Entrepreneurship Reflection

 The Wadhwani Foundation program got me thinking about setting up a website to sell my jewellery especially since Covid has suspended all physical markets. The only thing is I will probably need to set aside about a week to just focus solely on the website. Even if I set up the structure of the website and add my jewellery later. 

Some other important concepts of website building I need to consider are:

• a logo
• mission statement
• photography of my jewellery
• artist statement
• an active social media account

Entrepreneurship Summary

At the beginning of the semester, I took part in a ten-week entrepreneurship program where we made a prototype website for a hypothetical business. Compared to the prototype website done in Wix I decided to rather do my website in WordPress as it is more user friendly. Even though WordPress is user friendly I have found that it takes a lot of time to set up a website. I also looked at Halstead's Jewellery Business Toolkit and the ten-week program.

Anon. (n.d.). Wadhwani Ignite.

Market vs Website

 I have been running the DUT table at the market for two years and from my experience at the market simple designs sell. Pieces that are simple sell better but it is not always about price design-wise it needs to be relatable to a large audience as there aren't the same people attending every market. The I heart market has become flooded with jewellers meaning if I want to continue with markets once I am done at DUT I have to start looking at other markets that will be available to me.

That is why I am looking at setting up a website as working with one theme, organic, means my work won't appeal to everyone. Websites can reach more people when promoted well. Also during times like this pandemic, a website won't need to close as there is no physical contact. The downside to a website is that it is taking time for me to learn how to set it up but from experience, WordPress has been easier to work in compared to Wix which I used for the Wadhwani Foundation program.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Market Table.

Jewellery Specific Entrepreneurship

 Through Instagram, I found the Halstead Jewelry Business Plan Toolkit which is a PDF document about entrepreneurship. I am currently working through the pages, they are basically a repeat of the 10week program I already did. The 10-week course was generalised but in-depth whereas the PDF is jewellery specific but doesn't go in-depth with setting up a business. 

The pages include resources for stuff like taking how to take photos of the jewellery which is going to be to be useful for setting up my website and posting on my Instagram page. Photos are the selling factor when it comes to jewellery especially when the customer can't physically hold the jewellery because it is being viewed online.

Greene, K., (2020). Halstead Jewellery Business Plan Toolkit

Entrepreneurship

I worked through a ten-week entrepreneurship, online, program run by the Wadhwani Foundation in India. The program consisted of students working in groups of threes to work on their business plan. I was grouped with two fine art students and we didn't have a business idea so we worked on a hypothetical website, on Wix that was never launched, where art and jewellery students can sell their work. The program was a lot of work but it made me realize how beneficial entrepreneurship skills are when you have practical skills that can easily be turned into a business. 

I run the jewellery departments table at the I Heart Market but due to Covid-19, the number of traders and customers at the market has decreased. After observing this I realized if I want to sell my work I need to look at other options such as selling through Instagram, Facebook or starting a website like we did for the course.

Links: summary video & Final PowerPoint

Plan

 My plan for this year is to develop a design/s that can then be mass-produced or made into spin-offs that can be tested in the market.

For me to develop a design I need to find a starting point, during my diploma the lecturers would give us a theme or a form of jewellery as our starting point. I have always struggled to find my starting point but I have settled on working towards my sunflower earring. 

While working on my sunflower earring I want to work on spin-offs that I can be easily mass-produced to then be sold at the market or on a website.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Workbench