SELLING THEIR JEWELRY

Dear Jellybean,

Okay, we really like making really nice earrings, necklaces, etc, and usually we just sell them to like, other girls at school and stuff, but my mom's friend saw one piece i was wearing and thought swe could actually make some money off these. So obviously, me and my friend were thinking about making more and selling to more people, but the problem we had was how we were going to go about actually finding people to buy them. Would we go door to door? Or stand in front of like, a wal-mart like people who are fundraising? Maybe you have some ideas on how we can get our business off the ground? Thanks so much!
-Chandler and Mandy

Dear Chandler and Mandy,

I have some ideas - and a few tips about what not to do, as well.

Don't go door-to-door, because it's just too dangerous. You never know what kind of nut you could encounter.

Don't stand outside stores selling your stuff either, because you could get in trouble for trespassing. Even the big stores don't want any competition from people standing right on their "front porch".

My suggestion is, start small. Have a "jewelry party" for a few friends, and offer your goods for sale at bargain prices. Give your jewelry creations to your moms, and ask them to see if their friends or office mates are interested in buying them. Ask for feedback from everyone who sees your stuff, so you can find out what people like/don't like about your jewelry. Also take note of which pieces are popular, and which don't get bought. That will give you clues to which items you should make more of, and which you shouldn't waste your time with.

When you've got a few sales going, and a good idea of how sell-able your jewelry pieces are, take to the Web. Get yourself an account on Ebay - go to this Web page for their tips on getting started as a seller. If your items are cute enough, and enough people see them, you could do pretty good business online.

Good luck - I wish you great success with your business!