10

Believe in Yourself!!

by Polly Hendrickson.
(Chandler, Arizona, USA )

I was one of those people who would read the “What’s Stopping Your Jewelry Business” articles here and sigh.

I always seemed to find excuses, and could hear the voices in my head saying things like, “Your pieces aren’t good enough to sell” or “You don’t know how to run a business” or “What if someone asks you to make something you don’t know how to make?”.

You see, I have lots of friends who LOVE jewelry and have some pretty fantastic pieces of their own, and I worried what they would think, too.

Although I was anxious to make my jewelry and start my business, I always seemed to find a way to talk myself out of it.

The turning point for me was when I read an article in a book from Oprah Winfrey, which summarized it like this:

“If you’ve been considering starting something new, but you keep coming up with excuses as to why you shouldn’t, ask yourself this question: ‘What’s the absolute worst thing that could happen if you went ahead with your plans?’ Then write down your answers, and chances are you’ll see in front of you that it really wouldn’t be that bad after all.”

I took this advice in January 2009, and although it has been a year of intense learning for me, I’m happy to say that I now have a website and an Etsy store.

I tried to start by making a piece of jewelry each and every day, and I found that my concerns would disappear as I sat down at my jewelry table and started to design a pair of earrings or a necklace or bracelet.

I searched for classes to take to learn new things, and really started to gain confidence in my work.

I decided that if I really wanted my own Jewelry Business, I would have to face my fears and confront them one at a time.

Remember how I said I was concerned about what my friends would think?

Well, one of the best things has been the reactions I’ve heard from them. They’re very supportive, and they’re proud of me for taking the chance!

Try this yourself and make a list of the worst things that could happen if you started your own jewelry business, and I’m confident that you will come to the same conclusion I did.

Just take things one step at a time, and you will see that it’s not as intimidating!

I’m so thankful to have come so far this year, and I love what I do.

Although I’m still just getting started in my business, but I’m thrilled that I’ve had many small successes along the way, and I love telling people I meet that I am a Jewelry Artist!

Polly Hendrickson