5 Life Mantras to Help Turn Your Jewelry Hobby into a Business

Are you ready to turn your jewelry making hobby into a full-time business? Start with these five simple life mantras, and soon you’ll be on your way to having that dream job you’ve always wanted.  

1. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

If you want to turn your jewelry hobby into a full-time business, you need to stay committed to your dream – full-time. Don’t let a slow start bring you down – remember: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint!” Odds are, you won’t be able to quit your day job the week after you start your business. Building a business can take time – from several months to a few years. Ask yourself if you are willing to stay committed long-term. Don’t expect overnight success. Stay truly committed to your goals – consistently – and success will follow. Hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and patience are key components to success.  

 

2. A goal without a plan is just a wish.

It is important to set clear and defined goals for yourself from the start, and to adjust them as needed. You need to make your goals achievable and adjustable. If you are just starting out, a goal like “I'm going to make 50 sales this month” may be out of reach for now. You may want to choose a smaller goal that is more achievable, even if it is “I'm going to make one sale this month”. At the end of the month, if you have made let’s say, two sales, it’s time to adjust your goal. Your goal for the next month may be to make five sales, or even ten. It is important to constantly adjust your goals as you reach them, so that you continue to grow as a business and never plateau. What do you need to do to make those ten sales next month? Maybe it’s more advertising, social media presence, or adding new items to sell. You need to pinpoint exactly what you need to do in order to achieve your goals. Otherwise: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”  

3. It’s not personal, it’s business.

We’ve all been warned not to mix our personal lives with our business lives, but did you know this goes for finances too? It’s important to keep your business finances completely separate from your personal finances. Doing this from the start can help you out tremendously once tax season rolls around. Set up a new bank account that you will only use for business purposes. All business income should go into this account, and all business expenses should come out of it. Track all of your finances so you’ll be prepared for tax season. You might want to consider getting small business accounting software. There are several free options available, such as Wave Accounting. All business expenses, including materials, advertising costs, business cards, and shipping materials, should be tracked.  

4. It's all about the experience.

One of the most important parts to building your business is creating your brand. What is your business about? What is unique about your jewelry business that separates it from the rest? Use this information to build your brand. Create a logo that you will consistently use throughout your products – whether it’s on your business cards, jewelry tags, or marketing materials, your logo should remain the same. Keep all fonts, colors, and graphics relating to your brand consistent. You can pull colors from your logo when packaging orders – for example, if your logo is mainly silver and white, use silver and white tissue paper, boxes, or ribbon. Your brand should be an experience for the customer.  

5. Do what you love, love what you do.

Putting your heart and soul into what you create is one of the most important things to remember when creating pieces to sell. While it’s important to keep in mind what’s trending, try and stay away from only creating pieces because you think they’ll sell. Not creating what you love will eventually take the passion out of your pieces, and soon you won’t have anything unique. As Steve Jobs once said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”  

Here at ZipTape Label ID Systems, we take pride in our high-quality jewelry price tags and labels. For questions regarding our premium jewelry tags, feel free to send us an email at info@ziptape.com or give us a call at 1.866.ZIPTAPE. You can also take a look at the wide variety of jewelry tags we offer.