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You can be the smartest store owner in the world but it’s all for nothing if you can’t convey your ideas to staff. During Effective Communications Month, brush up on your active listening, verbal interaction, para-language, body language and writing skills. If you don’t know what all those are, you’ve got work to do.
This article originally appeared in the May 2015 edition of INSTORE.
6 This patriot is best remembered for his purported last words before being hanged by the British: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” On the 260th anniversary of Nathan Hale’s birth, do your bit for national security: Check that you’re compliant with the Patriot Act. Most small jewelers don’t have to worry. You can get a kit from the JVC if you’re not sure..
7 According to the rules of etiquette, a name badge should be worn: a) On the left shoulder; b) On the right shoulder; c) On the left hip; d) Around one’s neck. If you don’t know the answer (we won’t keep you in suspense, it’s b), you need to brush up on your manners during National Business Etiquette Week, which starts today (although the real takeaway from this week is that etiquette is not about the rules, it’s about being considerate.)
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 5-7 Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl & Gem Fair, Hyderabad, India
June 18-21 Cambodia Gems & Jewelry Fair, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
June 25-28 Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, Hong Kong
June 30-July 1 Jovella, Tel Aviv, Israel
13 Trooping the Color is Queen Elizabeth’s official birthday parade and has its origins in the regimental colors used to enable soldiers to identify their unit on the battlefield. Probably because we once played with toy soldiers, we think it’d make a cool theme for a gem roundtable — lay out all your British reds in one side, your French blues on an other, and finally your Prussian greens and marvel at their precise splendor (that June 18 is also the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo will provide extra thematic support.)
16 On the 55th anniversary of the premiere of Psycho, gather your staff and lay out scissors, a shower curtain, and a screechy violin. Tell them you’re going to practice techniques for dealing with “psycho” customers. (And now that you’ve got their attention you can put the scissors away — and suggest they read this: 8 Keys for dealing problem people from Psychology Today at instr.us/5151).
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For all the advances in lighting over the past 15 years, it’s still hard to beat the fire and brilliance that is ignited when a ray of June sunshine strikes a well-cut diamond. On National Daylight Appreciation Day (held to encourage business and home owners to find ways to bring daylight indoors on the summer solstice), give some thought to how you can securely share the wonder that happens when sunlight and diamond meet, even if it’s just stepping outside your door occasionally with a customer.
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There are some 70 million dads in the U.S. — about one-quarter of whom will receive an arts-and-craft gift today, while the rest get a share of the $11 billion spent on father’s Day presents. Only a small fraction of the latter will receive something they wanted more than a handmade box to hold the remote control. Yes, Dad’s a tough person to buy for, but he’s probably got enough ties, enough fishing flies, enough practice putting greens. What would really excite him is some of that new-age men’s jewelry (even the cufflinks are cool again). Make your case.
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Today is Let it Go Day. Whatever’s bugging you … that yappy dog next door, the person who pinched your parking spot … roll the idea up in your fist and then releeeeease it.
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If your idea of LGBT jewelry is rainbow-themed bracelets, you’ve got some catching up to do. With more states joining the same-sex legalization bandwagon, the market grows bigger and more sophisticated by the day. If you live in Chicago, you may like to take part in today’s Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade, the biggest in the country. If you live elsewhere, there are likely to be activities planned to mark LGBT Pride Month. Get involved.
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Wimbledon is more than green grass, strawberries and Rafa tugging at his white pirate pants. The world’s premier tennis tournament, which kicks off today, is prime marketing time for certain Swiss watch brands, not to mention tennis bracelets and whatever jewelry Serena happens to be wearing. Catch a ride.
S T O R E A N N I V E R S A R I E S
50 Years: Eichhorn Jewelry
Decatur, IN
Eileen Eichhorn recalls the excitement of getting her family’s jewelry store ready to welcome its first customers in the summer of 1965 “as if it were yesterday.” Her father, John, who had left his job as a watchmaker at another jeweler to open his own business, had given her the responsibility of displaying the store’s best merchandise in the windows. “I could count the number of items in the building in a half hour in those days,” she recalls. Today, the inventory is spread over 6,000 square feet that includes two private diamond showrooms and takes a dozen employees — including three of John’s 10 children — to manage. The store is celebrating its 50th anniversary with special savings (“50 different items each month at 50 percent off”) and telling its story with profiles of employees and vendors on its blog. “We are very humbled by our growth and are very thankful for our customers, new and old,” says Eileen, now the store’s president.
B I R T H S T O N E S
Pearls
Think of a synonym for something rare, fine and admirable, and what do you have? The lustrous pearl, gem of the shallow seas. Its use as a metaphor for purity, wisdom and perfection goes back to ancient religious texts and is surprisingly universal. It’s why the entrance to heaven is referred to as “the pearly gates.” It also partly explains why pearls were placed under a woman’s pillow (to increase her fertility), and why they became a favorite wedding gift. In addition to being June’s birthstone, pearls are given as the traditional present to mark a 30th wedding anniversary.