How do I go from an idea to a company? Interchangeable Jewelry? Personalized Gift Ideas
When I started this little venture I was looking for things that I could hang from my boots and change out based on what I was wearing or where I was going. I found cute glass lockets, mini charms, snaps and hanging charms. I fell in love with some of the ugliest snaps which I call Snap and Poppers. Snap because that is the base that I use to pop in your Popper. My parents gave me $500 to buy fun things that I could offer to my friends at a great price and still make money. I wanted everyone to be able to afford beautiful jewelry.
I had no idea there were other companies out there doing Lockets or Snaps or Charms. I thought I was so clever finding this concept in Amsterdam and Germany and was going to bring it here. I like to shop but that wasn't something I every looked for or saw in stores. When I had a little friends get together in my kitchen it was great and people loved what I bought to resell. I took all that money and bought more and did it again and again. I spent $100, made $200 and bought another $200 worth of product and made $400 and so on until I realized that this could be a company if I could figure out how to make my own things rather than something someone else was creating. I realized that's how business is created. You see or think of a great idea and do what you can to make it your own.
I went from buying from other companies to searching for my own factory that could create things I liked. Pictures of a favorite place, bling paws for my 6 dogs, crystal that looked like my grandmothers crystal ring, soccer with all the colors of the ball in sparkling glitter on a snap and so on. That's the perfect reason I went from 20 choices to over 1600 choices. We are all special and unique and like so many different things. I would do a show and someone would say do you have horse, a nurse, a purple and green and black and teal etc...they asked and I could make it. It wasn't easy. I've had 4 websites in 19 months, tried out 11 factories with less than half being trustworthy, tried to get things made in USA but the cost would no longer allow me to keep that affordable price point. I went from trying to help my parents pay for high school to homeschooling because my high school didn't allow more than 5 days in a quarter and many times a show can be 5-6 days. I meet thousands of people, work to get my items in stores, get media attention and this was a the direction I wanted to go.
That's how I started Yourself Expression Snap Jewelry and Interchangeable Accessories.
Shelby
