This is definitely something that not many people do anymore. They just rely on others and shop around for beaded jewelry in hopes to find a style they will enjoy. You can teach them how to make their own. It is not only useful and practical it is also loads of fun! You could charge about $70 per student. Keep the class down to how many you could handle, such as 15-20 students. Just make sure you have all the supplies and knowledge you will need to teach beading classes.
If you are skilled at bead working, more than likely you enjoy it. What a great way to make money with something you enjoy doing anyway. This is a great hobby that many people would like to learn, once they find a class. Once you make the initial investment on tools, it is a relatively inexpensive hobby too. Especially if students plan to make their own jewelry, the savings they will enjoy is another advantage. Reminding them of this when charging about $70 per student, will help convince them that the investment will be well worth the future savings they will enjoy.
Be sure to keep your classes a comfortable size. You will notice that the students will often help each other and love chatting when they are working on their jewelry. You can decide whether you want to provide the basic supplies needed for your classes or require them to buy their own before the class. If you choose to include the tools and beads, you can include the cost to the charging amount of the class. You could also offer a kit in the class, so they can choose to buy it from you, or purchase their own before the class begins.
Most communities have adult classes offered to their citizens; this might be a good place to offer your classes. If there is a large interest in bead working, they will be happy to give you the opportunity to teach your classes. They will usually offer a room to do this in also and sometimes are able to offer credits for those attending college or public schools. You can also offer to have jewelry making parties with people that may have several different friends that would like to learn this skill together. Offer to give the person hosting the party a discount, or free beads, etc.
If you need to advertise, check with your local bead shops. Ask if they would like an instructor, or ask to leave a pamphlet and business cards in their store, for interested people. You might also offer to send your students to certain bead shops that you are familiar with yourself. See if they might be willing to offer your students a small discount on their first purchase in the store. This is a great way to encourage regular customers to some of your favorite bead shops. The shops in turn will appreciate your referrals and may offer you a discount per each class too, especially if you buy the tools and supplies from them to offer in your classes for sale.
Give this idea a thought; you may be happy that you did. This could give you a very good income, be sure to include successive classes to follow. There is always more to learn when learning new skills, even going so-far as offering classes on making your own beads.
Resources:
http://www.auntiesbeads.com/
http://jewelrymaking.about.com
http://www.beadage.net/
http://www.jewlrysupply.com/
July 5, 2009
