In the Spotlights 2014 | Page 12

Q: Do you have a life motto and if so, would you like to share this with us?

I'm not really one for motto's but a while ago I found one on Pinterest that appealed to me..

'Life doesn't have a remote, you have to get up and change it yourself'. I've made a couple of scary and brave choices to change things in my life in the last ten years that have been incredibly liberating. I wish I had appreciated this idea earlier but that's all part of life's journey and now if I find myself with doubts my mantra tends to be 'if you don't like it, change it'. Not that the 'doing' is always easy of course....

Q: Do you have tips and tricks you like to share with us?

If I were to offer one tip it would be be true to yourself and don't be tempted to compare. By which I mean don't compare your work, your style, your sales, your success, your prices with those of others because it will only cause you heartache. You don't know how anyone else runs their business so any comparison will be at best inaccurate. If someone is selling the same type of thing as you at half the price they might be doing it as a hobby and just covering their material costs. If they're selling three times more than you then they may be selling to friends or paying for marketing opportunities or working 3 times longer than you. They may have different goals from you too...I don't make my entire living from jewellery so selling huge quantities is not my key driver whereas for others it may be essential.

This is a very simplistic approach and obviously if you're running a jewellery making business you need to know your market and your competition but you're better off expending effort on your own designs and plans than focusing on what others are doing.

You can find Lesley’s gorgeous jewelry in her etsy shop THEAjewellery and her wonderful components in her etsy shop THEAElements .Follow her through her blog and art jewelry blog. You can also find information on her facebook page.