#62: How to Make Smart Business Decisions When Costs Are Rising

 Making Informed Decisions During Rising Costs: A Jeweler's Guide

In this episode of The Jeweler's View, Courtney Gray shares insights from her 25 years in the jewelry industry to help creators navigate rising costs effectively. She emphasizes the importance of focusing on what is currently working in your business, identifying top sellers, and understanding replacement costs. The episode discourages adding more to your workload and advises making informed, refined decisions rather than reactive ones. Listeners are given a practical assignment to evaluate their top sellers and calculate current replacement costs to guide future decisions. Upcoming content includes a panel discussion on managing metal costs, featuring industry experts.

00:00 Introduction to The Jeweler's View
00:52 Recap and Practical Advice
01:58 Navigating Rising Costs
02:40 Evaluating Your Business
04:45 Adjusting to Change
06:49 Gentle Assignment and Final Thoughts
07:29 Closing Remarks and Resources 

Transcript

#62: How to Make Smart Business Decisions When Costs Are Rising

[00:00:00] Welcome to The Jeweler's View. I'm Courtney Gray, metalsmith educator and creative business strategist. After 25 years in the jewelry industry, running one of the country's top metalsmithing schools, coaching artists, advising companies and organizations, and hosting interviews with some of the best in the craft.

I finally created the kind of support I wish I'd had from the start. This podcast is a part of that. Each week I share the lessons I had to learn the hard way so you can build a rhythm that supports your creative work, your values, and the life and business you actually want. Find tools, coaching and my transform course@courtneygrayarts.com and let's get to work.

Courtney Gray: Hey my friend. Welcome back to the Jewelers View. If you listen to last week's episode, we talked about slowing the moment [00:01:00] down, especially when rising costs start to trigger panic, urgency, or that I need to change everything.

Feeling today we're staying grounded, we're also getting more practical because at some point you do need to make some decisions. The goal here isn't to predict the future or solve the entire pricing puzzle overnight. It's to help you make smart, informed decisions instead of reactive ones. Especially when materials like silver and gold feel unpredictable. Quick note before we jump into this. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing a special panel conversation focused on navigating rising costs of metal with Jeanette Bette , Holly Gage and Melissa Muir.

If material costs have been on your mind, just know that this is coming.

We'll get into that soon. Okay? I want to say this [00:02:00] clearly before we go any further on this subject. This is not about adding more to your plate. I never wanna overwhelm your nervous system it's about looking more clearly at what's already there.

When costs rise, the temptation is to layer, add new products, chase new markets, reinvent your brand, or fix everything all at once. Smart decisions usually come from refinement, not expansion. Ooh, I wish I knew this a decade ago. It would have saved me a lot of heartache.

So let's start with the simplest, most overlooked question. What is already working in your business? Not what you hope will work. Not what you love the most emotionally, but what is actually selling? What are people looking at? What are your top three to five sellers? And if you're not selling yet, what are the most attractive to [00:03:00] your peer group?

What are pieces that you reorder or remake? Often designs that customers consistently ask about these pieces matter, especially right now because they already have demand. Trust and social proof. When costs rise, your best sellers are often your stabilizers, the things that keep you on the ground. If something hasn't sold in a long time, this may not be the moment to pour more energy into it.

This isn't about judgment or cutting out the soul of your work. It's about focus. So my next question, what costs you the most financially or energetically compared to what it gives back? What costs you the most? Some pieces take a lot of time. They require the most expensive [00:04:00] materials. They drain your energy or create stress every time you try to price them or produce them.

Others move more easily, more fluidly. They feel simpler to make generate consistent income and don't leave you second guessing yourself when costs are rising. This distinction becomes crucial. It's okay to admit that something you love might not be sustainable right now, just for now, nothing is permanent.

That doesn't mean forever. It means being honest about this season and what's going on right now.

This one is big and often missed. Ask yourself, if I had to remake this piece today, what would it actually cost me? Not what the materials cost when you bought them. Replacement costs. Not what you charged three years [00:05:00] ago, today's replacement cost. This matters because metal prices fluctuate. Your skill level is increasing every year.

Every time you sit at the bench, your time is worth more than it used to be. Facts. If a piece only works because you bought materials cheaper years ago, it's giving you false confidence. Replacement reality helps you see which pieces can move forward with you and which ones may need adjustment. So let's normalize adjustment, not as a failure.

I want you to pause here and say something important. Needing to adjust does not mean you priced wrong in the past. You made bad decisions or you failed as a business owner. It means that the landscape has simply changed. Smart businesses respond to change with clarity, [00:06:00] not shame. There's no shame in this game.

This is how businesses survive and evolve. Okay? I want you to notice what we're not doing today. We're not rewriting your entire pricing structure. Now, if you're interested in that check out transform, we're gonna open up in March of 2026, and I cannot wait to have you in that course if you haven't taken it yet.

We're not rewriting your entire pricing structure.. We're not introducing complicated formulas or forcing decisions before you are ready. That's gonna come later, especially with some upcoming episodes I have on financials right now. We're building awareness.

Awareness comes before action. So here is a very gentle assignment. We're gonna do one small check-in. I'd like to invite you this week. Just one thing, pick one of the [00:07:00] fall. Review your top five sellers. List which pieces cost you the most stress or I want you to calculate replacement costs for one item, not what you paid, then what you would pay now to replace if you sold the piece.

That's it, my friend. No overhaul, no panic, just some information that's gonna inform your next decision. One last thing before you go. That panel episode on gold and silver pricing is gonna come up soon. I can't wait. And it's designed for practical study, reassuring, not fear-based information and direction to get the link and resources.

The best place to stay connected is always on my email list. It's on my website. You can jump on there@courtneygrayarts.com and please go on Instagram and give me a follow @courtneygrayarts, where I'll be announcing [00:08:00] even more groovy things coming up this year. I wanna remind you and leave you with this.

Costs rising doesn't mean your business is broken, it means it's time to see your work and your decisions more clearly. Things like this, always have a silver lining. Smart decisions don't come from rushing. They don't come from panic.

They come from understanding what's already supporting you. Take it one step at a time. You've got this. Hang in there. I'll see you next week. 

Thanks for listening to The Jeweler's View. If today's episode gave you something to think about, consider sending it to a friend or share it on social and tag me at Courtney Gray Arts. You'll find tools, coaching resources, and the transform course@courtneygrayarts.com. And if no one's told you this [00:09:00] lately, remember you're not behind.

You're becoming exactly the kind of maker your business needs and that kind of depth. It takes time. I'll be back next week, same time, same tough love, onward and upward. I.