Manager's To Do

Consider Your Cold Weather Plan, Evaluate Staff Holiday Performance, and More Manager’s To-Do Items for January

Make sure you take some time on the mountaintop to consider how you could become the sort of business that would be strong enough to put your current store out of business.

Published

1 month ago

December 2, 2025

INSTORE Staff Instore December 2025 Issue

Consider Your Cold Weather Plan, Evaluate Staff Holiday Performance, and More Manager’s To-Do Items for January

Jan. 4-10

STRATEGY A question to ask as you begin planning for 2026: How can we become the company that would hypothetically drive us out of business?

OPERATIONS There’s talk of a polar vortex occurring this winter. Have a plan in place should the weather get so severe it interrupts business. Could you, for example, offer a 2 percent discount for every inch of snow that falls if customers are willing to brave the conditions to come in? Or could you boost your online offerings?

STRATEGY A belated resolution: Keep an ongoing record of promotions this year. It will enable you to make better decisions in the future. Take a few minutes to note what you did each time and how well it worked.

Jan. 11-17

STAFFING Evaluate staff: It’s easy to see your best and weakest performers immediately following your busiest month of the year. This is the time to make those changes.

SHOP We’re in an era of accelerating price increases. The new year is the perfect time to raise your repair prices to reflect changing metals prices, higher wage bills, and the money you’ve probably been leaving on the table. Trust us, no one will complain.

SALES Call up disappointed customers who didn’t get their wish-list items and offer them the piece (especially if it’s an item that didn’t sell well) at a small discount.

Jan. 18-24

INVENTORY Contact suppliers. Ask if they have distressed merchandise following the holiday season that might be a fit for your market.

BENCH Look into getting a live feed mounted. Customers love to see your benchies working in real time and close up, be it stone setting, fabrication, or hand engraving. Live feeds also make for a great teaching tool that allows your most experienced jewelers to teach the rest of staff with micro-visual demonstrations.

ONLINE Take advantage of images provided by vendors, often easily available through the company’s website. If you haven’t assigned the task yet, designate someone to spend at least 20 minutes a day overseeing your social media, making sure it’s up to date and fresh.

Jan. 25-31

FINANCES Tax season is upon us, and identity thieves can’t wait to use stolen Social Security numbers to claim fraudulent refunds. Whether or not you’re expecting a refund, you might want to file your taxes as soon as you have all the paperwork you need. You can usually file by the last week of January.

MANAGEMENT Do your employees have the opportunity to do what they do best every day? If not, how can you tweak their schedules to ensure they do?

OPERATIONS Have a locksmith clean and lubricate door locks, safe mechanisms and showcase locks. This is all about having a smooth operation.

Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson

When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren. For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish. "Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful." The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing." Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."