In today’s time, many talented people are looking for an opportunity to start up their own businesses and use their skills to create something new.
We live in a world of globalization, innovation, and entrepreneurship, but striving in a market full of creative and driven professionals is not an easy task.
The main rule to starting a business is to deeply understand the area and the market you are about to venture into.
The jewelry industry, in particular, is booming rapidly, both on a large and a small scale, and established brands coexist with new labels and independent designers.
What does it take to make it in the jewelry business? Today, we are covering the steps you need to take to start working in this sophisticated and competitive industry.
To begin with, you should:
1. Know Your Skills
Jewelry is not an easy market to work in. You need to have a solid base of education and excellent capabilities to make it in this field.
Firstly, you should have good jewelry designing and crafting skills. This is particularly important in the early stage of your business when you may have to do everything by yourself.
So the first step toward building your jewelry business is to determine if you have the needed skills to bring your ideas to life.
If you don’t, you can start learning or associate with a partner that meets these basic requirements.
2. Know Your Market
The next step toward starting and developing your jewelry business is understanding your market.
Many highly talented individuals and brands face difficulty finding success in a saturated market because so many other established and new companies cover many needs and opportunities.
Find out who the leading players are and your competition, and even ask for advice from people in the industry. After thoroughly studying your market, you can choose one of these two paths:
Have a New Concept
To have a voice and a place in your market, you need to create something unique, whether a new product, a new approach, a unique technique, or a particular brand and positioning.
Find what makes you one of a kind, and see if there is an audience for what you have to offer.
Start by asking yourself why people would buy from your brand instead of your direct competitors.
What do you have to offer? When you pinpoint what your “it” factor is, you will be in an excellent place to start, communicate better and build your brand.
Wait for a Window of Opportunity
Waiting for a business opportunity is a rather challenging and time-consuming option. So instead of creating something new, you can choose to wait for an opportunity to rise.
Sometimes you identify that opportunity at an early stage, or you even find loopholes in the market and make that opportunity yourself.
So it all comes down to your talent, knowledge of the market, and sense of opportunity.
Are you going to focus on precious, semi-precious stones, or both?
However, in this case, you’ll need a good long-term plan to build your brand beyond the product or trend that got you started and to remain relevant.
Also, you may be surpassed by larger brands who identify the same opportunity as you and have better marketing, production, and distribution resources.
3. Target Audience
Once you know your market, you are in the right place to identify your audience.
Who are you trying to reach? Are you aiming for a younger or older audience? Are you selling luxury or affordable products? Is there a demand for what you’re selling?
Targeting your audience allows you to use your resources more efficiently and adjust quickly to changes in demand. If your target audience is very specific, then you are reaching a niche:
Niche markets
When a niche is significant enough to make a business sustainable or offer a window of opportunity, specializing in a particular product or need may be a good idea.
In the vast jewelry market powered by global communications, online selling, and significant demand, where exclusivity is so appreciated, targeting well-identified niches with a well-defined strategy and business plan may be a good idea to start building a brand and opening doors in the industry.
The challenge of a niche is that you should excel at your proposal, so make sure that there is demand for your expertise or that you get all it takes to respond to a particular need of the niche market you chose.
4. Pricing
Now that you know your audience, you are in a good place to take another critical item: pricing.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to find the right price for your necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and pendants; adjustments may be needed along the way.
To establish your price, you need to know your operating costs and have a clear strategy.
Will you be selling online? Will you have a space of your own, or will your products be sold in department or specialized stores? What will your retail and wholesale prices be?
All these aspects count when establishing your price.
If you set your price too high, you may put off your customers, but if the price is set too low, you may come to a loss if you don’t manage to sell in large amounts.
The right price will give you the right balance.
5. Brand Name
Naming your brand is a critical part of creating a successful jewelry business.
A brand name tells other people what your product and company are all about, so it should fit and clearly reflect what you want to express and do with your brand.
There are certain aspects to consider when choosing a brand’s name:
Easy to Pronounce
You should make sure that the name you want is easy to pronounce and understand, preferably in more than one language, in case you are aiming for an international market.
A complicated name may create a distance between you and your audience. But on the other hand, a simple, elegant name is also easier to memorize, improving the brand’s recognition.
Cover Future Product Developments
Don’t choose a name that adjusts to a single concept or product.
You may want to include other goods or give your business a different direction, and your name should adapt to your future developments.
Think of a name that could work in the long term, and sustain the test of time.
Color Combination
It would help if you also were careful about your logo’s font, shape, and color.
Is it adjusted to the market? Can it reflect what you aim to communicate with your brand? Does the design match and favor the name you’ve chosen?
Remember, you’re in the jewelry industry.
You can innovate in this aspect, but you should consider what consumers visually associate with a jewelry brand.
A good option is to see what successful brands are doing, identify the aspects you like the most (hues, shapes, font families) and start building your design with those ideas in mind.
6. Marketing
Marketing and communication are keys to developing your business.
The Internet and social media made marketing more instant and accessible, but knowledge and expertise are still requested and highly recommendable, as a poorly designed strategy may compromise your brand.
To devise your marketing strategy, you need to go back to the previous points and establish who you are communicating with, what you are communicating with, and what your budget is.
Based on this information, you can choose the communication channels – print media, advertisement, banners, pamphlets, social marketing, online marketing, sponsoring, partnerships, etc. – and target them to your audience.
Customer Care
A critical part of a marketing and business strategy is never underestimating the client’s experience.
Marketing first brings the customer to you, but it is your job to keep them happy and to create customer loyalty.
A good selling experience brings precious positive word of mouth and new clients through recommendation, which is more valuable than any ad campaign, so make sure to give your clients the best possible experience.
Are you planning to start your own jewelry business? Did you find this article helpful? What do you think a jewelry startup must have to succeed?
Please share your experience with us. Send us an email.
