Turning your Jewellery hobby into a small business

If you enjoy creating unique pieces of jewellery, you could turn this hobby into your own independent business. Here’s how.

What is the difference between a silversmith and a jeweller?

A silversmith will work with metal and craft beautiful objects such as brooches, necklaces, and rings from silver and other precious materials.

To become a silversmith, you need to be creative, good with your hands, and patient as it can take a while to get the hang of things. You’ll also want the right set of tools for the job as this will make the process much easier and more efficient.

For example, to shape your jewellery you’ll want a set of specially designed blow torches to make the products more malleable when shaping them. You’ll also want some cloths and cleaning solutions to polish your silver jewellery once it has been created. It’s also worthwhile having tools that you can shape the rings or pendants around so that you can get the desired look from them.

How do you take it from a hobby to a business?

Firstly, think about your business plan and the scale of your production. Do you want to sell a few items a week or will you be creating and selling multiple pieces per day? Are they going to be custom made to order or will you make multiples of the same design so that they are ready and waiting to be sold when your customers come along?

Having a clear idea of where you want to take your business, along with a vision of how much it might cost you to get set up, will help you to budget and plan for when your business takes off and you are able to start charging and producing more.

Also think about your branding. Do you want to create your own logo, website, and recognisable packaging? If so, you’re more likely to make more sales and have new potential customers easily find you through word-of-mouth. Think about using eco-friendly packaging so that everyone can benefit from buying your products as well as keeping a close eye on the latest trends to help your website and products stand out.

You’ll also want clear and interesting images of your products so that customers know exactly what they are getting. You could even try organising a photoshoot and have your products modelled so that customers can visualise what they look like when worn.

As your business grows, consider your production methods and how you can refine these to make the most of your time. Can you afford to hire an assistant, or is there a way you can part-make some products so that you’re ahead for when orders come in? This will help you to handle consistent orders better and will see your business grow and flourish.