My Second Beading Party Booking!

I just got my second beading party booking!  This time it's for a girl's birthday party.  One of my students is the birthday girl.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I need to buy some colour-coordinated collections of glass beads in various sizes and styles.  They sell them at Michael's, but it's kind of expensive there.  I'll also get some charms; one thing I've learned from doing beading club at school is that kids love charms.  I've already got the tools and extra workmats from when I did the Girls' Night Out beading party at my friend Rita's.  The girls can choose to make either necklaces or bracelets, and I'll pre-string the wires with toggles and/or lobster clasps to save time.  Each party guest gets to take home their creation in a beautiful organza bag, and the birthday girl gets a free pair of earrings or bracelet in her favourite colour.  Wish me luck! This time, I'll take photos (hands only for privacy, of course, unless the parents agree to faces.)

'Night all!

Girls' Night Out Beading Party

Just got back from my first beading party booking. It was a Girls' Night Out party, hosted by my friend Rita. There were 5 guests, which was a good, manageable number for my first party. Before the party, we set up a long table and chairs in her basement, and put out a beading board, tools, and a laminated picture reference card at each place. The findings and some of the available beads were in the middle of the table. There were too many beads to fit on the table, so there was another area where the rest of the beads, organized by colour or type, were set up. My inventory of finished pieces was set up at one end of the room for people to browse, or to get inspiration.

Diversify!

It's been a month now since I opened my Etsy shop, and I've had no sales as of yet. I read on the Etsy community blog The Storque that the average time before the first sale is one month, so I won't take it personally yet. In the meantime, there are other things I'm doing besides my Facebook page and this blog to promote my shop. I made a business card on Publisher. Now that's a program that takes some time to master. If there was ever a reason to buy a Dummies book, that program is it. But I managed to figure it out, and the business card turned out really nice. I got 500 made, and I'm handing them out to anyone who comes near enough. Since I'm a teacher, I work with mostly women and have access to many moms, so I've been able to give away tons of cards. My business card also has info about the beading parties I do. I had my first booking recently, for a Girls' Night Out beading party with a bunch of women. I charge $30 per guest, and the guests can make either a necklace or a bracelet and earrings. That includes your choice of beads, gemstones, spacers, findings, use of tools, and instruction. The hostess for this party is providing the munchies and drink. If this were a regular booking, I would offer her a choice of some of my inventory, or maybe something custom made for her. I wonder what percentage I should offer? I would appreciate feedback on this, and any advice or hints anyone can offer on this topic.