July 2008

I’m excited, very excited, to bring you my interview with Sarah Moran of Z-Beads. Many of you know her from her bright and colorful bead sets on eBay. Here is what she has to say about the business of bead making…

How long have you been making and selling beads?

I began making glass beads in May or June of 1998, and began selling them consistently in April of 2002.

Do you make or sell anything else? Like Jewelry? How did you come about selling only beads?

My husband encouraged me to start selling just the beads on ebay, but before that, I used them in my own jewelry which I sold mostly to friends and relatives. Nowadays, my main focus is (and has been for the last several years) selling just the beads, but now and again I find time to make jewelry and I sell it at my quasi-weekly web sales… or keep it for myself!

How many hours a day/week do you work? How much time is spent on creating and how much on the business side?

If I’m not sleeping or eating, I’m working on something, or contemplating work. During my approximately 13 waking hours per day, I could be answering emails, doing website maintenance, cleaning, packing, going to the post office, taking pictures, organizing, brainstorming, finding or ordering supplies, researching, creating to do lists and order queues, putting sales pages together…. and all that is in addition to the time spent at the torch.

I couldn’t say exactly how many hours I spend at the torch, because I take frequent and sometimes long breaks. I try to make beads every day, and some “torch days” are more productive than others. For me, a very productive torch day would be about 12 beads, and a not very productive torch day would be 5 beads or less. Or a productive day away from the torch could consist of a Superstars sale and everything that entails, and Superstars have my attention from the time I get up until the time I go to bed.

Where/how have you sold beads in the past and where do you sell them currently?

I’ve always sold my beads on ebay, and still do, but last year I moved 2/3 of (what would be) my ebay sales to my website, which are known as my Superstars sales. I try to have Superstars every Thursday evening, but since I also take Made To Orders for beads in my website Gallery, trying to do both every single week can be a little overwhelming for me. If I have a lot of orders to complete, I have been known to put the Superstars off for a week, sometimes as long as a month, until I’m semi-caught up again

I find myself making many of my sales/timing decisions around Made To Orders, because those folks are counting on me to make something just for them and have been waiting for a couple of months as it is. I stay so busy with web sales alone that I shudder to think about branching out into bead shows, shops, galleries and boutiques.

How long would you say it took before you had a following or a more steady stream of buyers?

I was quite surprised at how well my beads sold from the start. Once I gained enough momentum to have something for sale every week on ebay, I gained more repeat buyers, and finally began receiving requests for remakes or custom work after about a year of selling on ebay, and it’s steadily grown since then. In fact, I got so much custom work for a while that I didn’t sell on ebay for a few months… which was a big mistake, because it took me several months more to regain that momentum I had lost by not being around for so long. I have found that keeping a good balance between all of my beady obligations – ebay, superstars and made to orders – and staying visible in my sales venues is imperative to build and maintain my customer base.

Other than selling your beads, do you supplement bead making income in other ways?

At the moment, this is my only income. I seem to be unable to keep a “real” job due to my night-owl biorhythm and incurable allergy to being at work on time and doing things the way someone else tells me to do them. I would often find better ways of doing things or staying organized, and employers never took too kindly to that. I used to take on little odd jobs before I was so gainfully self-employed, such as cleaning someone’s house, or jewelry repair for friends or family, or just whatever I was useful for and could be done in the evening or the middle of the night, and by myself.

How has the business of making and selling beads changed for you since the time you started?

It hasn’t changed much – I always felt that prompt shipping, communication, completing orders as promised were the most important things, and I still feel that way. I guess I just have more experience and more buyers to keep happy now than I did when I first started, so I’ve had to strike a balance (albeit a delicate one at times).

If there was one thing that you could change if you knew then what you know now, what would it be?

Geez, I don’t know. I suppose every learning experience has been necessary and happened when it was supposed to happen… but I really can’t think of anything remarkable.

What piece of business advice would you give to someone just starting out?

First of all, read the Bead Nerd Blog. Seriously. Lori and I agree on many points, so much so that on the FAQ page on my own site, I direct people to read HER blog to find answers to this very question.

Secondly, don’t be afraid to experiment with your marketing strategies. They might not work every time, but eventually, you will find a good fit for you. My own clever, memorable gimmicks and off the wall bead names always work pretty well for me, mainly because I’m clever and off the wall myself.

Which brings me to my third point – be yourself. Inject your personality into your work, descriptions and marketing. Tell a story if there is one. Don’t be afraid to be a goofball if you’re a goofball. People kind of dig that – as long as you’re an honest goof ball.

Which leads me to my fourth point – I must emphasize the importance of shipping promptly and keeping the lines of communication open with your buyers. Particularly with new buyers – once they send you their hard earned money, it is your responsibility to make sure they feel okay about doing that. And lastly – be prepared for long hours of hard work. Unless you can afford a staff, you are accountable and responsible for everything that gets done, or doesn’t get done. But remember, you are entitled to a day off every now and then.

What else has been important in your business?

The buyer/seller relationship can be a little bit intimidating at first, but if you can make your buyers happy without risking your own health and happiness every time, everyone comes out ahead. In my opinion, it’s a very good idea to have a page or area on your site (or wherever you conduct your sales) that clearly outlines what the buyer can expect from you concerning shipping, communication, completion time, returns/exchanges, what you will and won’t do as a seller/artist, etc. For the buyer, this creates a level of comfort that might not be there in the absence of a policy. And if it isn’t made clear, you will have to answer the same questions over and over again, which takes time away from doing other things.

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Thanks Sarah! I especially like that part about ‘read the Bead Nerd Blog’. )

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