On Launching A New Product Line For Men For My Handmade Jewelry Business
This is a follow up story for Gold Pan Pete Design. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published almost 6 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
My name is Alex Moore and my business is called Gold Pan Pete Design. I design and make handcrafted jewellery for men and women. I also make some men’s apothecary items like beard oils, solid colognes, and design stickers and apparel.
For my financials, I make on average $2000-3000/mo, coming from a weekly market that I sell at, and online and word of mouth orders.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?
Since I was last featured, the business has been both up and down. Since a large chunk of my sales comes from a very busy tourist market, business relies a lot on the weather, which has not been very good this summer. It’s been unusually wet and cold, which prevents a lot of the foot traffic that I rely on. There has also been a huge downturn in tourist numbers coming from China due to the Coronavirus. However, my online business has picked up and also I’ve signed on with some new brick and mortar shops to start selling my pieces. This has helped revive some of the lost profits from the market.
You will make mistakes and you will fail. Use these to learn something and improve for next time. Be resilient and keep going!
I’m still just a one-man band, per se, but I’ve launched a few new products and have some new items in the works. Along with jewellery, I also make goods for men, like all-natural beard oils and solid cologne. Also, I have been selling my branded t-shirts and trucker hats, with more ideas for designs on the way. Finally, I’ve been designing some lower-cost stickers for customers who might not be interested in buying jewellery.
Recently, I watched a video by the legend, Gary V., in which he shared some strategies to retain customers. One tip I took from that is that whenever I get an in-person sale, I personally write out a discount code for future website orders on my business card. This has worked a few times with some customers making more orders online after visiting me at the market.
I still mainly use Instagram (@goldpanpete) for my social media. But I’ve always thought that I want to show more than just jewellery as I know if I was following me, I wouldn’t always want to be shown photos of jewellery. I share the content of the scenery around me here in New Zealand and more appealing product photos. In my Instagram stories, I share more personal things like family, etc.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
One lesson that I learned is to not always rely on one sales avenue. For me, it was relying on the market to always bring in the huge sales numbers. And when there are issues beyond your control (weather, global epidemics, etc), if you don’t have other ways to sell set up, you could be in big trouble.
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
For the next year, my goals are to go from $2-3K per month to $4000. I plan to do this by doing regular product updates on my website and expanding my line of apothecary goods to natural soaps and bug spray. (There are a lot of hikers in this area and the sand flies are terrible!) I also plan to expand my list of stockists to 3-4 more shops around the country. I would also like to expand into Australia and back into the US (my two US stockists have closed).
I’m also excited about teaching jewellery making this year in the form of online and in-person courses. I’ve launched one course on the website, Skillshare, and plan on filming and adding more in the next few months. For in-person courses, Airbnb Experiences is a good opportunity to take advantage of the growing tourist industry in my area. In 5 years, I want my side hustle to be a full-time business.
Have you read any good books in the last year?
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Some of my favorite ones are Side Hustle School, The Ridiculously Human Podcast, School of Greatness with Lewis Howes, The Joe Rogan Experience, Tim Ferriss Podcast...plus many many more!
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
Something that I have learned is to get your product out there. Don’t wait until it is perfect, cause you could be waiting for a long time!
Get it out there and then improve on it. You will make mistakes and you will fail. Use these to learn something and improve for next time. Be resilient and keep going!
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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