Bel Bacio Jewelry

Megan of Bel Bacio Jewelry creates sparkling delicate baubles with feminine and unique details. Her jewelry items are constructed with the finest materials- genuine semi-precious gemstones, pearls, Balinese beads, Swarovski crystals, sterling silver and gold filled components. Every pearl and gemstone are hand picked for each piece of jewelry.

Here she shares her business journey:

Background
"I have a gemological degree from the Gemological Institute of America. I was working at a small mom and pop fine jewelry store and was hired as a gemologist. The business was slow so I decided to move on, I needed a little more excitement. So I started working on my jewelry line and looked for a new line of work for the mean time."

Craft Show Experience
"I have done 3 craft shows. My first show was great, I had a lot of compliments and a lot of wonderful customers. My last 2 shows were pretty sad. The last show I did was the worst, I only sold two items and one of them was from a friend. I was set up next to another jewelry seller who sold pre-made mass produced jewelry.”

Low-Cost/Free Advertising
“I advertise on a few indie websites that bring in quite a few visitors. The fee is pretty low and the customers that shop on those sites want to shop indie.”

Business Challenges
"My most challenging part of starting my own business has been finding the right avenue for advertising without breaking the bank. I am always looking for more options."

"[Another challenge is] separating myself from the rest. There are a lot of jewelry designers out there so finding your own style and niche can be difficult sometimes.”



Motivation
“It motivates me to know that I can be successful; it is just working harder and be more and more creative.”

Recommended Business Resources
"SCORE is a great website that offers wonderful information for small business owners. They have one on one meetings free of charge and all kinds of templates to use like business plans. SCORE stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives, they really know what they are talking about.”



Words of Advice-Think and Navigate
“ Think about your options (websites, advertising, product, etc) and make sure that you find the best way to navigate your plan. I didn't think to much into advertising or how it worked and I wish I had read more about it.”

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Contact:

Megan
Bel Bacio Jewelry