The Mouse That Hung On

Recently I found a tiny mouse in my swimming pool, delicately balancing himself on a hose connected to my pool cleaning devise.  Most of the time when I find a mouse in the pool, he’s dead; but this little guy was different.  He was smart enough to grab hold of something when he fell in.  He managed to survive – with a little help from me, of course.  I put on a rubber glove and pulled him out of the pool to safety.

But this encounter reminded me of how many of us are just hanging on in business or in life, often waiting for someone to throw us a lifeline.  I see this a lot in both my consulting and my speaking.  We know we need help, but resist (or even resent) getting the help we need to pull us to safety.

Don’t be like that.  Be different.  Be willing to admit it when you need assistance and do something about it.  If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve always gotten.  And that won’t move us forward, let alone save us.

So the next time you see a mouse, or a bird, or any creature hanging on for dear life, ask yourself if that could be you.  Then do what is unnatural for us humans.  Admit you need help and ask for assistance from someone you trust.
The Bigger Diamond

Today’s brides tend to be older than in years past, and are more affluent, generally.  They also stay engaged far longer than decades ago.  Spending on engagement rings is up significantly in recent years, mainly because many of today’s bride’s are willing to sacrifice color and clarity in favor of size.  Bulletin to jewelers: SIZE MATTERS!  Add to all this the number of second marriages, and you have a situation that should make most jewelers salivate.  Unfortunately, they often don’t.

Jewelers who are held hostage by the prices listed on Blue Nile or other websites have already given away the margin they need to stay in business.  Which is why some may say that there is no longer any profit in fine diamond jewelry.  And if that is the case, why do 60% of the total sales of an average jewelry store consist of diamond jewelry?

I encourage jewelers to invest in large, fine diamonds, and to have them mounted in their showcase, ready to sell.  I also encourage consideration of slightly lesser qualities in color and clarity, in favor of well-made diamonds.  Cut is critical in masking color and clarity characteristics that would otherwise be more obvious, and there is really no excuse for any diamond manufacturer not to provide beautifully cut diamonds today.

Jewelers think nothing of opening a new line of jewelry for $35,000, but hesitate to buy a three or four carat diamond of a similar price.  You can’t sell what you don’t have.  And there is much more likelihood that your margins will improve when you have the goods in the showcase, mounted, and ready to sell.

Show that diamond to every customer who comes into the store.  Soon you will be known as the jeweler who has big diamonds.  If your customer doesn’t buy, chances are she’ll tell someone else about your store, and your big diamonds.
Here are a few Business & Life Tips to think about…..

Business Tips:

• Information is power. We all have access to information. Therefore we all have the power to create bold ideas and to act upon them.
• Continuous improvement is a lost virtue for many business owners. You can’t stay the same. You must get better.
• Yielding the right of way is not only good life practice, it works in business, too. Yielding rights wins greater authority, not less.

Life Tips:

• View mistakes as learning experiences that are necessary for growth. They often lead you to the next best thing.
• When you think you’ve reached the end of your rope in life, love, or business, there is usually more rope around, if you just look for it.
• Time seems to move faster as we get closer to the end (of most anything). Stop and think today about the wisest use of your time.

Tags: Advice, Business, Business Development, Business Tips, Change, Crisis Management, Customer Service, Determination, Help, Leadership Problems, Learning, Life Tips, Reputation, Sales, Success, The Mind of a Leader