Zen Jeweler: Commitment Issue

Published

16 years ago

September 8, 2008

INSTORE Staff

I’ve talked before about commitment to your staff. I think it’s good to keep them and train them instead of constantly replacing them. Why? Well, ask yourself:?What is it that you are really committed to? Is it the new software? Or the new designer line? A charity? Your health? Maybe all those things. But I’ll tell you what you are really committed to (arrogant on my part, but I think about this stuff all night while you’re analyzing reports). Above all else, the thing that is the touchstone against which all other commitments must be measured, is … wait for it … maximum profit. You knew that? OK, but let’s add a word here — ethical. Maximum ethical profit. Why are you committed to low pay and the staff that comes with it? Pay it forward. If you want the best profit, get — and keep — the best people. It’s not the jewelry. Everybody has that. It’s not the marketing. None of us are doing that. (Well, OK, some of you are.) It’s not the hours you are open, or the decor. It’s the people.

Looking for a Seamless Sale? Call Wilkerson

After almost 60 years in business, Breakiron Jewelers in Erie, Pennsylvania, was closing its doors. And the store’s owner, Linda Breakiron, was ready for it. She had run the store as its sole owner since the beginning of the millennium and was looking forward to a change. Of course, she called Wilkerson. Breakiron talked to other jewelers who had used Wilkerson and was satisfied with their response. “They always had positive feedback,” she recalls. With the sales, marketing and even additional inventory that Wilkerson provided, Breakiron insists she could never have accomplished her going-out-of-business sale without Wilkerson’s help. She’s now ready for the journey ahead, but looking back, she’d be sure to recommend Wilkerson. “They just made the whole process very seamless.”