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Flashback: The Agony and Ecstasy of a Small Business

August 23, 2019 by WendyB

Yesterday’s post about the challenges of combining art and commerce reminded me of an essay about small business that I wrote for the Huffington Post in 2012. And, like I said recently, it’s occurred to me that I need to republish all my Huffington Post pieces on this blog, because they could vanish at any…

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Filed Under: About Wendy, Business, education, get smart, journalism, prices, The Bitchtastic Guide to Business™, Words of Wisdom Tagged With: flashback friday, huffington post, small business advice

Fashion Repeats Itself: High-Heel Flip Flops

April 8, 2019 by WendyB

Emilia Petrarca, fashion writer for New York Magazine’s The Cut blog, recently alerted Twitter to two pairs of high-heel flip flops. Heeled flip-flops are coming pic.twitter.com/3xqOvLN3Kx — Emilia Petrarca (@EmiliaPetrarca) April 2, 2019 Both pairs are made out of leather, so it’s probably more accurate to call them “thong sandals” than “high-heel flip flops,” which…

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Filed Under: Business, Fashion, Fashion Repeats Itself, fashion trends, get smart, shoes, Words of Wisdom Tagged With: glossier, into the gloss, julep, sigerson morrison, tavi gevinson

Wednesday’s Video: BS Your Way Through a Business Plan

January 16, 2019 by WendyB

People considering entrepreneurship often ask me if they need a business plan. My answer is, yes, you should have one. My caveat is that it will probably be complete bullshit. Yep, lots of business plans that are full of optimistic bullshit, and that’s true whether they are drawn up by a one-person company or by…

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Filed Under: advice, Business, education, get smart, The Bitchtastic Guide to Business™, video, Words of Wisdom Tagged With: business plans

Wednesday’s Video: Career Advice for Disruptive Times

January 9, 2019 by WendyB

My latest YouTube video is a continuation of my series of job and business tips. This time, I’m sharing what I’ve learned from the my own surprising career path, which took me from journalism to jewelry design. Today I reveal the faulty logic behind two bits of conventional wisdom: That NOT having a Plan B…

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Filed Under: About Wendy, Business, education, get smart, The Bitchtastic Guide to Business™, video, vintage WendyB photos Tagged With: aol, business advice, career advice, entrepreneurs, people magazine, time magazine

Wednesday’s Video: Jewelry Industry Career Advice

July 18, 2018 by WendyB

I had such a good response to last Friday’s talk at the Gemological Institute of America Career Fair that I decided to redo it on video for people who couldn’t attend the event in person. Whether you’re a bench jewelry or a would-be designer, I’ve got recommendations for you. There are also some thoughts that…

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Filed Under: About Wendy, Business, get smart, video Tagged With: business advice, jewelry career

Recommended Reading: Fine Jewelry in the News

September 30, 2017 by WendyB

There were two good articles about fine jewelry in consumer-oriented publications recently. I’m excited because it’s relatively rare to find interesting stories about my industry outside the trade press. Laurie Brookins’s article in the September 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter was called “Hollywood’s Pay-to-Wear Jewelry Wars” (in the print edition). This is far from…

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Filed Under: Business, Celebrities, education, get smart, In the News, Jewelry Tagged With: celebrity jewelry

Get Smart About Manufacturing, Take Two

October 19, 2016 by WendyB

In 2010, I explained that it’s much more expensive to manufacture goods in the U.S. compared to manufacturing overseas, which results in U.S.-made goods being more expensive for consumers. CLICK HERE TO READ THE 2010 POST. I wrote that post to explain why my limited-edition jewelry designs — 99% of which are made in New…

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Filed Under: Business, get smart, In the News, politics, rants

Recommended Reading: Manufacturing Realities

September 21, 2015 by WendyB

I’ve been meaning to share this for so long! Back in July, Michael Hobbes wrote an enlightening story called “The Myth of the Ethical Shopper” for the Huffington Post. There’s a cycle here in the U.S. (and other Western countries). We as consumers want inexpensive goods, which means manufacturers need to avoid steep U.S. /local…

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Filed Under: Business, get smart

The Agony and Ecstasy of a Small Business, Revisited

March 21, 2013 by WendyB

Last year, I wrote a story for the Huffington Post called “The Agony and Ecstasy of a Small Business.” It dealt with economies of scale, which is something I’ve also discussed on this blog here, here and here. In manufacturing, economies of scale means that the bigger the order (of widgets, iPhones, pens or jewelry),…

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Filed Under: Business, education, get smart, Huffington Post, my designs, The Bitchtastic Guide to Business™

Get Smart (About $4,000 Suits and $10,000 Rings)

September 19, 2012 by WendyB

I’ve written plenty about the classic small-business issue of economy of scale: the high cost of producing low quantity (and the even higher cost of producing low quality without a way to distribute the goods). My Huffington Post story, “The Agony and Ecstasy of Small Business,” offers the most concise explanation, but you can get…

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Filed Under: Business, earrings, education, get smart, my designs, newspapers, rings, swear rings, topshop

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MEET WENDY BRANDES

Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
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Original jewelry designs, photos and text are © Wendy Brandes 2007-2016. All rights reserved.

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