Editor's Note

Considering a Big Risk? Make Sure It’s Personally Rewarding

Those are the gambles most likely to pay off.

Published

6 years ago

February 24, 2020

Trace Shelton Instore March 2020 Issue

IN THE PAST, the prevailing business wisdom was that risk-taking should leverage new technologies, evolving consumer preferences or organizational assets. One aspect that experts rarely, if ever, advised business owners to consider was the personal vision and strengths of the owners themselves. Yet that’s what many retail jewelry store owners are now using as the driving factor behind their big business risks.

This issue’s lead story examines the motivations (and results) behind the gambles taken by several store owners. One, executed by the husband-and-wife team of Steve and Melissa Quick, shrunk a three-store Chicago chain to a single store based on a desire for more “authenticity,” which translated into more product with stories they believed in, as well as more face time with customers. Another, a cross-country venture that required Pennsylvania store owner Cathy Calhoun to split time in Carmel, CA, was simply a result of the owner’s desire to live and work in that state. In the case of Leitzel’s Jewelry, the decision was made to open another location in a nearby market largely based on family dynamics.

Because independent jewelry stores are generally “family-owned” by a few people at most, it only makes sense that the biggest risks taken by these businesses should consider the personal vision of ownership as a primary factor.

What dreams have you been putting off? Now may be the perfect time to take that leap.

Considering a Big Risk? Make Sure It’s Personally Rewarding

Trace Shelton

Editor-in-Chief, INSTORE
[email protected]

Five Smart Tips You’ll Find in This Issue

Encourage word-of-mouth with a sign near your exit that reads, “Don’t forget to tell your friends about us!” (Manager’s To-Do, p. 30)
Invite your customers to an “Appraisal Clinic” at your store, reminding them that insurance typically pays the most recent appraisal value. (Manager’s To-Do, p. 30)
When taking a big risk, let staff know what’s going on, but don’t let them change your vision to suit their own preferences. (The Big Story, p. 38)
Form a jewelry book club that meets every other month. (Tip Sheet, p. 52)
Charge at least $100 for initial consultations on custom design, which can be applied to the finished piece. (Evan James Deutsch, p. 60)

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."