Comments on: The Courage to Try New Opportunities in Your Jewelry Business (Video)

By: Rena Klingenberg

Rena Klingenberg — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 16:34:01 +0000

In reply to Barbara. Thank you, Barbara!

By: Barbara

Barbara — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 12:37:17 +0000

Great analogy Rena! I try all clothes on, because as I always tell my hubby, just because it looks good on the hangar doesn’t mean it’ll look good on me. Some look like they were made for me, others aren’t a a good or flattering fit.
How awesome to apply that to opportunities! Takes way the fear

By: Rena Klingenberg

Rena Klingenberg — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 02:20:45 +0000

In reply to Dianne Jacques. Dianne, that sounds like a good plan, and I love the challenge to get 100 rejections!

By: Dianne Jacques

Dianne Jacques — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 16:55:27 +0000

Great perspective! I was recently given a challenge in relation to wholesale pitching. The challenge was to get 100 rejections! Yes, you heard that right…rejections. What this did psychologically was remove the fear of rejection. Now, I knew ahead of time that that was the thinking behind this so I was skeptical, but tried it anyway. To my surprise, it actually worked. So how am i doing you ask? Three shops in one week said YES to the 5 who said no. I do some research into a shop before I pitch for things like style, price point, location, etc…
I can look at it from the viewpoint that I had 5 rejections and get discouraged. On the other hand, I have 3 new wholesale accounts and I don’t have time to worry about the ones who said no.
A funny thing happened by the 3rd rejection. I actually got excited and said to my husband “I get to cross off another square on my rejection challenge! He gave me a very puzzled look and suggested I see someone about that! LOL
For the ones who said “we aren’t taking any jewelry at this time”. I plan to follow up every 6 months and have put that on my marketing calendar.

By: Rena Klingenberg

Rena Klingenberg — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 16:17:50 +0000

In reply to Toula Parou. Toula, thank you for your lovely comment! :)

By: Toula Parou

Toula Parou — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 09:31:46 +0000

Hello Rena,
Thank you for all these great advises and ideas you give us. Things are exactly as you tell them! Also thank you for sharing with us details and secrets very use-fulls . It’s my lovely site!!

By: Consuelo

Consuelo — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:57:13 +0000

I love this site! This is perfect read for the beginning of the new year of being in the jewelry business. We have been making jewelry as a business since 2009 and have yet to make our business as profitable as we think it can be. We, my daughter and I try to make different and new pieces each year and have learned a lot and increased our skills as makers. I total agree with your video that as crafters we must work at it. Trying new skills are part of the process. Trying new venues are all of the process. Don’t get discourage and down on yourself. Work on your skills and you might just figure out where your niche is in the jewelry business. Thank Rena for all your encouragement.

By: zoraida

zoraida — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 15:11:03 +0000

I am truly a believer of “nothing ventured, nothing gained” and will try almost anything. If it doesn’t turn out the way I would have liked, I still learn something from it and that’s good enough. Sometimes I’ll even go back and try again after a break. How could you grow as an artist of any kind without venturing into unfamiliar areas? Failing is a perspective. My Taiko (Japanese drumming) sensei used to say “you’re not doing it wrong, you’re improvising”.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 07:58:34 +0000

I have been making jewelry since 2004, not selling lots but developing my craft. I love this site because it gives me so much to think about and learn. I am unable to do craft fairs because of the intensity of time involved since I have Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia. However, I started teaching a beginning jewelry class at our local craft store once a week in the evening for about 1-1/2 years now. I don’t always have students but love the interaction with the store employees and customers each week. I sit at a table and work on my jewelry, share my craft with others, and it brings great joy to my life. I was taking a watercolor class and I thought, I could teach jewelry classes since I love teaching, and my teacher encouraged me to explore when I could do this. I was in the local craft store one day and others were asking my advice while in the jewelry aisle. I thought, why should I give free advice to customers when I could get paid to teach them. I went to the store manager and asked if I could make an appointment to talk to her about teaching classes. That bold decision that day came to fruition of being the only one in my small town teaching jewelry classes out of several bead stores around. I LOVE it, just wish I had more students. However, the experience has been really good for me, getting my feet wet slowly so to speak.

By: LeAllyson Meyer

LeAllyson Meyer — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:08:14 +0000

Hi Rena,
Thanks for this great advice. I get myself overwhelmed with all the opportunities out there to try for my business. I spend way to much time worrying about if something will be successful. I am learning to try the new things. The hard part is when they don’t work out, I feel like I wasted my time and energy. However, I am realizing more and more that I did not waste anything. I learned from my experience to be able to move in the direction that is suited to me.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 17:21:21 +0000

I would like to thank you, Rena, for providing transcripts for your videos. My internet restricts my bandwidth and, since I work from home using the internet and have 2 sons living with me, it would be very easy to go over the limit. Being able to read the transcript is a wonderful alternative. Thank you.

By: Jean

Jean — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 23:58:27 +0000

Rena, this is such positive advice. About a month ago, one of the shops carrying my jewelry decided to go with less expensive jewelry. I took my four or five items back feeling a little down. Well, within the month, I sold two of the pieces that had been sitting in the shop for a year. Plus, I didn’t have to pay a commission!

By: Liz

Liz — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 17:10:19 +0000

Thanks for a new perspective on looking not just at business relations but at life. I don’t stop shopping for clothes just because some things I try on don’t fit! It is that black and white thinking that gets me in trouble every time.

By: Maxine

Maxine — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 16:27:09 +0000

Good topic for the new year! I’ve tried twice to place my jewelry in local shops: both in florist shops. Neither worked well; perhaps it’s the economy or the small town locations. It was a learning experience in display and dealing with other business people. I also tried shipping jewelry to a cousin in Ottawa, who placed it in an upper class hair salon and dealt with the owner for me. Doing it at such a long distance was very awkward and expensive for me, considering the cost of shipping to Canada from the US. I’d like to try again, but I’m not sure yet of where I would fit best.

By: Kathryn Berkowitz

Kathryn Berkowitz — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 13:10:43 +0000

What a great way to look at things. This is very helpful, and I think I needed this attitude adjustment !