How to get shortlisted for JewelFund
Blog
Applications for JewelFund 2019 are now open! We will be awarding two £1000 grants to jewellers. But how can you make sure your application stands out?
Community Manager Anna Campbell was on the team shortlisting candidates for Jewel Fund in 2018 and will be again this year. She runs down her tips for making your application stand out this year.
What is Jewel Fund?
Jewel Fund is £1000 grant for your jewellery business awarded by Jessica Rose of Jewellers Academy.
You do not have to pay it back, it is not a loan. It is a way for us at Jewellers Academy to support jewellers.
This year there will be two grants awarded of £1000 each. One will go to a new jewellery business, less than 3 years old. Another will be awarded to a more established business of over 3 years.
We welcome applications from anywhere in the world from jewellers over the age of 16. Last years winners were from England and New Zealand.
As well as the money you will also receive one to one mentoring and business advice from our founder, award winning entrepreneur Jessica Rose throughout the year to help you grow your business.
We had hundreds of applications for Jewel Fund in 2018 and they were split between three of us to read. I read A LOT of them so I have a good idea of what is going to get through to the final shortlist. Here are my top tips for getting noticed.
Be clear
You need to let us know who you are, where your business is right now and your ambitions for the future. There were some applications last year that were interesting but just didn’t have enough information for me to shortlist you. As I have hundreds to read I don’t have time to research you and check your website, I can only go on what you share in your application so make it good!
You need some skin in the game
For want of a better term! You need to have demonstrated that you are committed to your jewellery business. This could be telling us about your training, about your investment in your business, of how long you work on your business each week etc. You don’t have to be working full time in jewellery right now but we need to see that you have made a real commitment to making your business work. If you are a member of Jewellers Academy do mention it in your application.
How will the money help?
You need to be clear about what you want the money for and WHY IT WILL HELP YOUR BUSINESS
Last year I found that people were good at knowing what they wanted to spend the money on but didn’t convince me of how this would really impact your business. For example, If you want a rolling mill (and a surprising number of people did last year!) you need to back up why this would be a benefit to you, what types of designs you can’t make right now because you don’t have one etc. Explain why this will make you more profitable.
Your why needs to be compelling, we want to support someone who will truly use the money to improve their business.
You need to show ambition
Jess is impressed with people who know what they want and go after it. That doesn’t mean you have to be planning to be the next Thomas Sabo (unless you want to) but it does mean you need to be clear about how the money we will give you will help your growth.
Take your time
You have until 31st July 2019 to submit your application. Give the application process some thought, draft and redraft. How long would it take you to earn £1000? I’m not saying you should spend that amount of time but it was clear that some people had just completed the application in about 10 minutes and hadn’t really thought it through.
For your chance to be awarded JewelFund apply here >
I’m really looking forward to reading the applications for JewelFund again this year. Do take advantage of this opportunity to really grow your business
Anna
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