What’s your style of management, based on one of these pop culture icons?
How much time do you give the following to start showing it/they can perform?
If you had the opportunity to start over with your business, knowing everything you know now, what one thing would you do differently?
| Not take on debt |
|
11%
|
| Change the location |
|
11%
|
| Change the name |
|
5%
|
| Not work with family |
|
5%
|
| Focus on a different part of the trade |
|
5%
|
| Change your partner |
|
3%
|
| Buy not rent |
|
3%
|
| Nothing |
|
46%
|
| Other |
|
11%
|
“OTHERS” included take on debt, start with more capital, scale/upgrade faster, manage inventory better and “not worked so many hours or worried so much.” Of course, many of the lessons can only be learned. As one respondent put it: “It’s all part of the journey, and all necessary.”
What one decision, change or idea did you implement in the last 12 months that benefited your business the most?
A significant proportion of the responses touched on the hot button areas of the last few years – lab-grown diamonds, social media, gold trading and staffing. Of course, the genius is in the details. Here are some that stood out:
- Embraced vintage-jewelry reselling. The younger ladies/girls are loving it!
- Buying deeper into a brand.
- Increase clienteling with visual pictures of jewelry.
- We stopped sending paper checks and now pay everything electronically. It has saved us time, money, and headaches.
- We finally moved beyond some long-time problematic personnel.
- Using the repair calendar that is on the Edge for our repairs and custom work so we don’t overbook due dates.
- Adding a wedding band event.
- Not servicing watches — it was a waste of time.
- Shrinking the business and focusing on what makes us money.
- Stop offering alternative options for repairs like, ‘you can get by with only 10 retips for now’.
- Starting to measure KPIs, creating a strong Standards of Excellence and leveling up our staff (mindset and confidence, professionalism).
- Transitioned into high-end color diamonds for investment.
- Investing in training! I packed up my team, bought them business suits and sequin shirts, and took them to the shows. The result? Their product knowledge, vendor relationships, storytelling skills, and confidence all skyrocketed.
- Upgraded CAD and shop equipment.
- Increase marketing for old gold purchasing.
- Introduction of an extra spiff to staff that is only for in-stock items.
- Used Google boost.
- I found a new location for us. We now own our own building instead of renting in a downtown location. We have free parking and easier access to the store.
- We had our salespeople determine 20 new styles they wanted to add to the store based on requests they were seeing from their customers.
- New card processing: best fees ever.
- I hired a virtual assistant, it has changed my life!
- Get into AI.
- Hired a superstar salesperson.
- Giving out gift certificates when we people asking for donations then giving out actual jewelry.
- We dropped the term lab-grown and are using “cultured” diamonds and we are calling earth diamonds “natural.”
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Tell us something you’ve introduced to help you save money in the last three years.
The most popular answer to this question had to do with inventory, whether reducing old stock, sticking with a strict open-to-buy budget or aggressively reordering top-selling pieces. Since inventory is generally the highest recurring expense for jewelry retailers, it makes sense that the most potential cost savings can be found there. However, the second most popular answer might be more surprising: energy savings. Some cited LED lighting as a big cost saver, while others mentioned solar panels or motion-sensing lights. Recycling metals and gemstones, reducing store hours and embracing new technologies were also popular answers. Here were some more useful suggestions:
- Ordering what sells geographically, not personally.
- Using high-rate short-term CDs and asking my bank to match APYs.
- Avoiding and retiring debt—becoming more liquid.
- Switched credit card processing to Integrity Merchant Solutions — saved thousands.
- Two-day shipping instead of overnight — saved $10K a year.
- Trade scrap for 24K grain; alloy what we need.
- Moved to sample rings instead of live models — huge savings.
- Took over the books — found years of overpayments.
- Charge for cleaning and polishing — no more freebies.
- Negotiate everything — rent, bank rates, boxes, insurance.
- We save all packing material for reuse.
What’s something you’ve done as a manager/business owner that’s had a much bigger impact than you expected?
Many respondents credited hiring decisions — whether it was finally letting go of the wrong person or investing in the right one — as their most transformative move. Delegation and empowerment were also recurring themes, with several owners discovering life-changing results after trusting others to handle key responsibilities. Others cited embracing technology — POS systems, CAD design, lasers, social media — as a major game-changer, while some found success through reducing hours or going appointment-only, leading to happier staff and unchanged profits. A number of retailers said selling lab-grown diamonds had reshaped their business entirely. And many emphasized positivity, kindness, and gratitude, which never go amiss. Here were some of the most interesting or helpful responses:
- Moved goldsmith’s bench to the front window — people love watching torch work!
- Hired high schoolers who interview their own replacements.
- Started a jeweler apprenticeship program.
- Created a simple 100% Texas Woman pendant and sold thousands.
- Finding space in our budget to provide snacks and drinks in the break room for employees.
- Sending an automatic text message after each purchase to thank the customer and ask for a Google Review. It has increased our Google Reviews dramatically.
What is the main challenge you are facing right now?
“OTHERS” included environmental responsibility, work-life balance, generational transition and “getting old”
Rank the following on what you believe generates the best return for your dollar?
- Staff training 4.73*
- Self-improvement (including consultants) 3.69
- Advertising 3.94
- Technology upgrades 3.41
- Buying trips 2.81
- Refurbishing the store 2.63
*SCORES refer to the weighted average, based on how the respondents ranked the options.
Who would you fire first? Rank them in the order you’d get rid ofthese workers.
- Untrustworthy 8.31
- Suspected drug or alcohol abuser 7.08
- Someone who is just a dark cloud in the store 6.26
- Successful but disruptive 4.86
- Underperformer 4.79
- Disorganized 3.75
- Slow learner 3.63
- Nice but mediocre 3.60
- Someone whose job could be outsourced/replaced by technology 2.89
Which frustration makes you most want to get offthe wild ride of owning a small business?
| Staffing challenges |
|
26%
|
| Factors outside your immediate control |
|
24%
|
| Negative customer behaviors |
|
9%
|
| The workload |
|
10%
|
| The income |
|
4%
|
| Inability to compete on price |
|
1%
|
| Brand expansions that have a negative impact on sales and/ or supply |
|
1%
|
| None of the above. My business is “the most magical place on Earth” |
|
21%
|
| Other |
|
4%
|
OTHERS included vendors, cheap landlords, government bureaucracy and lack of work/ life balance
What will be your No. 1 priority next year?
| Growth |
|
24%
|
| Clearing old inventory |
|
19%
|
| Boosting profitability |
|
17%
|
| Cutting expenses |
|
6%
|
| Surviving |
|
5%
|
| Working less |
|
7%
|
| Bringing in new technology |
|
3%
|
| Preparing to exit the business |
|
15%
|
| Other |
|
5%
|
NOTE: Most of the “others” could be summed up as “Finding good staff.”
For you, what is the most important channel for staying on top of industry news?
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