Jewelry making Side Hustle Run Down
If you’re looking for a fun and creative way to make some extra money on the side, a jewelry making side hustle might be for you! There’s a growing demand for unique and handmade jewelry, especially to support small businesses, so there has never been a better time to get started.
In this post, we will discuss:
-The the basics of a jewelry making side hustle
-The different types of jewelry you can make
– The materials you can use and specialise in
-The pros and cons of starting a jewelry making side hustle
-The effort required to get up and running
-Earning potential & costs to start
-How to actually get started!
A jewelry making side hustle is one that involves creating and selling different jewelry pieces on a part-time or occasional basis. You can sell your creations online, via a website, Etsy or marketplace or at local markets, fairs, and events – or both! With a jewelry-making side hustle, you can use your creativity to make unique and personalized pieces that people will love and let your creativity shine.
Types of jewelry you can make
- Necklaces
- Bracelets
- Earrings
- Rings
- Brooches
- Anklets
- Hair accessories
From here you can further specialise into a specific style of jewllery, such as vintage, modern, bohemian, beachy, classy etc. People are also loving personalised jewllery at the moment, so you might want to consider having pieces that are engraveable or customizable, or can be more relevant to to your audience by using birthstones or star signs.
Pros and Cons of a Jewelry making Side Hustle
Pros
- It’s a side hustle that allows you to express your creativity!
- You can have a large target market with jewelry, depending on how targeted you get with your items and how far you niche down.
- You can work around other commitments and sit down to make your jewelry after work, when the kids go to bed or even while you’ve got a movie on!
- It can be really rewarding and exciting seeing people wear your custom designed pieces.
Cons
- While you might love the jewelry pieces you create, it can be subjective and unique styles might not sell as frequently
- It can be time consuming to put together the different jewelery items
Effort Required To Start A Jewelry making Side Hustle
Effort required to get started is quite high – unless you are purchasing bulk jewellery in from overseas or a local supplier – you will be making each item by hand – which can be time consuming and tiresome! You will need a healthy quantity of stock before you can start attending markets or before it’s worthwhile setting up a Shopify store. Time and energy for each piece you make will depend on the style of jewelry, materials you’re using and the detail that’s involved, so this will vary from person to person.
Jewelry making SIDE HUSTLE Earning Potential
Jewelry making side hustle earning potential can vary greatly, depending on the products you sell and how far and wide you promote them. If you make plastic bead bracelets, and sell via your own website with little traffic driven to it – earning potential is low as the margins on the products will be limited and potential purchaser numbers are small. Alternatively if you’re making gold plated jewelry with unique gemstones and customisable elements, and attend large craft fairs every week, your earning potential could be in the thousands.
Cost Required To Start
The cost of starting you side husltle will mostly depend on the types of materials you are choosing to create with, Plastic or glass beads may be the most effetive to get going, with rare stones, diamonds or unique materials costing you much more to get started. You will also need an appropraite machine if you will be customizing or engraving the jewellery. You will also need to have a jewelry making kit with important tools handy for putting a professional finish on your products.
Other than your actual product costs, you will need to keep in mind the cost of attending market stalls and the price for setting up at events (marquee, props, stands etc.) and insurance. Marketing costs will apply on top of this but there are many free and cheap marketing tools out there which can be your first point of call – and affordable printing companies to help you out with marketing material. Packaging for your products can be kepy simple and purchased in bulk – or customized to your branding for a slightly higher fee. Buying in bulk will be your best friend here to save money!
How do I start my own Jewelry making side hustle?
- Decide what type of jewelry you want to make – and who your target market is!
Try to pick a niche to help you stand out amongst competitors and stick to a certain material for your small business. It can get messy if someone if offering numerous types of jewelry styles so keeping it to one certain style is recommened. - Purchase your products and start making!
Purchase a jewelry making kit and the basics for the type of jewelry you want to make – such as sterling silver earring posts and backs, or necklace clasps! From here, it’s purchasing plywood, resin, polymer clay, gemstones, beads, leather or any other material you plan to use to create your unique pieces. - Develop your brand
Pick a brand name for your Jewelry side hustle, create yourself a logo, and build our your social media pages and website (if desired). Review some local or relevant markets around that would be suitable for you to attend and apply to go along! - Start Selling!
Hopefully your products will really resonate with your target audience when they meet you at events, or online shoppers (and family and friends!) are blown away by your creations and help to get the ball rolling with sales. Over time you will find what sells well and what doesn’t to help you become more profitable.
Ideas To Boost Your Jewelry making SIDE HUSTLE
- Purchase a machine or tool that allows you to offer customisation to your pieces! This could include an embossing machine for leather items, a laser engraver for etching wooden items or metal or a cricut machine to add special touches to keychains and larger items where vinyl and plastic stickers can work! For more ideas on creating a personalised product side hustle in other product lines, see our personalised product side hustle information here.
