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Making sure you price your jewelry the right way is probably one of the most discussed topics by jewelry artisans wanting to know “how much should I sell my jewelry for?”

And it’s tough.

You have to work out what parts went into your piece, how much they cost and how long you spent creating it.

So for most people they figure out something like:

(Cost of parts * 2) + (a dollar amount for my time)

In this article I’m going to explain to you why that’s dead wrong and you need to be thinking about quite a bit more when you price your jewelry.

Firstly just to clarify who I am and why you should listen to me, my name is Gary Capps and I am the owner of the specialist inventory and pricing software Bead Manager Pro.  I’ve personally been lucky enough to work with thousands of small business owners just like you to manage their jewelry businesses and get them tracking things the right way.

Christine has done some work with us before and wanted me to share some of the knowledge that we have gained through working with our customers throughout the last 5 years we have been running and bring that to you here in her great blog.

Now in this article we are going to be primarily looking at pricing but I want you to think long and hard as you read this how it applies to your market.

If you don’t know what your market is then that’s one of the very first steps you need to take because if you don’t know who you are selling to then you have no way of knowing how you can price anything because handmade jewelry is a “love purchase”.

Lets face it, it’s not a practical “must have” item, it’s something that people love and that’s why they buy it and that gives us some great flexibility on pricing because the first thing I want you to know is that “Your jewelry is worth what you can get someone to pay for it”.

Working Out Your Material Costs.

So lets take a look at the pricing model I listed above and break down why that’s wrong.

Firstly, multiplying your part costs by 2.  Now is that right or wrong?

In this instance it could depend.  There is no way you should just be taking the cost of your parts adding them up and then adding labor on top, you’re simply giving your stock away.

I would suggest that you have at least two or three different markups on your inventory depending on your market.

If you are selling to retailers then obviously your markup on your actual stock will have to be lower because they have to make a profit on your jewelry when they sell it, so keep it to around 2 times the cost of the material.

If your selling it directly to your customers then make your markups higher, even up to 5 times if you are buying in bulk and getting a great discount.  Take advantage of that and put that markup into the finished piece.

And, I can’t stress enough at this point; you obviously need to know EXACTLY what you used to create you piece.  If you don’t know what went in there you can’t possibly work out what the cost of all the pieces were so keep track of your materials.

How To Value Your Time

This is the bit that most people get so dead wrong.  They workout roughly how long it took to create a piece, assign themselves an hourly rate and add that to the finished piece.

So, if it took an hour to make a piece and you assigned yourself an hourly rate of $20 per hour (for example) then they will markup the cost of the parts and just add $20.

This is so wrong.

If you are in anyway serious about making even some money for your jewelry you have to know what your time is worth.

Have you even considered your overheads?

Over’ya’whats…??

The overheads for your business;  electric, phone, advertising, Etsy fees, tools, training etc etc.

What about the time you spend on admin doing paperwork and ordering new materials?

“But I love ordering new materials, looking at all the new techniques and shopping down my local bead store”, I hear you say.

And that’s great, I applaud that, you should love what you do.

But I also believe you should get paid for doing what you love.

And to know that you need to know the figures.

So, write down:

·         How much income would you like to make per year? (#1)

• How many weeks will you work a year? (#2)
• How many hours will you work a week? (#3)
• How many hours do you spend on admin a week? (#4)

Then you can calculate what your hourly rate SHOULD BE by doing this calculation.

Income (#1) / weeks (#2) * [Work hours (#3) – Admin hours (#4)]

Try it and you will be surprised at what you come up with as your new hourly rate and we haven’t even got started on the overheads yet.

So What About The Overheads For Your Business?

Even if your small you still have overheads.  You still bought tools right?  You still use electric to run your soldering iron right?  You still need to use the phone or the Internet to call suppliers right?

All these things are a direct cost attributable to your business.

So again write down what your costs are every week and tally them up.  If you direct overheads per week are $20 and you are working 20 hours per week on your business you need to add an extra dollar an hour to the figure you already worked out that your time is really valued at.

If you don’t do this you’re really running your business blind with no idea of the true costs involved for creating your beautiful jewelry pieces.

It’s obviously no-where near as easy to work out the weekly cost of your tools because they’re not a weekly purchase so that’s why in Bead Manager Pro we have automated this whole process so you can enter in some simple figures to work out your entire hourly rate including overheads and tools.

So What Is Your Jewelry Piece Worth?

Well, I already gave you the definitive answer at the start of this article.

“Your jewelry is worth what someone will pay for it”

But what you must know if you are to run a successful business is “what did your jewelry COST in the first place to make?”

If you know that then you have all the knowledge and bargaining power you need when your talking to a customer because you know that if you sell it below a certain price then you are losing money, and that’s no way to run a business, even one you love.

And remember, people love to buy jewelry; they don’t need to buy jewelry, so sell them with compliments not facts and figures.

Sell yourself and your story, your great work and what makes you and your jewelry unique.

I hope that’s given you all some great food for thought anyway and I would love to hear your feedback below.

If you fear competition and think the handmade market is just too saturated, read on.

When planning to sell your handmade goods online, there are a lot of things to think about, and competition is always one of the considerations.  If you've  been taking the idea of "nicheing it down" to heart, then you might be making the big mistake that many of us insecure creative types make.

The mistake is this:  Thinking you need to find an "untapped" market where you have no competition.

Contrary to popular belief, seeing that others are selling items you want to sell should warm your heart.

Why?  Competition is a good thing because you can....

1) Confirm that people are buying in that niche market

2) Learn about the market much more quickly

3) Grow your business much more quickly

Likewise, no competition is very very bad.  The pioneer days of the internet are over so its unlikely you'll be the first person to think of selling to an untapped market.

We'll discuss some ways to leverage the competition  in detail so you don't make the mistake of choosing to make items that will have no takers, and instead choose a niche and devise some strategies where your business can thrive in the competitive environment.

Confirming That There Are Buyers

Competition usually means people are spending money.

Did you watch my Master Class Video on market research?  If you did, you might remember that one of the criteria of a good niche is that people are spending money online.

How can you tell if people are spending money?

Advertising dollars being spent is a pretty good sign.  If you see others spending money on advertising, and see the same ads over a period of months, then you can surmise that the advertisers are making money.  Magazine ads for example typically need to be purchased 3 months at a time so if you see a company advertising for more than 6 months, then you can be sure the ad is creating revenue for the company.  If lots of advertisers are selling similar products, you can bet that there are enough customers to warrant it.

Ditto for online advertising.  Online advertising dollars being spent is a good indicator.  An even better indicator is proof positive that people are buying.  One way to figure that out is by using the eBay advanced search technique, or scrutinize the data on CraftCount.

If no money is being spent, then whether you've spent years building an infrastructure or whether you are just starting out, you need to bail. Get out and don't look back. Life is too short to fight windmills like Don Quixote.

(I know Don Quixote fighting windmills is a romantic story - “Dreeeeeam - the impossible dreeeeeam...!” But in real life the impossible dream sucks. I prefer the attainable dream. Not as poetic, but a lot less work.)

Gathering Market Intelligence

Gotta love the internet and how far it's come. Internet marketing is starting to mature and technology has caught up so there is a buffet of free tools out there that give absolutely unbelievable intelligence about the market.

Types of intelligence you can gather:

• How well others search engine optimize (so you know how hard you have to work to beat them)
• Which products are hot and which are flopping
• How much money is being spent on advertising (to get a gauge of market size)
• What others do well (and not so well) so you can find holes in the market you can fill

Gathering the intel isn't too hard.  A quick look at a web pages source code can sometimes tell you the keywords they are trying to rank for in the search engines.  Checking the Alexa rank tells you approximately how popular a website is.  A look at an Etsy shop will show you what others have bought (although not for how much).  A check on Google Adwords will show you approximately how much advertising is being done for a specific keyword term and how much search volume there is.  And oftentimes forums and blogs can be great resources to find out what customers are happy (and not so happy) with.

Using the Competition to Grow Your Business More Quickly

One of the biggest reasons people fail in online businesses is thinking about the world as a “dog eat dog” kind of place.

The more generous giving person will always capture the trust and hearts of others – and reap the benefits.

Competitors are best viewed as potential partners down the road. You can get to know them and leverage their influence to increase yours. Combining influence goes a long way towards increasing traffic if you can find good influential partners.

Here are just a few ways to partner with your competitors. (There are actually many, many more if you start thinking creatively.)

• Trade articles (or blog posts) with them. Web content for you and a link back for them and vice versa.
• Create referral relationships – for example if you repair jewelry, you could partner with someone that gets requests but isn't interested in repairing jewelry.
• Barter services to save time and money. For example, if another businessperson hates writing, but you love it, you might write for her and she could give you some service that she is good at in return.
• Create contests together.
• Mastermind together to talk about what's working and what's not working. This way you don't need to do all the trial and error yourself.
• Get advertising on their site to leverage their traffic.
• Advertise on their mailing lists. You can often get dirt cheap ad space on a newsletter mail-out.

Conclusion

Clearly competition trounces no competition and you can see now why instead of running away from competing businesses, you should instead thank your lucky stars they are there.  We've looked at how to check for buyers, various ways you can gather intelligence about your market and your competitors, and also a number of ways you can grow your business a lot faster by partnering with others.  Now that you have all this new knowledge, go out there and find some competition and make your handmade business a great one.

Best,

P.S. For 3 more reasons why you should love competition (and a ton of ways you can leverage them to increase business) consider joining Handmade Results Weekly.  This article is a small excerpt from one of the 52 weekly lessons.

About the Author

Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of this jewelry business blog. With a focus on internet marketing and business fundamentals, not wasting time on stuff that doesn't work, and good 'ol commonsense, she loves helping jewelry makers make strides building their successful online businesses.

Never ever try to be everything to everybody.

Have you ever seen "generic" handmade jewelry?

Of course you have.  It's everywhere.  Glass bead earrings.  Handmade beaded necklaces.

Dime a dozen styles without distinction.

And of course low priced because typically sellers who aim to please everybody try to lowball the competition because that's all they really have to distinguish themselves from the thousands of others trying to sell similar generic jewelry.

Or maybe the seller has "product lines" that are vague and unrelated.  Mommy jewelry, religious jewelry, dog jewelry, men's jewelry, and glass bead jewelry are the categories.

Selling low cost generic jewelry or mishmash of styles jewelry lines always seems to smack of desperation.

I know you don't mean to let the desperation show.  You're just trying your darnedest to sell your creations and you're hoping something - anything - will work.

I have news for you.  You can't appeal to "everybody" and be successful.

Vague is never a good branding strategy.

If your products are targeted to “American Women”  you have an impossible job on your hands.  There are so many subgroups, and they all have different needs and desires.

Targeting Obsessive Markets and Markets With a Mission

The easiest way to distinguish yourself is to tightly target either an obsessive niche market or a niche market with a mission.

Obsessive niche markets are ones where people are just crazy enthusiastic about something for the sheer pleasure of it.  Think hobbies and interests.  What distinguishes people from others and makes them unique?  It's often quirky things like collecting "elephant" related items.  Or being an avid golfer or an avid comic book collector.  Maybe it's quilting or cats or a certain breed of dog that they spend oodles of money on.

These are markets that love buying items related to their obsession -- and often their friends and family have no clue what to gift them other than something related to their obsession.

Here's an example of an obsession related jewelry niche -- women who knit.

There is absolutely no logical reason in this day and age to knit.  Yarn costs a fortune and you're certainly not saving any money by knitting, yet hand knitting is a big niche industry.  Women who love knitting buy expensive magazines, specialty yarns and knitting needles, and knitting becomes part of their identity.

If you sell to "American Women who love knitting" you can make knitting related jewelry like sweater brooches, knitting specific charm bracelets, and goofy altered art jewelry with knitting related images.

See the image to the left? It's a "shawl pin" and I found it on a site called "The Shawl Pin Store".   Now there's a targeted business.  (Of course do your market research well before you choose any niche!)

So what's a niche market with a mission?

A "niche market with a mission" is the classic "problem" based market.  Someone has a problem, and needs a solution.  Maybe they need special jewelry because they are getting married.   The wedding market is the classic "niche market with a mission" for jewelry.

If you sell to "American Women who are getting married in the next 6 months" you can be focused and seek out brides to be on wedding blogs, wedding forums, wedding magazines, and wedding industry trade shows.  You can write helpful articles with wedding tips and what wedding jewelry goes best with different wedding dress styles.

See how narrowing your focus makes all your decisions about producing and marketing jewelry so much easier?

Paradoxically, narrowing your focus will also make you a lot more money too.

Conclusion

If you are one of those sellers who thinks "everyone" is your market I challenge you to rethink that strategy.  As Dr. Phil says, "How's that working for ya?"

Best,

P.S. Are you nicheing it down?  Share your experience and your site links below in the comments

About the Author

Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of HandmadeResults.com. She's "niched it down" to handmade jewelry sellers that want to sell more online.  For step by step lessons to turn your jewelry business into a money-making machine you are excited to work at instead of a time, money, and energy draining endeavor, try out our Handmade Results Weekly Course for only a $1

Nowadays anyone can find out all sorts of information about people and markets for free so there is no excuse for not doing your due diligence.

In a sec I'll show you one of the many techniques you can use to do market research for possible jewelry markets.

First, let's back up and talk about why you need to market research.

As I've said before -- and I'll say over and over again -- narrowing your market is one of the keys to choosing a target market.

Trying to sell to "everyone" never works.

(By the way... notice I said "choosing" a target market.  Most people make what they like then try to figure out who they are selling to.  That's backwards.  Do your research first and make sure you cater what you make to what the market is already actively searching to buy.  That's if you ever want to be successful that is).

Watch the video below to discover how to use eBay search as a market research tool.

Note: This technique is not the only tool you should be using to look at whether a market is viable or not.  You should stack up lots of different clues before you make the decision to throw yourself into any niche market.

Steps to the eBay Completed Listings Market Research Technique

Go to eBay and login.  If you don't have an account, you'll need to create one.
In the eBay search box, enter in the keyword phrase you are researching.
Click "advanced search"
Check off the "completed listings" box
Click "Search"
You'll now be able to scroll through the listings and see what has sold and what hasn't.

This technique is just one of many you can use to see if a market is viable.  You should also do other research and make sure you have all your bases covered before you put in time and energy into any niche market.

Best,

P.S. Handmade Results Weekly will show you exactly what makes up a good niche and shares dozens of techniques so you can evaluate with certainty.  There are certain criteria that need to be fulfilled to make a market worth entering, and I'm not going to lie to you... jewelry is tricky.  Market choice and product choice is crucial to your success and I would love to see you succeed   Try out Handmade Results Weekly for only $1.

About the Author

Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of HandmadeResults.com. With a focus on internet marketing and business fundamentals, not wasting time on stuff that doesn't work, and good 'ol commonsense, she loves helping jewelry makers make strides building their successful online businesses.

If you hate marketing but love helping people then you'll love forum marketing.

What's Forum Marketing?

Forum marketing is simply marketing on forums, in groups, and marketing on other interactive social networking community sites.

I call it "forum marketing" because forums are the easiest to explain, but you can use a similar strategy in other social networking groups too.

What's a forum?  A forum is an online discussion board where you can post comments, ask questions, and share opinions.  Messages are at least temporarily archived so you can go back days, weeks, months, even years later and keep adding to the discussion.   Typically forums are about a specific topic or set of topics of interest to the group.

The key to marketing without selling on a forum is to...

1. Choose forums that are targeted to your niche.  Don't waste too much precious time on Etsy forums for example if you sell wedding jewelry.

Why?

People that sell on Etsy go on Etsy forums.

People that are getting married go on wedding forums.  Spend the majority of your time with your market, not with your peers.

Likewise, if you sell supplies to handmade business owners, the Etsy forums are a very smart place to spend your time.

2. Choose forums and groups that are busy and have good readership. I can't emphasize enough that your time is precious.  It takes just as much time to post on a slow forum as on a busy one.  Go where you get the most exposure for your time spent.

3. Don't Sell. The best way to market in forums and groups is to not really "market" at all.  The stink of a money-hungry salesperson  can be smelt a mile away and is looked upon none too kindly.  Instead, become part of the community and be helpful, inquisitive, and supportive.  Luckily for you that's much more fun and much easier.  Paradoxically, it's also much more effective since people hate being sold to, but they love to buy.

What Do I Talk About If I'm Not "Selling"?

If you're new to the whole concept of  forum marketing you might be wondering, "What do I talk about on group sites after I join in and introduce myself?"

Here's what I recommend:

1. Read First

At first just read what everyone else is talking about and sort of get a feel for the community.  Each community is different and has a different dynamic.

After getting a thorough feel for the community, find a few posts that you have an opinion about and post an opinion or ask a question.

2. Post a Little at First

Return every couple days, make a post or two, and keep reading what others are talking about.   Why?  Because that is what's natural.  That's how a real person who is part of a community behaves.  They hang out and read first.  Then they add in their two cents to posts that interest them.  As time goes on, they become more and more a part of the community.

3. After a Few Weeks Answer Questions

After you have been there a few weeks and have made a dozen posts or so, you might want to start answering questions that would make you sound like somewhat of an authority and sound really helpful.  Not like a know-it-all, but like someone trying to help out others.

What you shouldn't do is promote yourself blatantly, start making tons of posts all at once, or ask leading questions that aren't helpful.

4. Add In a Link to Your Site in Your Signature Line

After that, continue doing more of the same.  After  a few weeks and a dozen or two posts it will be fine to start adding a link to your site in the signature line.  I wouldn't do it before that because not having a signature link at first is also what's usually natural.  When you do add a signature link, it will be added to all your previous posts too.

5. Keep on Being a Part of the Community

Hopefully by that time you will start to feel like part of the community yourself, and you'll no longer worry what to post about.

Always remember that on the forums, the best way to promote your online storefront and yourself is to not promote.  Be yourself, be helpful, be likeable, and post truly helpful posts, and you'll be rewarded with clickthrus and sales over time.

When to Expect Results

You might be wondering how long this strategy will take before you start to see some results.

There are a lot of factors at play here, so it's hard to say.

A month is probably a good estimate.

How effective your forum marketing turns out to be depends on many things, including...

• How well you integrate into the community (because people buy from those they like and trust)

• How targeted your forum and group choices are

• How targeted your products are to the market

Targeting Your Products to Your Market is Key

No matter what, your results will ultimately depend on how targeted your products are to the market.  If your products are targeted to "American Women"  you have an impossible job on your hands.  There are so many subgroups, and they all have different needs and desires.

Narrow your focus, sell very specific targeted items that people are already asking for, and you get results a lot faster.

Let's take Narnia inspired jewelry for example.  If you become active on a Narnia forum, and you sell Narnia inspired jewelry, you might get tons of sales earlier because there are people actively looking for those specific products and can't find them.  I know this because I saw people asking where to get custom Narnia jewelry on a Narnia forum while doing some research.

Conclusion

It's definitely possible to have a successful business without active selling.  Marketing without selling becomes easy with the right strategy and forum marketing is definitely a good way to build up some steam over time.  Give it a try and let me know your results

Best,

P.S. This question came from a 30 Minute Jewelry Webshop P.R.O.M.O. customer who wanted clarification on one of the techniques taught in the guide.  For more on this strategy and 4 others, as well as how to get all this promotin' done in less than 30 minutes a day, check out the 30 Minute Jewelry Webshop P.R.O.M.O. guide for yourself http://www.handmaderesults.com/promo

About the Author

Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of HandmadeResults.com. With a focus on internet marketing and business fundamentals, not wasting time on stuff that doesn't work, and good 'ol commonsense, she loves helping jewelry makers make strides building their successful online businesses.

Do you have a question or comment about Marketing Without Selling?  Comment below...

If you've been struggling with your handmade business and want some hard-core guidance on how to make your business work online, you'll be as excited as I am to know we are accepting new registrations!

Click the image to learn more

Best,

P.S. I'm not sure how long I'll keep this course open to new registrations.  You might want to get on this if you are interested.  If the numbers prove too hectic I'll be closing registration again.  Click here to go to Handmade Results Weekly now.

About the Author

Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of HandmadeResults.com. With a focus on internet marketing and business fundamentals, not wasting time on stuff that doesn't work, and good 'ol commonsense, she loves helping jewelry makers make strides building their successful online businesses.

Best,

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Free Webinar Planned - Market Research for Selling Products Online

We're going to hold a webinar on the topic of market research.
I know, not sexy, but guess why most businesses set themselves up to fail?

In my opinion, many businesses set themselves up to fail from the get go because they are

1. Trying to sell things which either just aren't  in demand, or...
2. They aren't positioning their products properly to sell to the right people.

Make sense?

So how do you find out whether a product is going to sell, or whether you are positioning your product properly?

You got it! Market research!

Now you're probably thinking, how do I do market research?

Luckily it's super easy to do market research online.

The Handmade Results Weekly course goes into a lot of depth and of course I recommend you join when we reopen, but this free training will definitely get you started even if you don't feel the full-on 52 weeks is doable for you.

I'm still not sure when we run the training but I'm aiming for this week, with a webinar replay available for anyone who can't make it live.

Get Your Market Research Questions Answered

To prepare the best training I need your questions.

Go ahead and ask me your questions on this survey and I'll incorporate it into the free training

Are you interested in this free webinar? sign up for Handmade Business Bites to get on our mailing list and stay informed on the upcoming webinar.

Best,

Here's what we need to know before we go ahead and take on this huge undertaking again. (Don't get me wrong, I love teaching this stuff! I just want to know if this is where I should concentrate to give you what you need most)

Best,

P.S. - If you are a visitor who just wandered by and you are interested in our course and products, you'd better get on our Handmade Business Bites mailing list to get updates.  You don't want to miss out!  Click here to get on our mailing list.

P.S.S. Not sure if you want to be on our mailing list?  Visit the Business-Bites Newsletter archives to see what we've been talking about.

About the Author: Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of HandmadeResults.com.   With a focus on internet marketing and business fundamentals, not wasting time on stuff that doesn't work, and good 'ol commonsense, she loves helping jewelry makers make strides building their successful online businesses.

Have a comment about Handmade Results Weekly?   Share your thoughts and questions below:

If you like this - and I know you'll love it - you'll want to check out all his free product photography tutorials on his blog Via U! Photography.

I'm learning so much about using window lighting for as your lighting source.  I had no idea it was so easy.  No more fiddling with light bulbs for me

Tutorial: A $6 Solution to Jewelry Photography

by Mariano ~Via U! Photography

Silver is like a mirror, it shows whatever is around. The light and white paper will reflect on the metal making it look light and shiny.

Pendant, a courtesy of Roxy's Jewelry

If you pull the white card away from the window it will create a dark area that will also reflect on the jewelry.

Then you can play placing your jewelry where the background shifts from light to dark to see what happens.About the Author:

Mariano is an advertising photographer in NYC. His pictures help large corporations sell more and keep their brands looking fresh. Visit his blog Via U! Photography for more photography tutorials for your handmade jewelry business.

Return from Amazing Jewelry Photography Tutorial to Handmade Results Home Page

Here's a different method for goal setting and it's the one I tend to use most.

A Lot of Visions... Too Many Shiny Objects

The way I look at it, this method is for those who -- like myself -- tend to have a LOT of visions and find themselves veering off course because there are just too many shiny objects about.

Our biggest problem?

It's certainly not lack of ideas, and it's not lack of confidence or self-doubt.

The problem is simply keeping your eye on the prize and moving towards the goal you started out with!

We visionary creative types absolutely need a grand vision so we can see what we are aiming for.

As long as we keep the end goal in mind, we tend to find the resources as we need them...  We see the opportunities as they present themselves.

Are you a creative type whose biggest struggle is moving towards your goals?

If you said yes, try my Grand Vision method:

The Grand Vision Model Steps

Step 1: Write down everything you want to achieve - no holds barred.

Step 2: Prioritize these acheivements:  Put a number beside each showing how many years it will take you.  Want a new house in 3 years?  Put a "3".

Step 3: Narrow down your choices. Which ones do you REALLY want the most?  Aim for 3 this year, 3 more within 3 years, and 3 more within the 5-10 year range.

Step 4: Write down a "WHY" statement for each of these goals.  Make sure the reason is big - huge!

Step 5: This is important.  As humans, we move away from pain faster than we move towards pleasure.  Make NOT achieving these goals painful.  Write down why it will hurt you to not to achieve these goals.

Step 6: Plan out the steps you need to take in the easily foreseeable future, understanding that opportunities will present themselves when you need them to.  This works because there are opportunities EVERYWHERE.  When we are open to them, we start to see them.

Step 7: Take action today.  Never leave the site of setting a goal without taking a step immediately towards making that goal happen.  Is there a phone call you need to make?  Do it.  Is there an obstacle you need to eradicate?  Do it.  You get the idea, right?

Grand Vision Method Example

Here's an example from my own set of goals for this year.

Goal: To make $10,000 per month gross, and $5000 per month net after expenses.

Why? Short term, so that we can finish our basement and my oldest can finally have her own bedroom which is a necessity now that she is 8 years old.  Long term, so that within 3 years, I can be making $120,000 per year after expenses which is my 3 year goal.  This buys my whole family freedom !!  Chris (my husband) can quit the job he hates if he still wants to, he can stay home and take care of the household (his dream), and I can keep on doing what I love -- which will be soo much sweeter when my husband is happier, and we can move out of the city if we still want to.

Why it will hurt not to: If I don't achieve this goal, it will take longer to achieve my long term goals and Chris and I aren't getting any younger.   We need the extra bedroom now, and finding a bigger house wouldn't hurt either.  Self-esteemwise, it will hurt too.  Hurt bad.  Don't even want to think about it!  Thank goodness I won't have to because I'll MAKE it happen. 

My Action Steps:

Map out some concrete steps to achieve the following:

• Fix my payment processing system by the end of Monday
• Configure affiliate program software so I can launch the products I've been planning and have partners promote.  Deadline: by Wednesday 3 PM
• Have assistant set up autoresponder system for affiliates by Wednesday 3 pm
• Have assistant find affiliate partner prospects and start emailing inquiries Thursday until Wednesday next week
• Create audio for jewelry business guide product 1 by Thursday 3PM
• Create Salespage for product by Friday 11 AM
• Map out product releases for the next two months and set milestones and deadlines

My Take Action TODAY step:  Create a more detailed mindmap of tasks for this week and milestones for the next 2 months by 11 am.

Return from the Grand Vision Goal Achievement Method to Take Charge of Your Jewelry Business Step 2 - Planning

Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of HandmadeResults.com.   With a focus on internet marketing and business fundamentals, not wasting time on stuff that doesn't work, and good 'ol commonsense, she loves helping jewelry makers make strides building their successful online businesses.

The Backwards Planning Method

Backwards Planning is the method used by the U.S. military.  This model is great for people who can work backwards from a big picture, and also works best when you are a good strategizer.

(Not everyone is a good strategizer in the way you need to be for the backwards planning model.  I confess I'm not.  If you give this model a try and it doesn't work for you, don't fret.  There's more than one way to skin a cat, and in future posts we'll look at some more ways of planning.)

Let's use an example to make the Backwards Planning Model a little more concrete.

Backwards Planning Steps

Step 1: Describe your desired end state.  Be as specific and as descriptive as possible

Step 2: Work backwards, researching as needed to find solutions to each step you're not sure of.

Step 3: Work back and forth asking questions, making notes, and fleshing out your plan

Step 4: Flesh out mini goals as you go with deadlines for achievement

Step 5:  Execute

Backwards Planning Jewelry Business Example

Things you'll notice:

• The farther out in time you go, the harder it will be to know details.  That is OK.  You'll refine your plan as you execute.
• You'll need to go back and forth to flesh out the details even for the vaguer steps.  That's OK too.  All part of the process.
• This is no walk in the park.  That's why if you do this, you have such a greater chance of succeeding than those who never put a lick of planning into their business.  Great businesse achievements come only out of hard work, commitment and dedication.
• It's easier to see the actual plan in your mind if you read my example backwards, from the bottom up

The Plan

• End State: Make $1,000 per month after expenses from handmade jewelry sales on Etsy by the end of the year

• End State-1: Ship out lots of products on a timely basis

• End State-2: Buzz created from massive marketing campaigns brings in loads of orders

• End State-3: Massive marketing campaigns implemented

• Mini-goal: Put together marketing plans with completion dates and milestones.
• End State-4: Decide how to market for fastest and most sustainable results.  (Questions - What are the best and quickest ways to create a lot of interest for my items?  Follow up system?  How do I get repeat customers?  Can I build this into my marketing?)

• Mini-Goal: Do research into best ways to list items on Etsy quickly and efficiently, and set up my shipping systems
• End State-5: Create payment and shipping flow.  (Questions - How can I be most efficient?  Can I build marketing into my shipping process?)

• Mini Goal: Have a dozen prototype products created by end of month 4.  Hire photographer to take photos.  Photos in hand by end of month 5
• End State-6: Make prototypes and create descriptions and take professional looking photos

• Mini Goal: Write it all down and set goals with deadlines to ramp up to the end goal.  Done by end of month 3
• End State-7: Do research into the $ and cents:   (Questions - What are my profit margins on these products?  What do I have to sell, and how many do I need to sell to reach my goal of $1000 per month after expenses?)

• Mini Goal: Find out what products sell online, research competition and numbers, and map out feasibility and costs of production.  Completed by end of month 2
• End State-8: Actually do the research so I don't waste my time.

• Mini Goal: Find a blog, teacher, mentor, or course that tells me how to research what handmade items sell online and how much competition is too much competiton.  Figure it out.  Done by end of month 1

• End State-9: Questions: How do I research what will sell?  Must do some research into research!

• End State-10:Got nothing.  Here's where I start.

Whew!  This was a lot of work.  This example is less detailed than a year-long plan should be, but then I did it in 30 minutes.  Your plan should be a lot more detailed.  It will be a lot of work, but it will be so worth it to have, don't you think?

Once you've created a plan, then you just have to follow it, stick to it, and keep your milestones and goals in mind.

Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of HandmadeResults.com.   With a focus on internet marketing and business fundamentals, not wasting time on stuff that doesn't work, and good 'ol commonsense, she loves helping jewelry makers make strides building their successful online businesses.

Return from the Backwards Planning Method to Take Charge of Your Jewelry Business Step 2 - Planning

Everybody - you - me - even superstars like Tony Robbins and Oprah Winfrey and their off days.

It's normal.  Nobody feels like, looks like, or sounds confident and powerful like a superstar every second of every single day.

But there are tricks to shortcut those feelings, and you can bet your Aunt Bippy that people who seem confident and powerful all the time know them inside and out.

Imagine, supercharging yourself to feel powerful and confident too just like the superstars whenever and wherever you need to

Happily, it's not that hard to accomplish, even on your first try.

Here's a really quick, simple exercise you can do whenever you need a quick shot of powerful confidence.  It works in less than 5 minutes and feels wonderful.

How to Feel Confident and Powerful in 5 Minutes or Less

1. Sit up straight.   Take a deep breath.

2. Imagine the most confident person you can think of.

Ask yourself:

• How do they hold their body?
• Is their posture erect or slumped?

• How are they breathing?
• Do they breathe shallowly or deeply?  Quickly or slowly?

• Are they smiling or scowling?
• Are they moving quickly or slowly?

3. Stand up, and walk with confidence.  Grin from ear to ear.  Breathe deeply and hold your head up high.   Feel GOOD.

How do you feel?  Do you feel good?

Great!  Now tackle that next task with power and confidence.  If you feel the power wane, just pretend some more

Back Ground Stuff:  Want to Know Why This Power and Confidence Exercise Works?

In case you are one of those that needs to know the "why" of everything (like me), you might be interested to know these facts:

The principles behind this exercise are from something called NLP or Neurolinguistic Programming.

That long complicated sounding name refers to the study of how the mind (neuro) and language (linguistic) effects our body and behavior , and vice versa.

The fundamental principle behind the above exercise is that "motion creates emotion".

In other words, the way we move our body tells our brain how we feel, and how we feel affects how we move our body.

If we move quickly, we start to feel energized.  If we hold our head up high pull our should back and breathe deeply, we feel better than we did before.

If we move slowly like someone walking through molasses, we don't feel as good.  If we slump and frown and pull our shoulders up to our ears and look down, it;s impossible to feel great.

Still not sure if you believe it?  Try different postures and see the principle doesn't hold true

Resources to Learn More About NLP and How to Change Your Emotions Whenever You Want

• Get the Life You Want: The Secrets to Quick and Lasting Life Change with Neuro-Linguistic Programming by Richard Bandler
• Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins
• The Really Good Fun Cartoon Book of NLP: A Simple and Graphic(al) Explanation of the Life Toolbox That Is NLPby Phillip Miller

Video - What is NLP

Richard Bandler is the man who pioneered NLP.  Watch this video to get an introduction to NLP

Other Resources

25 Killer Actions to Boost Your Confidence - Zenhabits

Christine Gierer is the owner and creator of HandmadeResults.com.   With a focus on internet marketing and business fundamentals, not wasting time on stuff that doesn't work, and good 'ol commonsense, she loves helping jewelry makers make strides building their successful online businesses.

Return from Powerful Self-Confidence Exercise to Take Charge of Your Business Step 2 - Planning