ORGANIZATION IS KEY
"To accommodate all of the orders, our jewelers work a six-day schedule. We prioritize with two separate due dates - for holiday jobs and non-holiday jobs - and keep our holiday due dates within a week. We handle rush orders by using a shared calendar. Our salespeople reference this calendar, so they don't overbook the jewelers.
Our laser welder is our most useful tool. It saves time on the difficult jobs and lets our jewelers be precise with repairs. Each of our three stores has one." –Kate Palman, Service Manager, Springer's Jewelers
SOME WORK, SOME PLAY
"Most of our work is custom work, so we start heavily promoting that when school stars up. We hold in-house design contest and have people judge them. It gets a lot of people involved.
My most valuable tool is my great staff. They grow the business through their interactions with customers and the quality of their work. We're perfectionists, so we invest heavily in tools. We love our laser welder - our most used tool. It paid for itself in productivity and quality of work.
If you're just starting out, listen to customers, they marketplaces, and your gut. Never over promise but strive to meet a higher standard than yesterday. Look for new solutions and seek inspiration from the larger world not just jewelry.
When i started, I'd work 20+ hour days. Now, I want balance for all of us. We try to keep it to 10 hour days, but we work an extra day from November through December. You need to keep it fun. If you work too hard, it kills your spirit." - Tom Linenberger, Owner, Goldworks Custom Jewelry.
LEARN TO DELEGATE
"I'd tell my younger self and any other jeweler how important it is to delegate. Don't try to do everything yourself. Focus on the jobs only you can do.
If you're a bench jeweler and the owner that gets tricky. Customers want to speak with the owner, and yet you have to do all the work.
One of the craziest holiday requests we've had? Someone asked us to melt smaller diamonds into a big diamond. I'm sure other jewelers can relate to that." - Ross Wesdorp, Director of Sales, Jewel-Craft
Interested in more holiday tips? Check out our latest issue of From the Bench for your countdown to holiday success.
Have your own holiday success tips and tricks? We'd love to hear them. Share any in the comments below and you may be featured in an upcoming article!
"To accommodate all of the orders, our jewelers work a six-day schedule. We prioritize with two separate due dates - for holiday jobs and non-holiday jobs - and keep our holiday due dates within a week. We handle rush orders by using a shared calendar. Our salespeople reference this calendar, so they don't overbook the jewelers.
Our laser welder is our most useful tool. It saves time on the difficult jobs and lets our jewelers be precise with repairs. Each of our three stores has one." –Kate Palman, Service Manager, Springer's Jewelers
SOME WORK, SOME PLAY
"Most of our work is custom work, so we start heavily promoting that when school stars up. We hold in-house design contest and have people judge them. It gets a lot of people involved.
My most valuable tool is my great staff. They grow the business through their interactions with customers and the quality of their work. We're perfectionists, so we invest heavily in tools. We love our laser welder - our most used tool. It paid for itself in productivity and quality of work.
If you're just starting out, listen to customers, they marketplaces, and your gut. Never over promise but strive to meet a higher standard than yesterday. Look for new solutions and seek inspiration from the larger world not just jewelry.
When i started, I'd work 20+ hour days. Now, I want balance for all of us. We try to keep it to 10 hour days, but we work an extra day from November through December. You need to keep it fun. If you work too hard, it kills your spirit." - Tom Linenberger, Owner, Goldworks Custom Jewelry.
LEARN TO DELEGATE
"I'd tell my younger self and any other jeweler how important it is to delegate. Don't try to do everything yourself. Focus on the jobs only you can do.
If you're a bench jeweler and the owner that gets tricky. Customers want to speak with the owner, and yet you have to do all the work.
One of the craziest holiday requests we've had? Someone asked us to melt smaller diamonds into a big diamond. I'm sure other jewelers can relate to that." - Ross Wesdorp, Director of Sales, Jewel-Craft
Interested in more holiday tips? Check out our latest issue of From the Bench for your countdown to holiday success.
Have your own holiday success tips and tricks? We'd love to hear them. Share any in the comments below and you may be featured in an upcoming article!