#21 Transforming Your Jewelry Business: In a Nutshell

In this episode of Jewelers View, we're offering a deep dive into the creation and purpose behind the 'Transform' course—a six-week interactive program designed for jewelry makers. We'll explore the various facets of the course, including foundational mindset shifts, pricing strategies, customer engagement, online marketing, financial clarity, and scalable growth. Host Courtney Gray shares personal experiences and practical takeaways to help elevate your jewelry business. Whether you're a seasoned jeweler or just starting out, discover the tools and insights to empower your journey.

Transcript

 Hey friends. Welcome back to the Jewelers View Today I wanted to dig in a little and share something deeply personal. The journey that led me to creating the course that I'm working on called Transform. I'm not trying to sell you on this course. I know I've been talking a bit about it in the last few episodes, but  it feels very important to me and I wanted to take today and share a little bit about.

How deep I'm digging into this  this isn't just another program. It's a culmination of my 25 plus years in jewelry making, teaching, teaching teachers, and business consulting. Throughout my career, I've encountered countless creatives, grappling with challenges like inconsistent income, pricing, uncertainties, the what ifs, the should haves, and the daunting task of scaling their businesses.

I realized there was a need for a comprehensive, holistic approach. Same reason I'm doing this podcast for you. I wanted something that addresses both the creative and the business facets of jewelry making. That's how transform from Vision to Success was born. This is a six week interactive course designed to empower jewelry makers at all stages with clarity, confidence, and actionable tools.

Tons of resources that we could spend hours researching and still not have the right answers. I thought, I've done this work. Why not put it into a curriculum that I could teach online from home and share with those who are trying to get into the business or trying to pivot or find their next path, their next step.

 I'm gonna share resources and insights that you'll gain even if you don't take the course. And I wanna offer you just some simple takeaways that I've discovered as I write out this curriculum that you can start implementing today.

 Here's the full six weeks in a nutshell. Week one,  vision, purpose, and perspective. We're gonna begin by delving into your why. Understanding your purpose and values is crucial in defining your vision for success. We're gonna tackle mindset mastery, addressing common hurdles. We talk a lot about this in the podcast, but I've really put it together in this course.

 Hurdles like self-doubt, perfectionism, fear of judgment, fear of failure. I am gonna give you resources each week, reflective exercises to clarify your vision and strategies to overcome those mindset barriers that we all face. 

 I wanted to put this all together into a course for you. I'm gonna give you tools to align your personal and your business identity to resonate with your ideal customer, who's your customer, right?  Vision, purpose, perspective is to reflect on those core values.

I know this sounds fluffy and it sounds boring, and why would I take time away from the bench to do this work? I'm telling you, if you don't have the solid foundation, there's cracks. Nothing works. Things can't be built on a wonky structure, so you have to pour that foundation first. So we take this time to really dig in.

It doesn't take that long and write it out. So I'm inviting you whether you take the course or not, reflect on your core values. What's important to you in business? How do you like to be treated? How do you wanna treat your customers, and what does that look like as far as inviting customers into your orbit?

  Reflecting on those core values and principles and how they influence your journey is huge. This clarity is gonna serve as a foundation for all of your business decision.   Week two, we're gonna jump into craftsmanship pricing with confidence and tools to use to  zoom in on what your pricing tier should look like.

This week focuses on valuing your work appropriately. We'll explore value-based pricing to ensure your craftsmanship is reflected in your pricing. You'll learn to optimize your product line by identifying your most profitable designs and refining those. So whether you have a line or not,

it's a great way to get started. You might just be sketching. You might have a Pinterest board full of ideas. Understanding of how to launch a line and what that really looks like in this industry. So the resources from that week, pricing calculators, tailored for jewelry makers guidelines to create or identify a signature piece that embodies your style and your story.

There's a lot of great exercises I've included in this one.  Review your current pricing strategy, does it truly reflect the value and the effort that you put into each piece? I want you to consider adjusting your prices to better align with your craftsmanship.

 Just sitting with that one, I. Can really be helpful. You could even think about just bumping those prices up 10% to see how it feels. If it doesn't feel good for you, it's not gonna feel good for your customer.  Week three, we're going to get into knowing and connecting with your ideal customers.

So think of that person. That you wanna work with, that you want wearing your work that you want to sell to, that wants to buy from you, that values what you do and makes you feel that way. So understanding who your ideal customers are and how to connect with them is vital. you can make stuff all day in the studio, but until you find those people who really see and value what you're doing, we're not quite complete, are we?

We'll develop detailed customer personas, craft compelling narratives that resonate and implement engagement strategies to build trust and loyalty with that ideal customer in your mind. So the resources that I've put together are templates for creating customer personas, storytelling frameworks.

 To enhance your brand, narrative, and communication strategies for authentic engagement. How to connect. Right? How to connect without feeling fake, without feeling salesy and without pushing.

I would always teach my staff, it's not about selling the class,, we're actually just inspiring people to look at what we have to offer.  I really wanna help people reframe that thinking of, well, I shouldn't be selling, there's all this stuff going on in the  world. and there always will be, but we still have businesses to run and we still have to stand behind what we do.

So how to communicate that authentically and in alignment , with your values and with your principles, Authentic engagement, very important. So  the takeaway from this for you today is to identify one ideal customer. Who's that person that maybe you've sold to or haven't sold to yet, and think about their needs and their desires.

How can your jewelry fulfill or speak to those now? Use this insight to tailor your marketing messages, talk right to them. Speak right to those people. 

Week four is all about marketing visibility and online presence.  In today's digital age, a strong online presence is absolutely essential. So we're gonna cover platform specific social media strategies, the basics of email marketing,

and ways to amplify your visibility through collaborations and partnerships. I feel like that's where I really shine is the network building. The network. I love this piece of it, so I'm gonna dig in. I'm gonna show you how I do this and how I've done this in the past. Building one of the most elite schools in the country, connecting and creating that network, creating your tribe.  Takeaways that you can come back and use again and again is a social media content calendar and strategy guide. So you don't have to overthink what you're posting. You have a guide to run, with email marketing templates and list building techniques so that you can start your email list if you haven't yet, this is the takeaway.

Definitely start gathering emails and there's some logistics that you need to know before you do. Proper ways to stay in alignment with, new laws . And then we're also gonna give you collaboration, outreach scripts, so ways to connect and partnership ideas.

How to find those partnerships They're right in front of you. The resources are already there. So I wanna help you tune in to how to connect and how to deliver messaging to get those partnerships happening and serving both sides.  Week four is to choose one social media platform.

Commit to posting consistently for 30 days and monitor engagement and adjust your strategy based on what resonates with your audience. Now I do wanna advise, just pick one. You don't need to be all over the place. Let's start simple and we'll get fancy later. Week five, I'm gonna get into financial clarity and operational foundations.

If you're ready to start treating your jewelry craft like a business, this is absolutely essential. We're gonna talk about managing the financial aspects of your business. This can be so daunting, I know, It's crucial for sustainability. We'll simplify finances using tools like QuickBooks or Wave to track profits and expenses.

Additionally, we're gonna discuss the importance of insurance to protect your business and explore strategies to streamline operations. So from this week, I'm gonna be providing tutorials on financial management tools tailored for creative, specifically guidance on selecting appropriate insurance. Is it time for insurance? What kind of coverage do you need? All of those questions that come up that I notice can hold people back from starting their business.

They don't think they're protected. So we're gonna dig into that. See if we can unblock some of those roadblocks I'm gonna give you checklists and templates for efficient business operations. these are templates, so As you scale. You can come back and. Have these resources in place. You'll have those for life, and then you'll have access to the course for a whole year. So you can really go at your own pace is my goal. We're gonna cover it in six weeks, but it's there for you to go at your own pace if you haven't already.

Here's your takeaway for this piece. Set up a system to track your income and your expenses. Understanding your financial health is key to making informed business decisions. If you don't have the data in a year, you're looking back. It's gonna be  very difficult to see what's working and what's not, and where you can refine how we can grow  and make this a sustainable long-term business, not just a, oh, I tried it and it didn't work and I broke even.

I quit, right? We're not playing that game here. That's keeping it small. We wanna play large. We want to make this a long-term investment of our energy, our time, our money. Very important. Week six, we're gonna talk about scaling. We're gonna really dig in scaling your business and building that community around you.

I always say surround yourself with people who are doing the things, building the things, or already have built. Or grown what you're trying to do. There's nothing like a good, solid community around you. So I really excited to dig into this week. As you prepare to grow, it's important to have a clear plan.

We'll create a roadmap for sustainable scaling, discuss fostering collaborations, and emphasize the importance of celebrating your achievements to maintain momentum. That's the hardest part. I literally was sitting down. The other night and I thought, this is so much work. Who, who? What was I thinking of building this course?

It was kind of thinking back to like how I started my school.  I had a 1-year-old son. My son Marchello was one at the time. I was still breastfeeding. I thought, let's start a school this'll be so impactful and helpful. I see the need for it. Let's fill the need. Right.

So I did, and I'll tell you, it's not easy to build something. It takes a lot of perseverance. you have to get scrappy and you have to stay in it. You have to really be in it to win it. Like you have to want it, it can't be just a lofty idea.  It needs to be something that you're ready to commit to.

So we're gonna talk about all this in this course. I had to write myself a reminder. Why did I decide to launch this course? This is a lot of work. I'm spending hours on the slides and lesson plans, and  the meticulous part, not my favorite.

This isn't my favorite stuff to do, but the concepts and the impact, the potential of the impact that it can make is what's at the forefront, and that's what fuels us. That's what keeps us going, right, is what result are we looking for? What does success look like to you? For me, I had to really tune back in.

This isn't about making money. this isn't about income, it's about impact. Now, of course, we have to make income as well, And the goal is to find the things that fit together, that do both. How do we make an impact and do something that's fulfilling and that feels good, that helps others, or serves them, or makes them feel adorned or beautiful.

Also provide an income for ourselves and our families. So I wanna help you find that balance. Like where is that?, that is possible. We've seen it.  There's proof in the comparisons that people have done this. So let's start, let's just begin one step at a time. So back to week six.

Scaling your business and building community I'm gonna give you growth planning worksheets, networking strategies to connect with peers, mentors and collaborators and techniques to  cultivate a success mindset. No more scarcity, no more thinking. I'm an artist.

I can't make money or I have to suffer from my work. I think these are very outdated belief systems that it's time to clear that garbage out and really build what we wanna build. What do we envision? Anything is possible. I have been proof of this. Just putting things into action. You will find the success however you view that success.

Okay, , for this one, set a specific achievable goal for the next quarter. Outline the steps needed to reach it and  identify potential collaborators who can support you on this journey. Alright, this is a lot.

I understand that committing to a course like transform can bring up concerns, fear, be it financial investment or time constraints. Please  don't let financial hesitation hold you back from transforming your business. And trust me, this is a value packed course. You're gonna get 10 times your money worth with me. I can't coach one-on-one. Charge like this, but I can do it in a group. So that's the goal, and you get the group experience. It's going to be amazing regarding the time commitment.

Remember that there will never be a perfect time. Life is always in session. Transform is designed to integrate seamlessly into your life with lessons that are actionable and manageable within a busy schedule. Investing time in your growth now will save you years of uncertainty and trial and error down the road.

If you're ready to take this next step, I want you to visit Courtney gray arts.com to check the enrollment status, or if you're just curious and wanna know more, I've packed the main page with all of , the FAQs, and all of the pricing tiers and everything else. this is not a very expensive course.

Go check it out. See if enrollment is open and if it's not, if it's already closed, get on the wait list for the next session. Your transformation begins with single steps, and I'm here to guide you through those steps. Creating this course has been a labor of love. Ask my husband. I've been pulling my hair out a little.

I've been yelling at him. Poor guy. The puppy has been a little neglected. I hate to say, but this is something that's so important to me. I'm pouring my soul into it.  creating. Transform has been a labor of love. Born from my own experiences and the challenges I've witnessed in the creative community.

My mission is to equip you with the tools, knowledge and confidence to build a jewelry business that not only thrives, but aligns with your vision and your values. Remember, this doesn't happen overnight, but with dedication, support, and the right resources, it's absolutely within your reach. Until next  📍 time, onward and upward, let's  📍 embark on this journey together 

  📍  📍 ​