Do Jewelers Take Time In January For Strategic Planning? Our Brain Squad Weighs In

Yes: 56%

• It is important for us to get a strategic plan. We have three owners with three different agendas, so the management team likes to come up with objectives to work toward for the year. We start with three pillars of success, and all decisions for what to focus on are based on that. We have had many years with no strategic planning. It led to less communication, more disgruntled staff, and having nothing to shoot towards creates a less motivated team as well. Many owners don’t value planning, but we have seen our sales grow as well as our employees’ skills, drive and attitude! — Natasha Henderson, Saxon’s Fine Jewelers, Bend, OR
• Plan and grow what worked, prune and ditch what didn’t! — Jill Keith, Enchanted Jewelry, Danielson, CT
• I try to anticipate changes that will affect our business and create a budget based on those assumptions. — John Hayes, Goodman’s Jewelers, Madison, WI
• You always want to look at what worked and didn’t work in the last 12 months, and look at new industry developments that may provide either opportunities or threats to protect your business from. — Dorothy Vodicka, The Gem Collection, Tallahassee, FL
• My business partner and I go off site for one to two days so we can plan the coming year without distractions. It would be impossible for the two of us to stay on the same page and not confuse the heck out of the staff if we didn’t. We are adding in a facilitator this year for the first time. We hope this will keep us accountable for following up on the decisions we made at our retreat. — Steve Floyd, Floyd & Green, Aiken, SC
• I look at the numbers, which companies sold well, what pieces sold best, what needs replenishment, what companies need to go. — Christine Matlack, E.G. Landis Jewelers, Boyertown, PA
• If I plan early I not only do better in business, I do better in pleasure. — Steven B. Goldfarb, Alvin Goldfarb Jeweler, Bellevue, WA
• I love the New Year. My favorite holiday, always invigorating! I try to jot down some goals/plans/ideas, and put together a vision board for the year. Nothing elaborate. I’ve tried planners, but never seem to take the time to write anything in them, let alone follow along! If I have my handwritten goal notes and my vision board above my desk where I can see them every day, that keeps me motivated! — Janne Etz, Contemporary Concepts, Cocoa, FL

No: 44%

• January is too busy. Lee Krombholz, Krombholz Jewelers, Cincinnati, OH
• We spend January rebuilding up our stock. Which means that we make jewelry for us to sell. — Idar Bergseth, Idar, Victoria, BC
• As a small operation, January is for physical inventory and decompression. Strategic planning is done with my ERA coach in February. — Stew Brandt, H. Brandt Jewelers, Natick, MA
• I just keep on truckin’. — Ira Kramer, Diamond Exchange of Maryland, Tallahassee, FL
• Planning is consistent and constant through the year, not delegated to one particular time. — Kim Hatchell, Galloway & Moseley, Sumter, SC
• January is Christmas cleanup. February is time for reflection. — Steven Wardle, Forest Beach Design, Chatham, MA
• It sounds like a good idea, but January is absurdly busy for me preparing tax stuff for the accountant and getting ready for Tucson. — Stacey Horcher, J. Reiss, Lincolnwood, IL
• We do our strategic planning in September and set our operating budget (marketing and inventory and expense) by November. January is too late for strategic planning! — Tom Duma, Thom Duma Fine Jewelers, Warren, OH