Starting Your Own Business During a Recession (GASP!)

I must be crazy. Downright, pickle-brained crazy. Starting my own jewelry business during one of the worst economic crisis in recent history? What the hell was I thinking?

I can barely stand to look at my bank account, never mind shell out extra money every time I leave the house to gather supplies upon supplies upon supplies for my magnificent handcrafted masterpieces. I reason with myself as logically as I can. I need inventory, right? I can’t possibly set out on my e-commerce venture with just a handful of jewelry designs. So… I spend. A lot. And then I spend some more. And when I think I’m done spending, well… guess what? I’m not. There’s always one more thing I seem to need (or want) for that certain design I’ve been tinkering on and can’t quite seem to get right.

It never ends. The buying, the beading… the ideas just keep coming. Wires, beads, patterns, stones… I see them in my sleep. Making jewelry makes me happy. It satisfies my creative drive and yes, it satisfies me to make that blessed sale! The sale that helps keep my beading habit afloat.

I am not sinking. I am not sinking. I am not sinking. This is my mantra. I refuse to read the business headlines. I refuse to look at my retirement portfolio. I refuse to acknowledge my sons’ shrinking college funds. Even as the dreaded “D” word is being bandied about by financial analysts, journalists and an assortment of Aunts and Uncles who feel the need to remind me that the economy sucks right now, I will not give up!

I refuse to believe that the vast consumer market place out there no longer cares about good, quality handmade products. I believe there is still a market out there for the small craftspeople that create unique, artistic, and often one-of-a-kind items. Yes, the economy stinks. Yes, jewelry, in particular, is an impulse buy. But it’s a “feel good” buy, too. And in this economy, we all need that little something to boost our spirits now and again. Maybe it’s a nice glass of wine at the end of the night that makes us feel good. Maybe it’s a really decadent piece of chocolate, or a lovely dinner out with friends. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s a “one of a kind” piece of jewelry that your friends and family have never seen the likes of before, something that makes that special outfit you have, or even a pair of blue jeans, look not just fantastic, but unforgettable!

Call me crazy. I prefer to say I’m hopeful and maybe a bit of a fool, but this beading fool is not going anywhere.

Linda Guzik
Owner/Designer
http://www.linnygirldesigns.com