Selling jewelry online using the catalog

A lot of people ask about how they can use the catalog to sell online as we do not currently offer personalized websites to sell from. So, we have put together some tips for those who want to sell from the catalog to their friend and family online. See more about the catalog at: http://www.myaccessorybusiness.com/catalog/

Selling through email- Attach the catalog in an email to your family and friends asking them to check out the jewelry you are selling. You can make a list of each piece by name and send them a price list, or you can make all pieces one price. Ask them to email you the list of items they would like to order.

Selling on facebook or a website- You are able to send a link to the PDF catalog, currently: http://www.myaccessorybusiness.com/content/MAB_summer2013.pdf Through facebook, your blog, your website, twitter, etc... and also list your prices online or give one price for all and ask your customers to email you with the list of items they would like to purchase from you. 

Giving discounts- You can offer your own discounts to your customers to get them to buy more. For instance, if you sell each piece for $10 each, you can offer a deal such as Buy 2 get one free or 2 for $15 and still make a very nice profit. 

Getting a deposit- If you would like to collect money ahead of time from your customers who are buying from you, you may take their order and ask them to pay you through online payment sources like paypal. You may ask for a deposit of 50% or 100% of the total. It's up to you. This will help you, so that you will have the funds to pay for the items. You may also want to add a shipping fee if you plan on shipping the items to your online customers.

Shipping- If most of your customers are not located near you, you may want to charge a shipping fee for the items so that when you receive your order from My Accessory Business, you will be able to pay for the shipping to them. 

Pricing your items- Most of the items on My Accessory Business are $2.99 each. You can price each item however you would like but we suggest for the best results, you could price your items from between $6-$12. 

For more information about the catalogs and accessories, visit www.myaccessorybusiness.com 

  

New Video Review of My Accessory Business from Kat

Check out this cool video review sent to us by Kat thanking "My Accessory Business" for her sales kit. Thanks Kat! We love to see how much you love My Accessory Business Sales kits and jewelry. I you would like us to post your review of our products, send it to info@myaccessorybusiness.com

The new book "101 Ways To Start a Business For Less Than $1,000"

The new book 101 Ways To Start a Business For Less Than $1,000 is now on Amazon.com. Grab your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATF533K

You do NOT need a Kindle to read the book! You can still read it for free on any computer or tablet using Amazon's free software available here: http://amzn.to/Wlt9kn

In the book, you'll learn wisdom, advice and business strategies from over 100 entrepreneurs, including advice from "My Accessory Business" entrepreneur Megan Andrus. You'll learn both what to do when starting a new business without much money and what not to do.

If you live in the UK you can download it on the UK website here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ATF533K

Naming your business

One of the hardest parts to starting a business is picking a name. Of course, many people use their own name, whether it's both their first and last name or just their last name for the business. But not all businesses use a personal name. Some pick a name that relates well to the type of business or use the type of business like "jewelry" or "accessories" in the business name itself.

Another way to get your creative juices flowing in the name game is to use an online name generator to help you come up with some ideas of what name to use. Check out this website that includes a couple different name generators to play around with to help you find a unique and perfect name for your business, no matter what it is. http://www.wordlab.com/name-generators/

Be sure to check on if the name is being used by another business, if it is copyrighted and if the website domain is available to buy because most likely, you will want a website, if not now, then eventually. Even if your website will just have information about your business, you will still want people to be able to find that information easily by typing in your business name online and finding your website, You don't want the name to fall among a large number of companies with similar names. For instance, when you google the name, make sure that there are not any names that are too similar to your business name. That way, when someone types the name in google, your company will pop up immediately. You don't want your business to come up on the 2nd or 3rd page.

Once you have a name picked out, it's time to design a logo. You can design one yourself or use a graphic designer to help you design a custom logo that will fit your business. Check out www.liquidreddesign.com for examples of logos.

Financing your dream business

A lot of people want to start a business but the main problem is finding the financing to start the business.

- Some ask family and friends to invest in their dream.

- Some start small and use their own money to get started. Which is a great way to start before you jump in to a large investment.

- Some start campaigns like www.kickstarter.com to gain investment money from peers by giving incentives for donating.

-Some use credit cards to aquire everything they need to start up. Some credit cards offer periods of "no interest" for instance 6 months without interest so it gives you time to make up the credit card payment by selling off your investory and paying it back without having to pay the extra interest. Search online for the different credit card options available to you.

- There are online payment solutions for businesses like www.zazma.com that help you pay for your business supplies now and pay later with low interest. Zazma helps buy the items for you through the suppliers you want to buy from, you receive them and you only have to pay back Zazma for the supplies within an amount of time you choose. This is great for buying inventory at wholesale, reselling it, and then paying for the supplies after you sell them without putting money down up front.

Whichever method you use to fund your business, be sure to pay back your loan when it's due, and pay off your credit cards as soon as you can to avoid growing interest fees.

Woman in Business Profile- One With The Water

Alissandra Hurdelbrink enjoys her career as a swim lesson teacher and an important part of the Los Angeles based non-profit organization One With The Water. She enjoys teaching children with special needs because she says "they have this special untouched innocence to them.  They live in their own world and they just need to be understand in that realm. Everyone thinks to change their world to make it more like everyone else. When I think we need to dive into their world and see it from their eyes."

Alissandra grew up overly athletic and constantly taking part in a few sports at a time.  She knew that she wanted to work with children but she wasn't sure what exactly she would be doing.

A couple years ago she started going back to school to earn a BS in Kinesology and knew some type of coaching was in her future.

She had never thought about teaching swim lessons until she was approached by fellow swim lesson teacher, Coach Kenneth. Her first student was on the autism spectrum and she fell in love with him. She says "He had such a great heart and he was definitely "One with The Water". It was his safe place, plus he probably had more fun in the pool than anyone else out there. When you teach kids with special needs new movements it builds on so many parts of their daily functioning.  Improves motor skills, coordination and muscle memory.  Like I said it touches base on one aspect out of a thousand."

Alissandra uses the words "incredible and amazing" to describe how she feels when she's teaching kids swimming.  She says, "you are shaping so many aspects of their lives.  It's not just the art of swimming you are touching base on, it's one puzzle piece in a game of a million pieces.  It's pretty incredible to see when a child really starts to understand what they are doing in the water with all the movements. Every child learns at their own pace, but some kids respond at an incredible pace and it's pretty amazing to watch it happen."

As far as anything on the business side of things, Alissandra takes care of most of the scheduling and talking with potential clients.  Together with Coach Kenneth, they go to events and advertise online, newspapers, and more.

She said that keeping the clients coming back is pretty easy for her because the kids have so much fun and really learn so much.  She makes it a point to make learning fun and still make progress with the lesson plan.

For more information about One With The Water, visit www.Onewiththewater.org
www.facebook.com/onewiththewater 

Great tips for starting your own jewelry business

It's good to do a little research on good tips before starting your own business. I've compiled a list of some tips I've gotten from several sources that are useful for those who want to start their own jewelry business. Some of these can be for any business in general and some are more specifically for jewelry businesses:

- Make a Jewelry Business Plan

The Home Jewelry Business Success Tips website states that "a jewelry business plan can boost your success by helping you organize and analyze your goals and define how you'll achieve them. It also encourages you to consider your plan of action for turning your jewelry business dream into reality." Since there are many people hoping to sell jewelry through a home-based jewelry business, having a written plan ensures being set apart from the rest. Include goals in time-frame specific entities such as how much inventory to build up in a specific time frame and projected sales numbers and how you will reach that goal. 

- Buying Jewelry to Sell

Purchase jewelry from wholesale jewelry companies. Create a diverse inventory to suit a variety of customers. Jewelry items may include earrings, necklaces, bracelets or jewelry sets with matching earrings and necklaces. My Accessory Business offers wholesale priced jewelry in sales kits that include a variety of jewelry to perfect to re-sell. www.MyAccessoryBusiness.com

- Pricing Inventory

Pricing of the inventory in a jewelry business is directly tied to the business's success. Price pieces according to the price your paid for the piece. Avoid pricing jewelry too high--a common mistake in home-based jewelry businesses. Price the piece competitively, but allow enough room for profit. On the other hand, jewelry that is priced too low may give off the wrong impression to consumers. Consider the "projected value" a piece of jewelry has on a customer to further determine pricing.

- Get the word out!

Create fliers, brochures and business cards to give out to those who might be interested in purchasing from your in-home jewelry business. Include pictures of your samples in on your fliers and brochures. Ask your friends and family members to tell others about your business. Many of their friends and coworkers may be interested in unique gifts.

- Online sales vs. store sales

There are many ways in which to sell jewelry. The Internet is a growing force in the jewelry business world, but home "parties" where the seller presents jewelry to families and friends are also common. Flea markets and craft fairs are another venue for jewelry sales, as are local consignment shops. Pick a venue that suits your business plan and model, and take into consideration the amount of profit to be made from each. Flea markets and fairs often charge a fee for the space rental, and consignment shops often take royalties off each product sold. 

In order to stand out and make a dent in the jewelry business, it is wise to set up some kind of online storefront where people can submit orders. This increases the number of customers able to be reached, but it also creates the need for a bigger inventory. Unless you have a sizable amount of jewelry for sale or have an abundance of labor to create it for you, do not open an individual website, as this can lead to customers being disappointed. Online consignment shops may be the best option for those with little inventory. The cost of creating a website ranges from free (if you do it yourself) to hundreds of dollars. If you open a web storefront, be sure to use a quality professional camera to take photos of your creations. Consider having a model wear the pieces rather than just placing them on a blank white background. Experiment with different photo techniques for dramatic effects that can greatly increase web jewelry sales.

Check out this article: "What is The Best Thing About Being An Entrepreneur?"

Check out this article: "What is The Best Thing About Being An Entrepreneur?" by Hearpreneuer.com

Read the responses about what people like about being an entrepreneuer and send your replies and "likes"