Supplementing Your Handmade Jewelry Income with Teaching

Let's face it! At times the jewelry business has it's slow periods
which can be stressful for even the most seasoned professional.
Wouldn't it be nice to have another source or two for earning
extra money while still promoting your jewelry business?

Periodically, I'm going to be giving you with some ideas
on how you can enhance your jewelry income while still promoting
your jewelry design business.

The idea we'll focus on today is how to earn money by teaching
your jewelry making skills. Rest assured I have lots of other ideas
that I'll be presenting periodically, so stay tuned!

Probably the best way to get started teaching jewelry making to
others is to offer a class at your local bead store or craft store. We
have an employee, who also designs jewelry, who has set up a series
of wireworking classes for our customers. The classes are extremely
popular and she's making a fantastic additional income. She charges
around $35.00 for each class of which she keeps 80% of the fee.
If she averages 10 students per class, that's a pretty good return for a
few hours work. This kind of return definitely makes it worth your time.

I would suggest visiting your local bead store and discussing the
possibility of a similar arrangement with them. I would write
down descriptions of the classes you want to teach as well as
how much you would charge Emphasize to the bead store owner
how much these classes will help the store in the sale of supplies
for the classes. Plus, it will convert non jewelry makers into long
term, jewelry making enthusiasts who'll be purchasing again and
again!

Another possibility is for you to teach a series of classes at your
local college or university as part of their adult continuing
education program. The best way to do this is to call the college
or university and get the name of the program coordinator. You
would then write up a proposal for a series of classes and mail it
directly to that person. Again, let him or her know the benefits
your classes would offer to the participants and to the
university.

The public schools also are receptive to having classes taught in
the area of beading and jewelry making. We have an employee at
our bead store who stays busy visiting some of the local schools
teaching beading to the students. Most schools have set aside
some funds for outside art education and will probably be quite
receptive to having you teach some classes. This can be a great
way to get publicity for your jewelry design business!

How about offering a bead retreat with a variety of jewelry making
classes? You could locate some jewelry designers at shows who
would be willing to teach classes. You could sponsor a day long
retreat where participants would learn the basics of jewelry making.
You could emphasize the stress relieving aspects as well as fun and
fellowship in your advertising. I'm sure you'd get lots of participants!

If you want to make it even simpler, you can offer to teach jewelry
making in the comfort of your own home or studio. You could take
on several students at a time and give them individualized attention.
It's also an opportunity for them to see your beautiful jewelry designs
and tell all of their friends about you!

If you find from experience that you really enjoy teaching jewelry
design, you can always take your show on the road and teach jewelry
making workshops across the country. You may also want to
consider submiting a proposal to teach a class at a national jewelry
show. One of our glass bead makers did that and has gone on to make
quite a name for himself as a result of the publicity he received from
teaching nationally.

In addition to the reimbursement you receive for teaching classes,
you could derive additional income from your class participants by
selling supplies, kits, and instructions for them to take home. The
possiblities are limitless! Plus, you might just find that you have
alot of fun doing it!

Give it a try! You might just find that teaching is a great second income.

If you need an additional resource on how to get started teaching
and seminars, you might want to look at this. This book will show
you how to set your fees as well as market and promote your
workshops and seminars. You'll also learn how to create marketing
materials for your jewelry seminars that get results.

Have a great weekend. :-)

Kristie