Article from an interview with Debra Williams of Phoenix Arizona

Debra Williams started making jewellery last year with some old beads that she had lying around. She made twenty pairs of earrings and gave them to a friend who went to a swap meet. They all sold for between $1 and $2 dollars a pair. The was no special display, yet Debra’s simple beaded earrings sold like hot cakes and led her to make more.

By chance Debra was listening to a local talk show and heard an interview about selling products online. Even though she had no previous experience in this area, Debra decided to search the internet for buyers of costume jewelry. Upon doing this Debra came across the trade website, Alibaba, and decided to put her jewellery up for sale on this global trade site. She really wasn’t expecting much to happen, but thought the experience was worth a try. So Debra scanned her earrings and posted her details online for buyers to find.

To Debra’s surprise, she received an email from an import export trade company who requested a price for eight different styles of her beaded earrings, and total order of 30,000 pieces. Debra had to think fast, if she was going to take advantage of this opportunity she needed to reduce her prices and costs and give a competitive quote. So she applied for a wholesale resale license, as is necessary in the USA, and negotiated wholesale pricing on beads and findings.

Debra was recently laid off work along many of her colleague when the economic downturn hit her  home town and now she is planning on training up her former colleagues in the art or making her earrings, so that she can create a little cooperative home base business.

As an avid dog lover, it has always been Debra’s dream to have a home based business so that she can spend more time with her beloved dogs.

Debra is a pretty shrewd  women, she sought out advice from a former colleagues and friends and decided on insisting upon a 30% deposit before taking the order. She has competitively worked out her labour  and shipping costs, and has come to mutually beneficial rate per unit for her earrings, which gives her a nice little profit. The earrings are quick and simple to make and her material costs will be very low, so she is now looking forward to the future with optimism and confidence.