One of the most important issues is cash flow when first starting out in a handmade jewelry business.  Craft shows provide an excellent opportunity to increase cash flow.  Whatever you make can be put back into the business to make more stock and therefore the possibility of increased sales.

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After years in the basement working hard with blinders on, we are now trying to work smart.    Online marketing is the business of choice for many people who want to work for themselves.  They want to do what they want, when they want to do it.  And the best part is you can do it wherever you want.  You can be in your garage or your basement or living by the sea; it absolutely doesn’t matter!  What does matter is to make money your website has to be found by the right people.

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Despite what all the so-called internet gurus say, internet marketing is not as easy as collecting money while you sleep, not for us anyway. No, we did not wake up today to huge piles of money being deposited into our  bank accounts. Not yesterday, not today and probably not tomorrow! The only ones making money on the internet seem to be people telling you how easy it is to make a million dollars online.

Getting to #1 in the search engines is the realistic goal. It can be frustrating, very frustrating. It’s like a rollercoaster, one day PR goes up and you hit page 2, then the next day your site vanishes without a trace. Change what you can and hope for a little miracle. Most importantly be patient, everything will come in time. Our goal is still there and we continue to work on it hoping that someday all our hard work will pay off, big time!

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How do find your inspiration for your handmade jewelry, writing your blog or just plain living? Every one finds inspiration in their own place. We look to nature and the beauty that surrounds us every single day for our handmade jewelry designs. The colors of the sea, the greens of the leaves blowing in the wind, everything around us provides us with inspiration. We have even made earring designs inspired by buildings and architecture.  There is no lack of inspiration if you just look around with an open mind. We can all be looking at the same scene but what makes an artist is that we will all see different things and create unique pieces of handcrafted artisan jewelry.  I believe this is the most exciting part of the handmade jewelry process.  An open mind and observation are the key not only to making jewelry but also living life to its fullest whatever you do for a living.

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