BRIDAL SALES
What kind of fun things are jewelers doing to make an engaged couple spread the word about your store to their friends?
They’re building stories worth retelling. Tim Ell of Zorells Jewelry in Bismarck, ND, rings giant wedding bells from his store’s very own bell tower for every engagement. Fakier Jewelers in Houma, LA, has couples lock a padlock over the bayou. Those experiences don’t just stay with the couple — they echo out to friends, family, and social feeds. A receipt doesn’t get passed around. A bell tower does.
ESTATE JEWELRY
How should I display estate pieces?
Don’t display them like everything else. Craig Husar of Craig Husar Fine Jewelry in Wisconsin brought in vintage perfume bottles and trinkets for props. “Sales escalated because of that,” he says. Lesson: estate is theater. Dress the set, sell the show.
MANAGEMENT
How do I get my staff to stop talking and actually act?
A common trap is confusing chatter with change. Stanford professors Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton, who coined the “knowing-doing gap,” warn that too many teams spend energy on strategy sessions and never move. A simple fix is the “No Zero Days” rule: every single day, do one tangible thing — however small — that moves a project forward. The habit kills inertia, proves progress is possible, and gets you out of the meeting room and back into motion.
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MOTIVATION
Why does positive thinking sometimes backfire?
Optimism is great for setting goals but lousy for following through. Dr. Gabriele Oettigen, psychology professor at New York University and author of “Rethinking Positive Thinking”, says when people only imagine success, they feel like they’ve already arrived — and lose motivation. Her solution is “mental contrasting”: picture your goal, then picture the obstacles. The friction keeps you realistic and forces you to plan. It’s not about negativity — it’s about turning daydreams into action.
STRATEGY
What’s the most underrated way to boost luck in business?
Your network. Entrepreneur Anthony Tjan, author of “Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck”, says big breaks usually come from “secondary contacts” — not your closest friends, but their friends. The cousin of your dentist. Your hairdresser’s son. Those are the wild cards that lead to big wins. Build your circle wide, and fortune walks through someone else’s door straight to you.
COLORED GEMSTONES
Are gemstone roundtables worth the hassle?
If you like $900,000 in sales, yes. Robin Johannes of Johannes Hunter in Colorado Springs, CO still remembers her 2005 event that hit that number. She kept the group small, gave top clients first crack at the trays, and let the stones do the work. Not every night will be a record-breaker, but every night can be a show.
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MARKETING
Can I use humor in ads without weakening the message?
Yes — if the humor reinforces the point. Roy H. Williams, the “Wizard of Ads,” says the test is simple: if recalling the joke forces people to recall the ad’s main claim, the humor is motivated; if not, you just ran a free comedy show. For jewelers, the sparkle should still be the star. A little levity sticks in memory, but the offer must shine through.
STRATEGY
Isn’t planning for the worst just pessimism?
Planning isn’t pessimism — it’s survival. “You need a playbook in the event a downturn happens,” says Sven Smit of McKinsey & Company. Write simple outlines for three different economic scenarios: dip, drop, disaster. If the economy shoves you out of the plane, you’ll want a parachute, not just wishful thinking.
STAFF
What’s the best way to enforce a locker rule for phones without feeling like a prison warden?
Start by locking up your own. When the boss models it, staff follow. Karen Fitzpatrick of Harris Jewelers in Rio Rancho, NM, uses lockers and makes it a customer-service standard, not a punishment. Phones belong in pockets and lockers, not on counters. It’s not jail. It’s retail.
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