Selling Handmade Jewelry Online as a Home Business

I’m interviewing Miranda from Buttermilk Sky Designs today about what it takes in selling handmade jewelry online.

What was Your Background in Jewelry-Making Prior to Starting Your Home Business?

I had attempted making jewelry about four years back and had a hard time understanding how to market products online. Therefore, I decided to set it aside and at one time considered it a failed attempt to work from home. Since that time I have learned quite a bit about the value of social media and techniques for marketing and I decided to join my friends, who were successful at craft shows and in home parties, to take it a step further and reach the world through online advertising. Prior to my first attempt in 2007, I had absolutely no experience with jewelry making.

Why Did You Decide to Go Into Business for Yourself?

I simply enjoy making the jewelry. I have dreamed of being able to have matching jewelry pieces for every outfit. I believe accessories make the outfit, especially when you live on a budget like I do. However, I could not afford a collection of costume jewelry and found making it for myself to be a lot more cost effective. I have a true passion and love for the craft and I believe that is what will make this successful. It is not just something I am doing to make money, it is something I am doing to fund my hobby and addiction to jewelry making.

What Start-Up Costs Were Involved?

Purchasing material, tools, storage containers, business cards and general marketing supplies (such as signs and labels) were all needed to start handcrafting jewelry. I believe an honest number to start with would be 500-800 dollars to begin.  I believe one thing I liked about the idea of jewelry making was knowing I had control over how much I would spend initially, before seeing the potential return.

How do You Market Your Business to Obtain New Clients and Customers?

We have been trying out new ideas to market the jewelry. Facebook has been great! We have been posting to our personal sites, using Twitter, joining Blogging communities and sharing our business cards with nearly everyone we meet. We have this mindset that every person we meet is a potential customer.

What Challenges Have You Faced in Your Jewelry Business?

Our biggest challenge has been making people feel comfortable with purchasing online. It is a lot easier to sell handcrafted items in person, when the customer can feel and really inspect the jewelry. We are currently working on ways to really let our customer know who we are and feel comfortable with us and our guarantee of quality.

What Skills are Necessary to be Successful in This Type of Business?

There are many necessary skills to have success with any type of business from marketing and understanding  your

What are the Top Resources for Gathering Information on, or Getting Started in the Jewelry Making Industry?

We have really learned a lot by reading other blogs. There is no single site or resource we always return to, other than Google. When we need to learn new techniques or ideas we turn to Google Video search! We also have found a lot of helpful tools on our hosting store site: ArtFire.com. They even offer free marketing boot camps!

Where Can We Find Your Business Online?

Blog (still being worked on)

ArtFire Page

Facebook Fan Page

Twitter