WHEN IT COMES to spending their time, most jewelers want to be where the action is – either on the sales floor or at the bench making new products. Much more often though they find themselves doing admin work, answering emails and filing paperwork. Only a small percentage get to focus primarily on the “big picture” things that have the potential to really move the needle, like strategizing or networking.
These were some of the findings of the 2022 INSTORE Big Survey. More than one in three jewelers said the best use of their time was selling on the salesfloor. But only one in five got to actually spend most of their workdays that way. Fourteen percent thought time spent strategizing generated the best returns, but only 6% got to actually do that. While to an extent the type and size of a store determines how an owner’s time is deployed, our survey suggests certain activities ultimately generate better returns. A little more than 30% of the jewelers who earned more than $150,000 a year spent the largest portion of their time on managing and admin work while the level was closer to 45% for those earning less. That meant they were able to devote more of their time to directly selling, networking and coming up with new marketing and operating plans.
When it comes to prioritizing how to spend your hours, Edge Retail founder David Brown says it is helpful to know what your time is worth, based on how much your store makes. Or, if it’s a short-hand guide you need, he recommends treating each hour at work as if you have to pay someone $200 for the right to work it. That will make you focus on the key tasks you need to perform and stop getting caught up fitting batteries and ordering packaging.
The 2022 INSTORE Big Survey was conducted via an online form from mid-August to September and taken by almost 750 North American jewelry store owners and managers. The final results will be published in the November edition of INSTORE.