Final lessons learned in this year's 100-day Jewelry Challenge

So, I finally wrapped up the challenge on June 1st...a bit later than I planned, but I'm pretty satisfied with what I got out of it. Like I mentioned before, this is my first year running my business full-time, and I'm figuring out how to stay creative while also making money. Even though the challenge started off slow, the pace definitely sped up towards the end. Honestly, it might have been a bit too fast! Not that I'm complaining, it was a lesson learned and something to keep in mind for the future...

I’ve found that the most helpful lesson learned from this year's challenge was figuring out how to juggle my workload better. I discovered a sweet spot for production which was working on small batches of enamel pieces versus trying to tackle big production runs. The smaller hand-crafted batches not only helped me stock up inventory faster but also let me be more creative with each batch. When it comes to workflow, I also realized that early in the year, I shouldn't spend too much energy on participating in shows. Instead, it would be better to focus on creating new designs and building up inventory for the year ahead. If I had done that this year, I probably wouldn't have been so swamped at the end of the challenge. One of my long-term goals is to stay ahead of demand so I’m not scrambling to make jewelry for a show or a new wholesale client, which was the norm when I was doing jewelry part-time.

In my last post, I shared some things I got done earlier in the challenge. Here is an update on what was accomplished these last few weeks (the final challenge update):

• Along with the one store I mentioned before in last month's post, I reached out to 2 more stores about carrying my work, making it 3 stores in total. Out of these, one accepted my work! I'm super excited about that! My goal for the year was to approach three stores, so I'm feeling great about being able to check that off!

• Joined in 4 shows.

• Took part in a gallery show.

• Getting ready for another gallery show in July.

• Worked on updating my Etsy shop.

• Started to think of better ways to catalogue and manage my inventory.

• Applied for a small business grant.

• Finished a course on mobile business applications

Feeling pretty good about how the first half of the year went, but there's still more to tackle. I'm planning to spend the next few weeks brainstorming and mapping out my projects for the rest of 2025. I'll keep you posted in my next update. Also, I'd love to hear from other creative business owners about what challenges you face or what’s really helped your business. And if you’re not a business owner, I’m curious about what you enjoy about working with small businesses or if you have any pet peeves about it... please share!