Treasured Charms is a jewelry and craft supply business I started as a hobby to earn a little extra money while working full time as an administrative assistant. In 2014 I quit that job to run my business full-time. I get a lot of questions about it so here is a summary of the most frequently asked questions.
Q: How did you come up with the idea?
A: It was really by accident. In 2009 I wanted to make Christmas earrings so I bought a bunch of polymer clay beads, made them into earrings and sold them online. While looking for some silver charms to make more earrings I realized that I could buy them much cheaper if I could find them wholesale. I now purchase charm supplies from over twenty different vendors and sell necklaces, earrings, charm bracelets and single charms.
Q: How much do you sell?
A: How much I sell depends on the time of year. I’m very busy in the fall leading up to Christmas. The rest of the year is pretty steady, with the slowest months being June-August. On average, I send out 30-40 packages a day. During the Christmas season I send out 100-150 packages a day.
Q: How did you quit your job to start your business full-time?
A: I started my business in 2010 and spent nearly every weekend and evening on it for four years. There were times I was so exhausted that I wondered what I was even doing. Finally in 2014 I had saved up a year’s worth of salary to fall back on if running my business full-time didn’t yield at least what I was making at my job. I now make nearly triple what I made at my full-time job so it was definitely worth it and I am so glad I took the leap. It is one decision in my life that paid off and my only regret is not doing it sooner.
Q: Do you work regular hours and what is your typical day like?
A: I wake up around 9am and work until I get all of my orders done and placed outside in the bin for my daily mail pickup. Depending on how many orders I have I’m done between 12-2pm. After that I usually take a break and eat, shower, and clean up around the house if I feel like it. The rest of my afternoon is spent relisting, ordering new inventory, taking new photos, editing, bookkeeping, or working on custom orders. I work again in the evening from 9pm until I go to bed around midnight. That time is spent getting orders for the next morning ready, responding to emails, and whatever else needs done that I don’t want to have to deal with in the morning. I generally don’t work weekends but will respond to customer emails sometimes. Sunday evening is dedicated to getting as much done as possible because Monday is my biggest shipping day of the week (usually 60-80 packages) from the weekend orders.
Q: Do you like working at home?
A: Yes! I don’t miss working with people or commuting every day one bit. I don’t wake up to an alarm clock, or dread my commute to work, and I don’t get depressed on Sunday night. My daily routine was exhausting and stressful to the point that I would often breakdown and cry or have fits of rage over basically nothing. My commute was over an hour each way and I worked with a lot of extroverted women which was difficult for me. Working from home probably isn’t for everyone but it works for me. I get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep every night and I wake up refreshed and not stressed out. Little things don’t set me off anymore, or as my husband says, “evil Jess is gone”. And most importantly, I have four office cats to keep me company all day. Treasured Charms is pet friendly!
Q: Since you and your husband both work from home, do you get sick of each other?
A: No! We both work from home, but we do not work together. He is a software developer that has nothing to do with my business and our office spaces are on different floors. We have lunch together and speak a few times during the day, but generally don’t see each other much other than that.
Q: Is it hard to keep home and business separated?
A: Not really. The only thing that is hard sometimes is our space or lack thereof. We had no idea we’d both be working from home full-time when we bought our small ranch house. I work in the basement, and although it is finished there are no windows which can be a little depressing on sunny days. In addition, as my business has expanded I have taken over half of the basement, many closets and some of the garage with my inventory and shipping supplies. My husband works upstairs in a bedroom that we converted into an office. Our neighborhood is fairly quiet but he does get distracted by noises and kids outside, especially in the summer. Needless to say we feel a little claustrophobic in our house. We are always on the lookout for a bigger house but I’m pretty attached to this one. We’ll see what happens!