Hey, life ain’t so bad after 50 or even 60 in my case, for the home jeweler who is able to enjoy the peacefulness of their home and family and still make enough money to pay a few bills. And let’s not forget all the neat handmade Christmas gifts we’re giving away this year. A small home jewelry business can also create some great tax benefits that certainly don’t hurt, such as a small studio (my office) that we write off and my trips to Las Vegas to call on a few wholesale accounts. There are lots of hidden benefits for any home jewelry business including writing off my Internet site, DSL and I could go on and on but you get the idea.

What’s the goal of your home jewelry business for the year? The month? The week? If you don’t have them written down you are 100% assured you won’t meet them! You must write down your weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. Don’t make them unrealistic. Make goals that will challenge you but ones that you can reach with some effort. Only about 2% of the world’s population actually take the time to write down their goals. If your goal is to have a new car at the end of the year, then write down what kind of car? Put a picture of it in your office or shop, hang it on the wall and you will certainly own it soon! Get serious, we’re all Americans and we love to win at everything we do.

DON’T GET MAD, GET BETTER Sometimes, despite your best efforts, when you have completed a piece of jewelry, you’ll find that the finished result is not exactly the way you wanted it, and you are a little disappointed. Don?t be surprised, and don’t let it throw you. It happens to everyone in the beginning, in the middle, and even late in a successful career. One of the most common problems is that the names will be bigger than normal. Don’t throw up your hands in despair and give up. Accept the imperfection and move on. Make a commitment to try a little harder next time, and work to avoid the mistakes you made in this piece. Words of wisdom: Keep going to keep growing. Acceptance is part of the growth process. Maybe you can reward yourself with a fancy Swanstrom round nose pliers or a Lindstrom round nose pliers, there the best for round name writing.

Let’s face it — it does take a little time to get that perfect, sculpted pendant and there may be some ugly ducklings before that perfect piece comes about! Just be patient and take your time. Soon enough, those ugly ducklings will turn into beautiful swans! Now, let’s say that you have made an ugly duckling and you don’t have a rep that will take it off of your hands. Be realistic about pricing the piece. Is it better to cut it up and start with a new piece or price it low enough so someone will buy it which allows you to at least get your money for your materials and time out of the piece? There is nothing wrong with blowing out a bad piece of jewelry so it doesn’t hang around and distract from your lovely swans.

When I’m feeling good and happy, I can sell, and I can motivate people. When I’m down, it’s like nothing works and everything is a burden. A positive attitude and a good disposition will win over skill every time. If you have the right attitude and are positive about what you are doing, you will get the skills you need. Don’t start tomorrow, or next week, or next month. Start right now! If you can change your attitude, you can change your life — I know because I lived it.

Inventive Creative people live in the world of ideas, and don’t always have the best interpersonal skills. Because they are so highly intelligent, and live in the realm of possibility, they are constantly coming up with bright ideas. They also take notice of what is missing in the world and/or what could be improved. Take for instance, Thomas Edison, who invented hundreds of things in his time, his most famous invention being the light bulb. He saw that there was darkness and then created light.

Once you have created, you now have to put yourself out there for all to see. This is where your faith comes in to support you. Remember that if you are creating from your soul, it will not matter whether other people accept your work or not. You are simply doing what you are called to do as a human being, create.