Make it Your Business

  • Creating systems for your jewelry business

    How making systems for your jewelry business is so freakin’ cool! At almost every point that I have decided to take the time to organize something in my business, I get this itchy feeling that I am NOT DOING ANYTHING. Later, I am always thrilled that I took the time to organize it. I’ll marvel…

    read more

  • Wax Carving for Jewelry classes online!

    This post contains affiliate codes – if you purchase something using this code, I may receive compensation. Learn wax carving for jewelry The jewelry industry in the United States is full of creatives, visionaries and hard workers. Many get their start in a beginning metalsmithing class, but others start off beading, or in wax carving…

    read more

  • How planning and systems help your business

    Systems and Planning Help Your Business Manage Itself Last week in my newsletter*, I was talking about how to manage yourself and what process and systems can help you. Personally, I love the project management system Asana** – it has the right blend of practical and fun, with a visual layout that makes sense to my…

    read more

  • How to make your website sell for you

    Be your own customer on your website Confession time: I like to do consumer research on Reddit. The jewelry-making and general jewelry subreddits especially. Each of these smaller forums have been incredible places to do market research and get a glimpse into how consumers think. I highly recommend doing research this way – there are…

    read more

  • How to plan for your business in case shit happens

    Planning and strategizing in your business You read that right.​ Yes. It is true that “shit happens”, and that thought can bring on it’s own sense of fatalism, a sense that it’s OK to let things go because shit is going to happen anyway. ​But fatalism has never been my strong suit.​ Identify what you…

    read more

  • Grants and Scholarships – alternative ways to fund your business

    Let’s talk about a couple of upcoming funding opportunities! Setting aside my deep personal feelings about how there isn’t nearly enough funding for small businesses. Setting aside that I think many of us should be able to get grants that aren’t onerous to apply for. Setting aside that I recognize that we don’t have nearly…

    read more

  • Debt is Morally Neutral

    So why is it framed as shameful?

    read more

  • What skills should you build for your business?

    Adding more skills to your business toolkit I am not an Excel or Google Sheets genius, I just like using both for my business. A lot. Spreadsheets are fun and I like using them to organize. I didn’t start out loving it. Matter of fact I was thrust into using spreadsheets at a restaurant job…

    read more

  • What you need at different stages of your jewelry business

    Starting off the year with simple checklists and a heap of planning. Every jewelry designer and maker I know starts their business with a few ideas in common: Make things all the time. Make the best, most creative things that they are capable of making. Some enter into it with an idea of how to…

    read more

  • How to accurately label your jewelry, and how NOT to do it

    Step 1 – call your jewelry materials by their name A while ago, I was paging through the jewelry that was served to me by a Pinterest ad. I liked the jewelry, and also noticed that this company* had a nice post about environmentalism and sustainability. They also took a strong stance against gold plating,…

    read more