Loughran Turn your passion into profit how starthow to a home-based Everything you need to know to run a successful Develop a smart business plan jewelry making business from your home Set market-appropriate prices Have you ever thought about starting your own home-based jewelry making business? Have you been hesitant to put your plans into Profit from craft fairs and trade shows action? This comprehensive guide contains all the necessary tools and strategies you need to successfully launch and grow your business. Sell to local and national retail shops Maire Loughran draws on her years of experience to show you how Make money on the Internet to turn your passion for beautiful jewelry into a profitable sideline or full-time business. Selling and making jewelry is one of the more high- margin craft businesses, and with the right approach to sales and a stylish look, one can develop a devoted following. Covering all jewelry types, Loughran addresses all the essentials and more, including: Pricing jewelry Making Business Jewelry Setting up a Web site Realizing the benefits of e-commerce Establishing a niche Selling at craft fairs Finding a distributor Getting celebrity attention Maire Loughran, who built her jewelry making business from the how to start a home-based ground floor up, writes and lectures on the topic of how to start a home-based business. She also acts as a mentor to other new, jewelry making start-ups. Loughran is a member of the American Craft Council, Society of American Silversmiths, and the Society of North Jewelry Making Business American Goldsmiths. In addition, she is the Arts/Crafts Business guide at About.com and the Feature Jewelry Writer at Suite101.com. She lives in Orlando, Florida. Cover design by Georgiana Goodwin Cover photos © Shutterstock Printed in the United States of America The Globe Pequot Press Guilford, Connecticut US $18.95/ CAN $22.95 www.GlobePequot.com Maire Loughran HTS Jewelry Cover.indd 1 5/18/09 11:27:58 AM how to start a home-based Jewelry Making Business HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 1 5/4/09 2:04:38 PM HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 2 5/4/09 2:04:38 PM h o m e -b a s e d b u s i n e s s s e r i e s how to start a home-based Jewelry Making Business Maire Loughran ® HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 3 5/4/09 2:04:39 PM For my much-loved son, Joey, who serves his country aboard the USS Harry S Truman. I am prouder of you than mere words can ever describe. Copyright © 2009 Morris Book Publishing, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any informa- tion storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to The Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. ISBN 978-0-7627-5012-2 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 4 5/4/09 2:04:39 PM Contents Introduction | ix 01 So You Want to Start Your Own Jewelry Making Business | 1 Hobby versus Business | 1 What It Means to Be Self-Employed | 2 Support from Family | 8 Required Skill Set for a Jewelry Making Business | 9 02 From Dreams to Reality: Defining Your Jewelry Making Business | 15 What You’ll Need to Get Started | 15 Define Your Work Style | 17 Types of Jewelry Making Approaches | 19 Special Requirements of Jewelry Making Techniques | 25 The Importance of Keeping a Design Sketchbook | 29 03 Setting Up Your Office and Workshop | 33 Office Essentials | 33 Office Telephone and Fax | 40 Workshop Essentials | 42 Safety Equipment | 48 Transforming the Personal Workshop into a Production Workshop | 50 HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 5 5/5/09 11:20:21 AM 04 The Business Plan: Your Plan of Action | 52 Elements of a Business Plan | 53 Selection of Business Entity | 55 Sample Business Plan | 61 05 Getting Started | 68 Zoning Issues | 68 Do You Need a Business License? | 70 Filing with Your Secretary of State | 70 Opening Your Business Checking Account | 71 PayPal’s Virtual Terminal | 72 Employer Identification Number (EIN) | 73 Printed Materials for Business | 74 Press Releases | 78 Establishing Vendor Relations | 80 06 Financial Planning | 82 Figuring Cost per Unit | 82 Pricing for Supply and Demand | 84 Variable Costs | 88 Fixed Expenses | 89 Tying It All Together with the Financial Statements | 90 Statement of Cash Flows | 92 Weathering Economic Ebbs and Flows | 93 07 Financial Management | 98 Banking Relationships | 98 Budgets | 100 Extending Credit to Customers | 103 Managing Cash and the Prudent Use of Credit | 108 vi Contents HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 6 5/4/09 2:04:39 PM 08 Taxes and Recordkeeping | 110 Keep Your Books Manually | 110 Spreadsheet Software | 111 Keeping Track of Inventory | 112 Do You Need to Hire a Bookkeeper or Accountant? | 112 Collecting and Remitting Sales Tax | 113 U.S. Federal Taxes for the Self-Employed | 115 Deducting an Office in the Home | 117 Taxes and Hiring Jewelry Making Help | 119 How to Deduct Vehicle Expenses | 120 Business versus Hobby for Tax Reporting | 123 09 Jewelry Making Legal and Ethical Issues | 125 Protecting Your Work | 125 Fighting Infringement | 129 Insurance for the Self-Employed | 130 Required Gemstone and Metal Legal Disclosures | 134 10 Marketing Your Jewelry | 139 Press Kits | 139 Local Retail Shops | 140 Call for Entries: Local Arts and Crafts Shows | 146 Why Didn’t My Jewelry Sell? | 147 Expand Outside Your Local Area | 150 National Exposure | 151 11 How to Make the Internet and e-Commerce Work for Your Business | 154 Establishing Your Own Web Site | 154 Informational-Only Web Sites | 157 e-Commerce Web Sites | 159 Images for the Web | 160 Contents vii HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 7 5/4/09 2:04:39 PM Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | 164 Shopping Cart Software | 169 Third-Party Marketing | 171 Selling on eBay | 173 Selling on Amazon.com | 174 How to Pack Jewelry for Shipping | 175 12 Take Your Jewelry Making Business to the Next Level | 177 Mass Production and Wholesaling | 177 Hiring Artisan and Production-Line Employees | 180 Attracting Outside Investors and Maintaining Control | 183 Expanding Beyond the Jewelry Making Business | 185 Expand by Tracking Fashion Trends | 186 Accessories for the Home | 187 13 Jewelry Making Training and Certification | 188 Jewelry Making Trade Organizations | 188 Jewelry Making Certifications | 189 Universities and Colleges Offering Related Degrees | 190 Weeklong Seminars at Regional Arts and Crafts Schools | 191 Local Trade Schools and Teaching Museums | 192 In Conclusion | 193 Source Directory | 194 Web-Based Suppliers | 194 Trade Organizations | 198 Jewelry-Related Shows | 199 Educational Resources | 201 Acknowledgments | 205 Index | 207 viii Contents HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 8 5/4/09 2:04:40 PM Introduction I consider myself lucky because I come from a creative family. My grand- mother was a fabric designer who also designed and made wedding gowns at night to supplement the family income. My grandfather was a master jeweler and taught me the art of jewelry making. When I became an adult, this background in jewelry making encouraged me to do research on how to start and market a home-based business. I learned how to take high-resolution (high-res) images of jewelry, and how to write a press release and compelling copy about my pieces. Researching the history of jewelry, gemstones, and the life of jewelry designers was also very helpful. I became an expert on the various ethnic and ritual uses of jewelry. Along the way I taught myself HTML code and got up to speed with Google Ad Sense and Ad Words, created a few different Web sites, including e-Commerce, and monetized with advertising. Once I felt my jewelry making skills were sufficient, I started entering juried schools, and moved from retail to wholesale marketing of my jewelry. My home-based jewelry making goals haven’t completely come to frui- tion—yet. Along with many other goals, I would like to gain acceptance into the juried Smithsonian Craft Show. I feel a good business is always a work in progress. I went down a very meandering path with my jewelry making business. I had plenty of roadblocks thrown in my way, both self-created and beyond my control. The information contained in this book is the result of my years of creative and technical experience operating a home-based jewelry making business, including the practical business side, such as paying taxes and writ- ing a business plan. Whether you want to run your business part-time to make HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 9 5/4/09 2:04:40 PM some extra money, or quit your day job to make jewelry full-time, this book contains all the information you need to start and operate a successful home-based jewelry making business. x Introduction HTS_Jewelry Making Bus Final.indd 10 5/4/09 2:04:40 PM So You Want to Start Your Own 1 Jewelry Making Business You’ve probably purchased this book because you have made jewelry in the past for fun and now you want to turn your hobby into a profitable home- based business. If so, you are not alone. Over the past ten years, more and more people have been choosing self-employment to become their own boss, make more money, or have more-flexible hours.