How much does it cost to set up a jewellery business?
If you’re looking to start and grow a jewellery business then you may be wondering how much it might cost to get up and running. In this blog post we take a look at the costs involved and ways in which you can bootstrap your business to help you get things off the ground.
If you’re thinking of starting a jewellery business then congratulations - that’s so exciting! In history, there has never been a better time to start a new business and access a global audience of potential customers so affordably. Now is a great time for you to follow your passion.
Here are a few things you will need to consider when thinking about the cost of starting a jewellery business.
invest your time and/or money
Ultimately, your costs will vary depending on the type of jewellery you want to sell and how you want to sell it. For example, selling gold jewellery with diamonds will mean spending time learning your craft and investing in high-priced materials. Selling beaded jewellery requires less training and an up-front investment in materials.
However you want to do it, you will need to invest some money and/or plenty of your time in order to get things off the ground.
It takes a business in any sector around 3 years to turn a profit. Those years will pass anyway so dedicating your time to building a business for yourself is a great way to use your time.
Costs to consider
There will be lots of things to pay for when setting up your business (the list could be endless!), ranging from anything such as basic tools to shop rental fees. Some costs will be absolutely essential and unavoidable, but there are other costs that depend on your ability to invest.
Essential costs
Essential costs are things that you will have to pay for in order to have a product to sell and legally sell your work, these are things such as:
Tools (ranging from essential to non-essential)
Materials – bullion, gemstones etc
Electricity
Insurance
Hallmarking
Variable costs
Variable costs include a variety of things that can be bootstrapped (ie. tasks that you can do yourself) or things that will vary depending on how much money or time you have to invest. Most will still be essential to get up and running though.
Website/selling platform set-up costs
Training
Marketing
Branding
Photography
Packaging
Display busts/props
A studio/workspace
How much money to invest
The first thing to consider is how much money you are able to invest in getting set up. Do you have any savings? How quickly could you save? Are you able to borrow any money without overstretching yourself too much?
Having money upfront to invest in some of the essentials will make things easier and get you up and running much quicker than trying to bootstrap your business from the start. The more money you have to invest the better, especially if you want to get going as soon as possible.
Ideally, we’d recommend saving between £1000 - £5,000 primarily to invest in some training, tools and materials to start with. This will not only help you to create your first collection but also give you confidence in your skills and abilities as a budding jeweller, and ultimately help you to sell your work.
Where to save money and invest your time
Use your time and effort on some of the items on the variable costs list in order to save money. For example, if you don’t have the money to pay someone to create your website, why not learn how to do it yourself?
There are plenty of user-friendly website providers out there such as Shopify and Squarespace. And if you haven’t got the time to do that, you can always use a seller’s platform such as Etsy, Facebook, Instagram or Not On The High Street.
Branding, photography and marketing are also other things you can learn yourself as you go along too. So, save your money for other essential items to begin with and have a go at doing it yourself first.
Bootstrapping your jewellery business
If you don’t have much money upfront to invest in getting your jewellery business set up, then of course you can always bootstrap your business and pay for things slowly, bit by bit as you go along. It will take much longer, but if you’re clever about it, it’s totally doable.
Consider starting with techniques such as beading or silver clay which both require minimal tools and set-up costs. Invest what money you do have in the materials needed to make a small collection and then begin by selling to friends and family through word of mouth. Then use the money from these sales to reinvest in the business, and you should be able to grow your business from the ground up with very little money.
top tips
Check out ebay and Facebook Marketplace for second-hand tools, jewellers benches etc. You may be lucky and snag a bargain!
When selling online you only need to make one of each item to photograph it and put on your website/selling platform. You can then make to order meaning you aren’t holding all your money in inventory (stock) and can test the market. You then only make the item once it is purchased. This is a relatively risk-free way to get started.
Make sure you put the lead times for making your pieces clearly on your selling platform so that your customer knows when they will receive it. And always give yourself additional time for unforeseen issues e.g. if you are ill, delayed in receiving your materials etc.
Selling at craft markets or in shops can have the most risk to start with as you need to invest more in your inventory - your stock. This will be both an investment in time - designing and making the pieces, and in money - purchasing the materials, renting the stall etc. Many jewellers are successful with this approach but do bear the risk in mind and budget for your costs.
Remember, any venture can take time to grow so patience is important as is being open to trying new approaches until you hit on the right thing for you. The only failure is giving up.
Launch a jewellery business in 20 days
Keen to get going but don’t know where to start? Learn how to set up your jewellery business in 20 days with this super helpful, actionable course from Jessica Rose. A set of short notes with an action to carry out each day delivered direct to your inbox. Each lesson will cover a specific topic related to your jewellery business and actions you can take that day, or week, to move forward.