1. Make Your Next Jewelry Show More Profitable

2. What's New at Home Jewelry Business Success Tips:
   Three great new articles

3. Watch for the Jewelry Internet Use Survey!

4. Question and Answer from My Email Bag:
   Other artists don't charge sales tax at parties; should I?

5. Neat Jewelry Related Website:
   Beadwork by Tina Koyama

6. Submit a Tip and Get a Valuable Link to Your Website

My new ebook, Ultimate Guide to Your Profitable Jewelry Booth, details hundreds of things you can do to sell your handcrafted jewelry like crazy at shows, fairs, and festivals.

Patricia from Be*Jeweled Beads and Jewelry says:

"This ebook is well worth the money. The suggested resources for credit card processing and email list management companies alone made the expenditure more than worthwhile. But there was more: validation on some of the things I was doing right; some nifty new ideas that were like a breath of fresh air (aha's!!); and then there were a few things that could only be called "surprises." Thanks, Rena."

Invest in this complete step-by-step resource before your next show:

Here are three new jewelry business articles since our last issue:

1. Using Web 2.0 to Promote Your Jewelry Business
   Web 2.0 has become a major force on the Internet. Pamela Bruce of Love Beads Unlimited defines this massive online trend, lists resources to get you started, and discusses ways to use Web 2.0 to market your jewelry business. This insightful article is a must-read if you promote your jewelry on the Web.




2. Christmas Jewelry Sales Tips
   A guide to making the most of the bumper Christmas season, with ideas for new products and some neat Christmas jewelry sales tips. By Liza Schmitt of Craft Business Home.




3. Creating a Jewelry Website Inexpensively and Easily
   Getting your jewelry website started is easy if you follow these simple steps from guest author Alan Reisch of HB Shells and Sea.

Share your own jewelry business story or advice, and build traffic to your website when you submit a jewelry business article. You'll receive a free permanent link from Home Jewelry Business Success Tips to your website - and your article will be read by thousands of people in the jewelry industry. Our guest authors report a significant flow of traffic coming from their article links on Home Jewelry Business Success Tips!

Dr. David Weiman of Marketing Jewelry is conducting a short survey of how jewelry artists use the internet to display or promote their handcrafted jewelry. All survey results are kept completely confidential.

On Thursday, November 9, I will send you a separate email with a link to this important survey if you'd like to participate in it. After you submit your survey, Dr. Weiman will send you a free copy of his new e-course, "How to Write a Great Description of Your Jewelry Making Business".

Keep an eye out for my message to you on November 9 with your link to this 5-minute survey!

Question from Tracy:

I'm having my first home showing of my jewelry and not sure about how to incorporate tax with my sales. Is this a taboo subject? Several people I know don't charge tax. I feel like I'm up against a lot of competition and potential negative reaction when friends come over and see I've added sales tax to their total when it wasn't added by other artists hosting home shows. Your thoughts?

Rena's answer:

Hi Tracy,

Charging sales tax can sometimes feel a bit awkward at first, especially in an intimate sales setting like a home party with guests you know.

Although some artists don't collect sales tax at shows and parties, personally I wouldn't be comfortable not collecting it. Penalties for not collecting and submitting sales tax in the U.S. are something I DON'T want to hassle with.

(Note: As of this writing, five U.S. states - Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon - do not have a state sales tax.)

I don't think you need to worry about people's reactions when you charge sales tax. You'll appear much more professional if you operate like a true business in every way - including charging sales tax - and most customers will respect you for it.

One important thing I've discovered is that if you operate your jewelry business like a genuine business it tends to grow and prosper. But if you operate it like a hobby, it tends to remain a hobby.

Have you ever been to a home party for a major company like Pampered Chef or Mary Kay? Their consultants always charge sales tax at home parties, and the guests pay it without questioning it.

Are you already set up for collecting and submitting your sales tax? If not, it's a very easy process.

To get started, contact your state's Department of Revenue (find them in the government pages of your phone book). You'll have to fill out a simple form and pay a small fee, and they'll send you a certificate with your tax exemption number (sometimes also called "retailer's occupation tax registration number" or "resale tax number"). Then every three months you send in the sales tax you've collected for that quarter of the year. The whole process is quite simple.

Another reason for getting this paperwork done is that many shows require you to have a resale tax certificate before you can be a vendor, and it's not uncommon for state tax authorities to sweep through a show and find vendors who don't charge sales tax.

For more easy tips on setting up the "business" side of your home jewelry business, see the article How to Start a Jewelry Business.

If you're already selling your work but haven't taken the steps listed in this article, it's never too late to set yourself up professionally! And it's such a good feeling to know you've got all the bases properly covered.

Tracy, I wish you a most successful first jewelry home show!

Tina Koyama's website shows how one artist takes bead art to an entirely new level. Her creations consist of everything from seed beads and pearls to fibers and pasta. Don't miss her Neckpieces Gallery and Bracelets Gallery. Tina's pieces are truly wearable art!

Do you have a good idea, handy hint, or helpful technique related to jewelry business or jewelry making? Send in a tip that's useful to jewelry artists and receive a free link to your website when your tip is published in the Jewelry Business Blog.

And thank you to the creative readers who have been sending in your truly excellent tips! Many of them have been published already, and more are coming. If you've sent in a tip but it hasn't yet been published in the blog - don't worry, it's coming soon!

Looking for specific jewelry business information or the answer to a question? Try our "Search This Site" feature to scour Home Jewelry Business Success Tips for any keywords you enter.

We have over 350 articles on Home Jewelry Business Success Tips now, and new posts several days a week in the Jewelry Business Blog - plus lots more coming up - and sometimes knowing where to find specific information among so many articles can be tricky. But now you can search easily and find what you're seeking.

If your search doesn't turn up any results for our site, then you've discovered a topic we need to add - so please let me know the info or tips that are missing from our site.