Jewelry Business Guru by Cindy Edelstein

Protecting Your Product Ideas

Ladies Who Launch is one of my favorite business programs -- it's a grassroots organization that offers "incubators" for women who have a great business idea and need support. Frankly, wish I'd thought of it!

However, on their blog this week there's a great entry on Patents and defending your brilliant ideas.
Kim Lavine, author of Mommy Millionaire, writes:

    I remember when I was just starting out, perhaps the scariest moments for me involved putting my ideas out there in the marketplace, worrying about somebody knocking them off. Since then I’ve learned that the idea is only 5% of a product’s success—and this may include the patent! The other 95% is sales and marketing. You can find a whole section in my book MOMMY MILLIONAIRE on patents, and I would suggest everyone read it to find out the absolute basics for going forward, including when to pay and attorney, and when not to. ..... read more

I never saw a 5%/95% ratio before  and I'm glad someone else said it other than me!

Sales trumps design - EVERY TIME!

Build a Website for a Buck

Read on Entrepreneur.com's blog today:

If you've been dreaming up an e-commerce site, blog or online business, this is the time to give it a shot--for $1. That's right, MyDomain, a domain registration company, is offering customers the chance to launch a website for $1 for 30 days. The site's "Build Your Dream Business" promotion, which kicked off today, allows customers to pick a domain name and use MyDomain's software to publish their website. After the 30-day trial, customers can continue to use MyDomain's annual domain registration and three months of hosting for $41.80.

Want a Personal Travel Assistant?

Again, reading Entrepreneur.com's blog and learned about Tripit.com.

A free web service that will combine all your travel plans/docs into one itinerary you can access online and in print and coordinate it all with your companions. It seems like a great thing to do for a vacation or for your first trip to a new city for a trade show or craft fair. I can see this being a good thing. Let me know if you try it!

Post-Emmy's

Where were the necklaces? And what was up with all those hair-do's??????

Small-business owners work longer, happier hours

Speaking as someone who is online/plugged in almost all the time, I agree with with this report in the NAWBO Smartbrief:                   

    Small-business owners work longer hours and more holidays than the general population, but they also feel more in control of their lives, according to the latest index from Discover Small Business Watch. Another plus is small-business owners get more support from their spouses when they check their e-mail on their days off compared to those who work for other people, according to the report. Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)/Associated Press

I'd say we're happier too and our families are more integrated into our work life. Would you?

Do You Know What Swag is?

Swag = free stuff given at swanky events for promotional opportunities

Basically, it's a party goody bag for adults. You've heard about them after the Oscars and other "red carpet" events -- gift bags/baskets filled with all kinds of goodies companies paid the event planner to give to you. If you're a celebrity.

Going along with the swag bag is the swag event -- "lounges," "bars" and open-house like parties hosted by companies or by swag-organizers to get celebs to come get their free stuff ... for the price of a photo with their branded free stuff.

The Emmy's are coming up so here's one way a big jewelry brand has gotten some celebrity exposure -- and managing to take Eco-Friendly (buzz word of the year) very upscale.

Read about it all on swagtimeblog.com:

My Heart is on Fire at the Green with Envi Celebrity Gift Lounge

Emmy week kicked off in high style with the Hearts On Fire "Green With Envi" Celebrity Gift Lounge.  Held at The Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills, the lounge celebrated not only the upcoming 59th Annual Emmy Awards, but also focused on Hollywood's growing eco-consciousness.  The goal of the lounge was to demonstrate and educate how products can be luxurious and environmentally friendly.

                                                                                                           ... keep reading

Eco-friendly/Green/Conflict-free is a huge upcoming trend for jewelry. I've heard of 4 designers who have made eco-friendly specific jewelry lines (reclaimed gold, certified conflict-free diamonds, etc.) and a few others who are positioning what they already do as friendly since it's using raw elements (no nasty emissions were created in the processing) or antique parts (recycled). As previously mentioned in this blog a few weeks ago -- ABC Carpet & Home, which sells a lot of jewelry, has just created an entire Eco-Friendly jewelry inhouse boutique.

I hope you've got something green in your upcoming collections besides tsvaorites and emeralds!