Times in the world have indeed changed drastically. Office jobs are no longer coveted, with people opting to start a business from the comfort of their own homes. There are plenty of “we started our business in the garage” when talking to people who currently run large businesses. You, too, can take that route, though it requires a lot of hard work and research.
Beginner’s luck is always welcomed, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind when beginning your artificial business at home. The number of startups that fail within the first three years is well into the 90 percent. If you don’t want to be part of the stats, it’s best to arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can. Here, we give you tips to keep in mind as you start your journey into becoming a business owner.
What is artificial jewelry?
There are a couple of ways to start artificial jewelry right from the comfort of your house. Before we get into it, we need first to understand what artificial jewelry is. The term refers to a jeweler made from cheap metals and materials. Examples of metals that were commonly used include copper, brass, cadmium, nickel, and lead. The other word used to refer to the same thing is a costume or fashion jewelry. Artificial jewelry is ultimately an imitation that carries its benefits.
For one, jewelers can experiment with different designs and trends that can’t work with fine jewelry. Expensive raw materials drastically increase the costs of making a piece of jewelry. Not only is it costly to produce, but only a small fraction of society would also be able to afford them. Creativity and playing around with various materials, and having an inexpensive alternative to bring their creation to life, is welcomed.
There is the misconception that artificial jewelry is squarely left for people who can’t afford their pricey counterparts. However, that’s not the case. Fashion models both on the runway and in magazines typically use artificial jewelry because of their price. Designers can’t afford to spend tens of thousands of dollars on jewelry for seasonal shows. Unless otherwise stated, celebrities also wear fashion jewelry on the red carpet. They might be able to afford the jewelry, but many frugal and take the cheaper right; god forbid a celebrity gets spotted wearing the same jewelry twice.
The other thing to note about artificial jewelry is that it doesn’t mean that the material is of low quality because it’s less expensive. Technology has advanced, the jewelry making process has evolved, and creating excellent pieces have become a lot easier. That way, you can make jewelry in the comfort of your own home. The good thing is that you can get good quality raw materials. What’s even better is that you can keep up with each season’s trends without emptying your bank account.
How to start an artificial jewelry business at home?
Let’s look at a couple of things you can do to get started.
Purchase stock
Getting started in your jewelry business requires an initial investment. With about $5,000, you can purchase plenty of stock to get the company off the ground. That means that you have to source a place to get the jewelry. There are a lot of options available, and that can be overwhelming for a newbie. What’s going to help you is looking for websites (like this one, of course) that share a list of companies you can consider working with. We’ve looked into the top companies for various materials that you can reach out to.
The next step is to take professional-like photos of your jewelry selection. The images should be clear so that people can see the jewelry. Use various angles was appropriate, and if you have to, use an everyday item to show the jewelry’s actual size. You don’t want to mislead people; the last thing you want is losing customers this early in the business.
From there, share the images on your socials. An excellent place to start is accounts, as you already have a following. Alternatively, you can create a separate account for your business. More on this later.
Become a reseller
If you’re looking to start an artificial jewelry business with zero investment, then you can consider reaching out to an existing business. Ask the brand if you can sell jewelry on their behalf for a small profit. You’ll need to have an online presence for this to work, and we’ll talk about how you can build upon that. How reselling works is that when someone wants to purchase something from you, they make the payment to you that you then forward to the seller, remembering to keep your cut based on what you’ve agreed on. After receiving the payment, ask the seller to ship the item to the buyer instead.
This business model is called drop shopping, and it’s popular with those who wish to start a business but don’t want to purchase or keep stock. It is essentially a business model where the business owner, you, doesn’t have to buy, stock, and store inventory. Just as mentioned, when a customer purchases an item, the business owner purchases the item from the supplier, who then ships it directly to the customer.
If you’re short for cash, then you can take the drops shipping route. However, just as with any business, there is some downside to this approach. For starters, dropshipping is relatively popular, so there are many people in the online space fighting to get noticed. For that reason, many people are forced to drastically lower their prices to get people through the visual door that is the homepage on one’s website. With low-profit margins, going out of business can happen relatively fast.
The opportunity to thrive comes when you’ve established a loyal following and your moving products. If they are unique enough, the people will always come to you and are more than happy to purchase artificial jewelry at a price you see fit. That’s why you must create a one-of-a-kind brand that appeals to your niche demographic. Only then will you start to see gains.
Apart from the initial low profits, people face drop shipping when the supplier drops the ball. It’s hard tracking third-party shipping service to know if your customers got the right product, the condition it arrived in and if it was done on time. When sourcing for a supplier, ensure that your communication is in sync. That way, if a customer complains, you can work on getting them a refund or exchanging the product. The process needs to be seamless from start to finish if you’re to maintain a good reputation in the jewelry industry.
Shipping is equally a complicated process since it’s likely that the supplier has outsourced their shipping. If you’re selling delicate pieces or anything handcrafted, you’re better personally ensuring that shipping is done right. In that case, dropshipping might not be a good fit for you.
Making artificial jewelry
So far, we’ve only talked about the option of purchasing artificial jewelry from suppliers. If you have the heart and creativity for it, you can equally create your brand from scratch. It’s a fantastic option, especially if you have a passion for making jewelry from scratch. For one, you ought to have the skills. Thankfully, tons of articles and videos show you how to make jewelry and what you need to make that happen. An online crash course in jewelry is enough to get you started.
While there’s a lot of merit in making your pieces, you do not recommend that you do this from the jump. If you’re looking to make cash immediately, you might want to start purchasing unique pieces that you love and think will sell. During your spare time, you can develop designs and prototypes that you can run through a small group of people. Based on the feedback, you can proceed to scale up.
However, if you have time, then you can make your jewelry from scratch. You will require sufficient knowledge of the tools and the materials required. Based on what you’re making, take time to learn all that you need to get. Some of the things you need include needles, scissors, yarns, artificial gemstones, a casting machine, and more. You can take a jewelry-making class or purchase jewelry. Making sets tailored too are made to make your work easier. Even when you do things right, there’s always the risk that people won’t love what you make. To avoid disappointment, ensure you’ve done sufficient market research before you begin making jewelry.
Establish an online presence
Starting an artificial jewelry business from the comforts of your home does have its limits. You are limited to marketing your products online since people can’t come to your home to check out your jewelry. Establishing an online presence, mostly if you weren’t on social media before, can be frustrating before things pick up. If you’re new to it all, you should spend time reading articles about the various marketing opportunities on different online platforms.
However, what’s great is that platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have made it easier to market your products. Aspects such as choosing your demographic and adding geolocation, meaning that your product gets to show up on your target market feeds and timeline. Overall, it means setting aside a budget for social media marketing. You don’t have to start big; even a few dollars are more than enough to get your business off the ground. Not sure you can handle to social media sphere? Consider hiring someone tech-savvy to do it on your behalf.
Maintain high ethical standards to keep customers
People will keep coming back if they feel that you’re trustworthy, and the quality of your jewelry is consistently high. Getting a customer through the door is quite hard, and you have to do everything in your power to keep them coming back. Centuries on, word of mouth remains the largest asset in your marketing toolkit. It’s crucial to be mindful of what people say about your brand because it can make or break it.
Let’s say you’re also selling artificial jewelry for ladies with smaller wrists. A woman who gets her hands on one of your fantastic bracelets will immediately tell her circle she’s finally found a company that addresses her needs. Those around her will likely ask you for the website or if they have average-sized bracelets and jewelry. This circle will then purchase products, and they tell others about your brand. The kind of loyalty that comes word-of-mount is more powerful than any advertising done. That’s because we take recommendations from people we trust. Maintain high ethical standards, making sure that your customer service makes customers feel like royalty.
Build a team
Starting a business from home tends to be a one-person show. However, as your brand expands, consider increasing the size of your team. Handling accounts and orders can be easy at first because of low demand, but as you continue to grow, you’ll need more help. Consider the areas that you could expand your team so that the process from start to finish, from the order to the shipment arriving in your customer’s hands, is seamless. It might pinch at first to pay staff, but investing in exceptional human resources is indeed worthwhile.
Conclusion
The journey to creating a business from scratch can feel daunting, but it need not be. Come up with a timebound plan, allowing for learning along the way.
While it’s not talked about much, trust your gut and always back it up with facts throughout the process. Being too focused on “this is how things should go” causes people to miss great opportunities.
Overall, we recommend that you take your time setting up the business so that there are no missing parts when you finally launch. What’s even better is getting a mentor. Consider reaching out to a local business person that you admire and ask them for coaching.
All the best!
