Business Ideas | Small Business Ideas: Start a Business Selling Beads

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Start a Business Selling Beads | Business of Beads - Marketing

A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as glass, plastic, or wood, and that is pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 millimeter (0.039 in) to over 1 centimeter (0.39 in) in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewelry. Bead-work is the art or craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized thread, strung onto thread or soft, flexible wire, or adhered to a surface (e.g. fabric, clay). The craft and hobby segment of the retail sector has grown into a $27 billion industry while other retail sectors have declined. Jewelry crafters find it easy to turn their hobby into a moneymaking home business by selling beads and jewelry patterns and creating jewelry-making kits for beginners. These small businesses are eligible for business tax deductions and can help finance the owner's hobbies.

Types of beads

Beads may be divided into several types of overlapping categories based on different criteria such as the materials from which they are made, the process used in their manufacturing, the place or period of origin, the patterns on their surface, or their general shape. In some cases, such as millefiori and cloisonne beads, multiple categories may overlap in an interdependent fashion.

Place or period of origin

Austrian crystal is a generic term for cut lead-crystal beads, based on the location and prestige of the Swarovski firm.African trade beads or slave beads may be antique beads that were manufactured in Europe and used for trade during the colonial period, such as chevron beads; or they may have been made in West Africa by and for Africans, such as Mauritanian Kiffa beads, Ghanaian and Nigerian powder glass beads, or African-made brass beads.

Czech glass beads are made in the Czech Republic, centralized around an area called Jablonec nad Nisou. Production of glass beads in the area dates back to the 14th century, though production was depressed under communist rule. Because of this long tradition, their workmanship and quality has an excellent reputation.

Vintage beads, in the collectibles and antique market, refers to items that are at least 25 or more years old. Vintage beads are available in materials that include lucite, plastic, crystal, metal and glass.

Business Selling Beads Instruction:

Step 1

Write a business plan for your bead selling business. Formulating a business plan will help you identify consumer markets based on the types of beads people are buying, start-up costs, operating costs and pricing. The local office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers free help and business courses to small business owners getting started. Contact the SBA Answer Desk at 1-800-827-5722 or answerdesk@sba.gov to find the nearest SBA center.

Step 2

Organize the bead business's finances. Determine start-up costs, accounting procedures and inventory control. Start-up costs include beads and supplies, advertising and fees for business licenses. For inventory control, bead businesses can purchase products that make inventory management easier since some Internet software companies sell bead inventory spreadsheets and inventory tracking software.

Set up accounting procedures to track expenses and maintain budgets. The IRS offers Publication 535, "Business Expenses," to help small businesses with record keeping and help them identify business deductions.

Step 3

Select a location for your business based on area bead buying habits. Bead businesses must consider all revenue streams such as professional jewelry designers, professional associations and craft fairs; and most hold classes on bead and jewelry making as a way to sell product. When selecting a store location, choose a place with easy access, high traffic counts and reasonable rents to increase profitability since labor costs become a consideration. Many bead business start as home businesses to lower start-up costs, avoid store rent and reduce labor costs. Register your bead business with the state, and check whether your county or city requires licensing for businesses.

Step 4

Find wholesale bead vendors. Bead businesses keep in touch with bead trends to help them determine the types of bead inventory to purchase. Find wholesale bead manufacturers by reading magazines focused on bead and jewelry making such as Jewelry Artist.

Purchase beads in bulk, since making beads by hand is labor intensive. Drop-shipping companies found on the Internet are an excellent source of exotic beads. These companies often provide ad copy and photos as part of the bead sale. Other wholesale bead vendors sell exotic beads; Bead for Life, for example, sells handmade beads to help women in Uganda.

Step 5

Create a website storefront and open for business. Build a bead e-commerce website or hire someone to do so to establish a legitimate business presence within the industry. A website gives a business legitimacy, and a website is an excellent marketing tool for showing bead inventories and presenting jewelry ideas. In physical retail locations, display beads in trays, in presorted bags and in craft kits.

References

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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