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The Jeweler’s Dilemma
January 29th, 2013
by Bill Boyajian

Many jewelry store owners start out on the bench, doing repairs and eventually some modest special order work. Their “technician” mindset dominates their thinking and they gradually grow their store’s business based on how they started — with jewelry repairs.

But the problem with doing repairs yourself is that you get “married” to the bench and can’t get off it. This limits your ability to grow your store as a jewelry “sales” business. And the moment you get off the bench in order to grow your business, your revenue drops because you — the producer — are no longer producing.

Jewelers who are stuck on the bench mistakenly believe that they have a full-service store simply because they do repairs. If doing repairs is what you want to do the rest of your life, fine. You have a job, but you don’t really have a business. The business owns you. You don’t own the business. And as soon as you stop doing what you do best, your income goes away, and you have nothing left because you left your “job.”

Instead, consider building a jewelry “sales” business, where you can build enterprise value well beyond doing jewelry repairs. If you feel the need to continue to offer a repair service, have a local trade shop do them and make a fair percentage over what they charge you. This will give you more time to develop your jewelry business and to do what only you can do as the store owner.



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“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS