your designs accurately.
Even though it is counterintuitive to focus on a smaller niche, by specializing in one particular expertise, you have less competition, greater chance of market visibility, and stronger customer relationships.
What Are The Costs?
Starting a new business can be costly, depending on how you want to do it. This is primarily due to the fact you have to buy expensive jewelry as inventory to keep on-hand. Some jewelers don’t make the jewelry in-house, others prefer to.
Either way, you need to budget and make a list of expenses. The primary source of funding besides friends and family are banks, whereas others like to raise funds with crowdfunding or angel investors. Learn the many ways you can access capital for your business, and you’ll always be able to build a steady funding stream.
Reach Out
Speak to your target market and get their opinion about what they want from your business. Figure out how you can be visible to them, whether that’s on social media or other channels and be present in their faces.
Get to know, engage, and interact with them. Be responsive to what they want and have a strong online presence! You need to be online if you hope to expand your possible customer base.
Start Selling!
Now you’ve got the basics up and running; you need to get out there and start selling. You know your customers, you know your costs, you know what you’re making, and now it’s time to launch your business.
They key is to be agile and adaptable to what the market wants and needs. Designs change as well as consumer tastes, so it is important to be close to your customer, and offer them an incredible experience which will result in greater referrals!