Have you ever noticed that grocery store layouts are all pretty much the same?
The bakery is near the front, where you’re met with the comforting aroma of fresh bread. The dairy is in the back, so you have to walk through the whole store just to buy milk. The candy is by the register, a tempting and effective upsell.
This is not by accident – in fact, there are professionals who get paid a lot of money to map your journey through the store in a way that gets you to buy more stuff.
The psychology of profit has been of interest to owners of grocery stores and supermarkets since, like, forever. So why wouldn’t we apply the same principles to online stores?
That’s where Erin Alexander comes in. Founder of Alexander Design Co. and our very own SOS coach, Erin specializes in website and conversion design for e-commerce businesses.
When it comes to web design, this gal’s been thinking 10 steps ahead the whole time. She sat down with me to discuss the common mistakes she sees on jewelry designer’s websites – and how to fix them
I am constantly blown away by the resilience and creativity from the designers in our community.
Twyla Dill is one radiant example.
While living in Turkey, Twyla learned how to make Oya, a delicate lace crocheted from thread.
With plenty of inspiration, but no background in jewelry, she set to work creating pieces that blended the Turkish lace technique with a modern aesthetic. Eventually, Twyla Dill Designs was born.
In April of 2019, Twyla’s second year in business, her mom passed away after years of battling Multiple Sclerosis.
Needless to say, it was a tragic loss for Twyla and her family.
Balancing business and grief is no easy feat, but Twyla navigated it with grace and was even able to increase her sales from the year before.
She sat down with me this week to share how she did it.
We both know that selling at shows can be back-breaking work, m’dear. And it doesn’t get easier as you get older… trust me.
Plus, what would happen to your biz if you had to take a break and couldn’t attend shows? Would it still function and make money while you were away?
When I quit my day job to focus on building a business full-time, it was a real struggle. It was impossible for me to walk away because I did not set myself up for success.
I realized that I had just created a new job for myself, not a business.
Here’s the difference:
If you’re relying on live shows for your primary source of income, I hate to be the one to tell you but… you have a job.
Don’t get me wrong, shows aren’t all bad when you leverage them right. But I don’t want you to be dependent on one stream of revenue.
So, if you’re feeling stuck in the trunk show grind and sacrificing too many weekends, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your strategy…
And I have just the thing to help you – let’s make a live show pros and cons list!
What makes a jewelry designer successful?
Is it talent? Hard work? Luck?
Not even close! If being talented and working hard was all it takes to make it in the jewelry biz… most jewelry designers would be successful.
In-demand designers succeed because they know what to do, ditch, and delegate to scale sales and work on their business.
This is much easier said than done! You might catch yourself thinking, “No one else can do what I do.”
But… that’s just not true m’dear!
Like many designers, I didn’t want to let go of production when my business started taking off.
My mind changed when I got a really big order from a wholesale customer that I just could not fill by myself. I hired a local jewelry arts student to come in and help with production.
After that – there was no turning back.
This an inevitable part of scaling a business. But as your business grows and you find yourself running short on time every day, how exactly do you figure out what to do, ditch, and delegate?
That’s what I’ll be talking about today.