A Passion for Business

When I'm not making jewellery, I have another job working as a Business Coach. I work with people with disabilities who are exploring self employment as an option. It's rewarding and fun to see people develop businesses and get excited about the launch of their new venture. As we're going through the exploration process, one thing I always reiterate is that I think it is important to have a passion for what you're going to do.

Passion is the thing that will drive you to put in the hours required for success, it is the thing that will give you the nudge to get your books over to the accountant or set up your spreadsheets to track your income and expenses. For most of us (unless your business is accounting), the paperwork is the least loved part of our businesses, but it is a necessity that must be done. Passion for our business helps motivate us to do the tasks of necessity.

I am extremely busy because I work four days a week coaching and in my 'spare' time, I work on developing my jewellery business. I have recently opened two more Etsy shops to showcase my work. In addition to my Rock Your Wire shop, and my fairly recent venture, Rock Your Nose, for handmade nose adornments, I launched Rock Your Belly - a shop for - you guessed it - belly jewellery. I had also recently brought home some pieces of mine that were on consignment that hadn't sold, and that gave me the idea to create a new shop to liquidate older stock - things that hadn't sold in my other shops, designs that didn't catch on for some reason, or pieces that I don't make anymore because I've moved into a different area of design. The more I thought about the idea and brainstormed it with a friend, the more I liked it. I chose to open another Etsy shop called "Liquidation Mall" and am busy stocking it with a lot of great, quality, handmade items at bargain liquidation prices. I think it will be very successful once it catches on.

So back to the topic of passion - I simply could not, or would not do all of these things if I didn't have a passion for my business. These launches have required me to stretch my time, effort and energy to new levels. Because I love my business, I am a willing spirit.