My first business was back in the early 1980's when fashion jewellery was reaching its peak and available in lots of shops, but not supermarkets at that time.
I was desperate to bring a few extra pennies in while being full time mum to two very young children and wife to my hard working husband. Money was tight so I needed to think of a business which would cost me as little as possible. The idea of fashion jewellery popped into my head but where to buy the jewellery from at a very reasonable price was something I needed to research.
Yellow pages for your local area was all that was available then (pre computers) but I was sure that London would be the place to have the best choice of wholesalers and after researching it I managed to find out a street in London which had a number of wholesalers on it. One company Alish Wholesale is based on White Church Lane, London E1, or Accessories World which is also in London. Both companies have access to buy online so the choice you have now is much easier and wider than mine was in that day. If you just pop in Costume Jewellery Wholesalers in Google the list will be endless.
My twin (bless her) said she would lend me £100 and two return tickets to London for a day trip to visit the list of wholesalers I had. A hundred pounds back in that day was a lot of money, but my twin had faith in me and encouraged me to give it a try. We decided on a name on the train down to London - it was going to be called 'De-Luxe' jewellery!!
The street we walked down in London looked just like any normal shopping street which somehow surprised me. The choice was endless with rows upon rows of fashion jewellery with prices starting from £1. Some of the wholesalers had a minimum spend which was more than we had to spend, some others would not let me buy from them without a shop or at least invoices from my business.
Fortunately we found a couple of very obliging wholesalers who not only did not have a minimum spend but who also were prepared to spend time with us and tell us their best sellers and other pointers to help me get going.
The day flew but we left with about three white carrier bags each filled to the brim with fashion jewellery, from earrings and necklaces, to bracelets and brooches. I was sooooooooo excited I could hardly contain myself on the way home wishing the time away so that I could get everything out and start pricing them.
We made a list of every friend we both had ready to phone and ask if they would have a party for me. The diary was soon getting full and armed with a few yards of black velvet fabric I went to show my products at my first party.
It was a roaring success, I was able to give my twin £50 back after my first party and still had enough to buy some more stock.
It's such an easy business to set up yourself but if you are still not keen on trying that there are also a number of Jewellery Franchise Businesses available.
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