Last Laugh: Chuck Kuba

Published

13 years ago

December 28, 2010

Last Laugh: Chuck Kuba

A woman and her husband are having dinner at an expensive restaurant when she informs him she hired a private detective and she knows all about his affair. Furthermore, she wants a divorce. The guy casually agrees and says they’ll have to sell off everything to split assets and that includes her new, 5-carat diamond solitaire ring. You could hear a pin drop. Suddenly, she blurts out, “Isn’t that Bill over there? And who’s that woman he’s with? That’s not his wife.” Her husband replies, “No, that’s Bill’s mistress.” The wife thinks a minute and says, “Well, she’s not nearly as pretty as ours!”

[componentheading] About our Joker [/componentheading]

“I am grateful to find somebody who appreciates my sense of humor. Thanks INSTORE!” says Chuck Kuba, owner of Iowa Diamond in Des Moines. Kuba has a bachelor of arts degree in nonprofit management (he’s aware of the irony) and a family history in the jewelry business. In 2007, Inc. Magazine chose Iowa Diamond for the Inc. 5,000 as one of the fastest-growing independent companies in the U.S. But Kuba finds time to relax, too. He plays bass in a number of ensembles, including the Iowa Diamondtaires, the store’s in-house band.

[span class=note]This story is from the January 2011 edition of INSTORE[/span]

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”