About once a year, I find the need to "re-vamp" my jewelry business in one way or another. Sometimes it's a complete overhaul, other times it's just a change in my line(s). This time it's not only an overhaul, it's a complete tear-down and re-build!
I began by starting a business plan. If you've ever written one before, you know it's beyond tedious. I think I spent about fifteen minutes on it before I decided maybe I should just write up a list of business priorities. Much simpler. Number one on my list? Organize my finances!
When I started looking through all my receipts and paperwork, I was surprised to see that I haven't prepared my California sales taxes for over two years. I knew I was behind, but not that bad. So I painfully went through each receipt, calculated my sales, and figured out what I owe for 2005. Today I plow through 2006.
As it turned out, going through my receipts from 2005 was actually kind of a walk through memory lane. Take these bangles, for example:
I sold these bracelets on eBay, and the woman who bought them ended up being a repeat customer. In fact, we collaborated on a pair of custom earrings.
The earrings below are still in my own collection. I include them here because they were made during the same time period and they are kind of different from my current style:
The necklace below is one of my all time favorites. It is a hand-fabricated sterling pendant on sterling silver chain. I don't remember who bought it, but I hope they are still enjoying it.
One thing that struck me while I was "cleaning house" is how many sales I had in 2005. Far more than I had in 2006 and 2007. That's my own fault, of course. I'd like to get my business re-vamped in time for Christmas sales, and I have a time-line for that to happen, but I'm easily distracted. I suppose I should just get these taxes finished and go from there!
