Welcome
In this Series ~ “Back Office Basics ~ Starting your own Jewelry Business”, we are exploring the process of starting your own Handmade Jewelry or Craft Business.
In the Intro, I outlined the series for you, and in Planning a New Business, I gave you a little of my backstory and included a Pre-launch Checklist you can download for free.
Make sure to check out all the posts in the series because each new post builds on the last.
Today we’ll be talking about one of the first important steps to take when you’re ready to turn your hobby into a professional business, writing your Bio.
Your Bio is essentially all you need to build a fantastic About Page for your Website, but it can double as a great Seller’s Profile on Etsy, Ebay and any other online shops.
So, what is a Professional Bio?
A professional bio is often the first experience that a potential client or customer has with you.
Your professional bio should be comprehensive yet concise.
When reviewing your professional bio, the reader should feel as though they know a great deal about you and your Business and can clearly see the benefits of working with you.
A good Bio can transform your business. It should provide a clearly stated purpose of who you are, what you do, how you benefit customers, and what you aspire to become.
The ability to clearly define yourself, your story and your work is vital to your business no matter where you do business.
Many people, including myself have a really hard time talking about themselves. Personally it took me three years to come up with something I felt comfortable with enough to put it out there to the world.
Having an outline and knowing what to include or leave out, will certainly make the whole process easier.
Try not to feel that you have to get everything perfect right out of the gate, you can always go back to change or polish your Bio any time you want.
Elements of a Great Bio
Key Elements
- Your Name
- Your Background
- Your Business’s Background
- Your Products or Services
- How you Provide your Products or Services
- Your Philosophy
- Your Mission Statement
All of these elements need to be included in order to present a clear picture of your Jewelry or Craft Business.
You want to think about your bio as your story as it pertains to your business and your craft.
A professional Bio is similar to a resume but it paragraph form.
Your Bio should tell your interesting story.
Profile Info
Start by introducing yourself. Use your name in the very first sentence. Follow up with a statement that defines you clearly and concisely.
Provide a short background of your experience in your field. And add a little interesting personal info.
Let’s look at my About Page as it relates to the key elements in our list. I have framed the examples from my About Page in turquoise, so you can easily find them.
In the first section, I am able to cover the top three key elements form the list above:
- Your Name
- Your Background
- Your Business’s Background
Hello,
I am Detrina Kofroth, a jewelry designer, teacher and small business owner.
I live in the beautiful Foothills of North Carolina and I come from a long line of Crafters on both sides of my family. I have been professionally making crafts, for most of my life.
I have three wonderful children and 3 precious grandchildren.
As my three children began to fly from the nest, I began to think about turning my part time craft experience into a full time career. I realized after a lot of soul searching, that Jewelry design is my one true passion.
Notice that in the first sentence, I not only tell my name, but I emphasize concisely what I do.
My second sentence tells the reader just enough about my background in relation to my business, but I have not mentioned The Alluring Bead Boutique at all yet.
My third sentence, about my children is a something personal to me that provides a segway into my next section.
In the paragraph underneath, I tell the reader how I began my business before I have even mentioned the name or any links, and I lead into the next section about my Jewelry and my shop.
The following two sections cover the next two key elements form the list above:
- Your Products or Services
- How you Provide your Products or Services
Your Products and Services
My unique OOAK jewelry, is all made by hand in my own home studio. I use only the finest and reputable materials that are ethically sourced. My work can be purchased in my Shop or on Amazon Handmade.
The Alluring Bead Boutique Shop is a Non-Traditional Jewelry Store. I specialize in Bead Weaving by hand and organic metalsmithing techniques. I also design and sell my own Patterns and Technique Guides.
In this section, note how I describe my jewelry, my materials and my processes as concisely as possible.
Here is the first time I provide my business name or links for exploration.
Notice that I only discuss one aspect of my business in this section, the things I sell.
I do not want to overwhelm the reader by cramming everything I do into one section.
If you are strictly in business to sell your crafted items, then you will want to write separate short paragraphs for products or services you specialize in.
I teach others to make Jewelry online through my Skillshare and YouTube Channels.
My Blog, A Jeweler’s Life, is dedicated not only to teaching jewelry techniques and design, but also to helping other craftsmen build their own business and brand.
My business has grown and evolved over the last few years, but my Core Value remains the same.
I strive to be a positive influence for my students, my customers and my communities.
In this section, I talk specifically about Teaching and Blogging.
I briefly mention my Teaching Platforms and provide links to them.
I go into more detail about my blog because it is what my business centers around.
I used a segway sentence once again to lead the reader to the next key elements:
- Your Philosophy
- Your Mission Statement
Your Business Philosophy
A company’s philosophy can be described as the reasons behind the way you choose to do business.
Your philosophy should portray the values you uphold in pursuit of your goals.
Focus on the Customer as you write this section.
Make sure to use your own Values and Goals to define your Business.
If you are struggling with this section, try using your personal code of ethics as your guide.
Your Mission Statement
A Mission Statement is a summary of the goals and values of a your business or yourself.
In this section, you want to emphasize what you want to accomplish as a business.
I used bullet points on my About Page for this section.
I listed my goals as they relate to what my business does and how I will achieve these goals based on my business philosophy and my code of ethics.
Notice that I wrote to the reader as if I were speaking and tried to use everyday language.
Tips
- Be honest.
- Start by using your Name in an introductory sentence.
- Provide only background info that is pertinent to your story as a craftsman or your business itself.
- Talk about your business separately from yourself.
- Be consistent in all your Online and Offline platforms.
- Do not tell your whole life story. You can use a more in-depth bio page for that if you think sharing it will have a positive impact on your business.
- Always focus on value to your potential customers and clients.
- When adding Graphics, choose ones that match the topic of the section.
Wrap-Up
Now that you have your Business Profile, Philosophy and Mission Statement mapped out, you are ready to take the next step.
In the next post, we will begin to explore how to set up a Basic Business Plan and develop your own business model.
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