A guide to turning your jewellery design side hustle into a business

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Creating jewellery with only your two hands and a creative passion is an incredible feeling, and for many, it has turned into a lucrative side hustle.

Jewellery has always been a product that customers never seem to have enough of, with an endless colour palette and materials to attract all tastes and styles.

If your production line is growing and your jewellery is in demand by people outside of your circle of friends and family - then it might be time to turn this side hustle into a business. Here is a guide to making that happen.

If you plan to make a living from your jewellery making, then you will have to start procuring your affordable materials, beads and wholesale crystals in Australia.

This is going to give you immediate savings so that your material expenses don't eat into your profit. A wholesale provider will also give you access to a bigger range but you may need to show proof of ABN to buy products so find out what is required before your place an order.

Get in the habit of buying more beads, clasps and crystals than you need so you have a good supply to create the jewellery you dream up or concepts that your customers have asked for.

Working with wholesalers also make tax time easy as they are very proficient in the way they invoice.

You can spend thousands on marketing or you can be very strategic and get your jewellery in front of people for a lot less. First, you need beautiful photography as that is going to be what determines how many people click on your ads, follow your social media pages or encourage more website visits.

You can achieve great photography on your smartphone and can manage a thriving business just through social media shopping alone.

If you choose to create a website, make sure you keep it up to date with your inventory so you are reflecting the stock you have.

You might also choose to sell your jewellery at local markets or by partnering up with makers in your area. This grassroots marketing can be incredibly effective and can get you a strong word of mouth and a regular customer base.

Your brand look and feel is going to inform a lot of your creative designs, and it will also influence your packaging and even the words you use to describe and market your pieces.

Are you a beachy, laid back brand that values sustainable practice? Or are you an edgy brand that honours minimalism and contemporary design? Get clear on who you are and then think about your user journey and what you want your new customers to think when they unpackage their orders, scroll through your Instagram and generally immerse in your brand.

Some brands have a very well defined brand identity like Nespresso and Aesop.

It can take a real mindset shift to go from hobby to business, which is why those business processes can be one of the last things that new businesses will adopt.

At the bare minimum, you want to have a business name, a contact email and number, a website or social media account that customers can visit.

If you really want to level up your side hustle, you can also design an email signature, create an order confirmation email, provide tracking details and have some standard responses ready to any FAQs that you might start to field.

In a world of constant hacking threats, you want to have a legitimate look and feel so that customers will be confident buying your jewellery when they find you. You might also want to seek legal advice or contact the Australian Tax Office for guidance on anything you might have missed.

Congratulations on embarking on this exciting journey! We hope this guide will be put to use as you bring your jewellery design side hustle into a fully-fledged business.