Business Machine Monday

As a follow up to my last "Business Machine Monday", I returned to ebay to test the waters last week, but found that my beads got very few looks, zero watchers and zero bids. Proving that it isn't the right venue for me and my little old business. But then again, beads aren't exactly flying off the shelf in the etsy shop these past two weeks either.

As one who has a lot of beads, folks almost always assume that i make jewelry. Maybe I should. But i don't. I really only enjoy making the beads.

But here's my business dilemma:

Let's pretend that the people supplying beads, buying beads, and those buying finished jewelry, are all in three differently sized swimming pools. In the kiddie pool with dancing elephants on the side you have me and the other handmade bead artisans. We supply the jewelry makers who fill the kidney-shaped in-ground pool with the lovely Grecian tile border. There are lots more folks in that pool, but since there aren't that many of us in the kiddie pool, i figure i may have a half a chance of getting noticed and selling my wares. Over there, in the official Olympics-sized pool, are the masses upon masses of buyers of finished jewelry. I decide that by staying in the little pool, i have a better chance of being picked than if i moved up to the kidney pool and made jewelry, and then hoped to be noticed by someone in the Olympic pool.

But, if i made finished jewelry ALSO, i might get a few jewelry buyers kind of stumble into my shopIF what i offer is very specific. For instance, i would be one of a gazillion people selling it if i sold bead earrings. But if i sold sock monkey bead earrings, that would put me pretty much in a bird bath, to continue my pool analogy. If anyone was looking specifically for sock monkey earrings, i'd be their man!

It's just a minor detail that the number of people looking for sock monkey bead earrings happen to be splashing about in a thimble.