Have you decided to take jewelry as something more than a hobby? Do you want to sell jewelry online but have absolutely no idea how to start a jewelry business?

If this is the case, then let us tell you 10 things you must know before starting a jewelry business.

1.  Map out a Specific Jewelry Niche for Yourself

Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to do every type of jewelry at the beginning when you are just learning how to start a jewelry business.

There is so much to know in making jewelry that trying to know and do everything at the beginning will be counterproductive.

Instead, choose a specific niche you like and in which you are skilled, then you can expand from there.

Do you want to concentrate on beaded jewelry or metal stamped jewelry?

Or maybe you are interested in leather, clay or glass works.

Start by choosing a specific thing you can to focus on.

When you achieve success in that, you can always branch out to others since you would already know how to start an online jewelry business by then.

It’s also easier to learn how to make a new type of jewelry when you are already good at making some other type.

2. Cover the Basics

Whatever niche you have carved out for yourself, there is the need to know some basic things about all types of jewelry.

Before you learn how to start an online jewelry store, you should make sure you have adequate knowledge of basic things like how to form a simple wire loop or how to open/close a simple jump ring.

These are basic skills you will need to know for almost all the projects you will work on.

3. Buy Only Quality Tools

It is natural to want to cut cost in the beginning when you are just learning how to start a jewelry business.

But this is one cost you shouldn’t try to cut.

Don’t use inferior tools or borrow, rather, buy your own stuff and make sure they are of good quality.

Think of it as an investment which will yield returns in time.

They make the work a lot easier and inspire creativity in your projects.

Just by making jewelry for yourself with these tools, you might find that the cost has been covered because you won’t have to spend so much buying jewelry for yourself or your friends.

4. Know all the Right Terminologies

You should know the exact meaning of head pin, eye pin, 12-gauge wire, 20-gauge wire, findings, and all other jewelry terms.

This will help you a lot when you want to purchase or return any of these materials.

If you have only just started learning how to start a jewelry business, you can search online for articles like beginner’s guide to working with wire and intro to metal stamping.

5. Buy Materials from Local Stores, not Online

The ease of online shopping might push you to shop for jewelry making supplies online.

Online shops like Goody Beads, P&J Tool Supply, Lima Beads, and even Etsy can provide you with any jewelry making materials you will ever need.

Although experienced jewelry maker loves to buy materials this way, it may not be best for you if you’ve only just begun learning how to start a jewelry business.

I recommend that you opt to buy from a local craft store instead so you can actually see and feel what you want to buy so you can decide if you like them.

In the past when my friend was just learning how to start a jewelry store, she ordered a whole pack of 4mm bead and it was useless to her because she didn’t know they would be so tiny.

For a beginner, it is always better when you can see, touch and feel the jewelry materials you want to buy so you can make informed choices.

When you have learned everything about how to start an online jewelry store, you will know what you prefer to work with by their names, and then you can go ahead to order online as much as you want.

#6. Create and Maintain an Organized Work Space

It is common sight to see a crafter turning the whole place upside down while trying to find a particular material.

It can really frustrate both the crafter and their family members when have supplies all over the room.

When you engage in this frequent searched, you lose time and enthusiasm to work.

That is NOT how to start a jewelry business, you should create an organized work space from the very start.

Keep all your jewelry supplies in a room, desk or drawer.

Keep your supplies there and make sure they are organized.

Label them appropriately and divide them inside cheap bins and boxes if you have to.

When you have this workplace set up, you can be sure to be able to reach your materials quickly and easily whenever you need them.

Check out our other blog post on “10 Must Haves For Your Craft Space” here.

#7. Make Use of Social Media to Get Inspiration, Use blogs, craft, and Pinterest

Before you can effectively sell jewelry online, you have to make good use of social media.

That is how to start an online jewelry store, you use social media with Etsy, eBay, or whatever online store you set up.

In addition to helping you drive traffic to your storefront, social media is also a very good source of inspiration.

When you look at what other stores have for sale in online clothing and accessory stores, and on Pinterest, it can get your creative juices flowing.

You can also check pictures on your favorite jewelry blogs to see what you can dig up in the archives.

Crafty is also a great resource, you can find over ten thousand jewelry projects there.

This includes earrings, bracelets, necklaces, etc.

From this large pool of pictures, you will certainly find something you can change around a little to suit you.

You may want to change the color, size or style of something.

Sometimes, you could even find a tutorial about something you didn’t know before.

#8. Take a Jewelry Making Class

There is so much to learn about how to start a jewelry store and even how to make jewelry.

If there is something specific you want to learn jewelry making, you could simply have an experienced instructor show you how to do it instead of wasting time doing trial by error.

You can find these classes on crafty, you may have to pay a small fee but there are a few classes you can take for free.

You can learn from a “beginner level class” or take classes like “wire wrapping” or “soldering” to learn those specific skills.

If you prefer to learn in person, then check the local craft and specialty bead store if there is a class you can join there.

#9. Encourage Yourself

Don’t allow yourself be discouraged when it seems you are not getting it right.

Rather, encourage yourself because it takes time to get through the learning curve of jewelry making.

So, even if your first wire loop looks terrible, when you persevere and keep doing it, you will find that everything is quite easy to do when you have had enough practice.

#10.  Be a Risk Taker

Never let yourself be afraid to do anything you want to do because it looks difficult at first.

Even a complete novice at jewelry making can make some beautiful personalized pieces with a little practice and good tools.

Experiment as much as you can, change the color, size and style of jewelry once you begin to get too good at it, try something else, and challenge yourself!

Whenever you get the time, just try to do something completely new and different and see what it turns out to be.

You may find that you end up with something you really love through experimentation.

So, keep learning, keep experimenting, the sky is only your starting point.

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So that’s all there is in the way of tips on how to start online jewelry business, I wish you best of luck.

When you come up with your pieces, make sure you comment them below so we can all see how good it looks.