Whether you’re working from home for the first time or trying to improve your established home office habits, this is the episode for you.

Finding your groove while working from home has been a creative challenge facing jewelerypreneurs (especially if you have kiddos running around!) on a massive scale.

But as a life coach and interior designer, Tobi Fairley has been helping creatives like you tackle this challenge long before stay-at-home orders were in place.

She’s one of those gifted entrepreneurs who know that your creativity is your greatest strength in business.

Tobi recognizes the connection between a well-designed space, a thriving business, and a fulfilling lifestyle that gives you space for all your dreams and passions.

With so many people working from home, she sat down with me to talk about how to makeover your home office (and your time-management habits) to maximize your productivity at home.

I want to do something a little different this week…

2020 has been a year of reflection and change for me, and I hope it has been for you, too. 

So I decided to reevaluate and get real about Flourish & Thrive Academy’s core values. It was a necessary exercise for me, and I hope it inspires you to do the same.

Because we are built on the value of community over competition, and standing with your community means you’re always learning, always reflecting, and always innovating.

As I talk about our core values and how we position our brand in alignment with them, I hope you can come to better understand how to identify and align with your own brand’s core values.

What happens when you’re doing the thing you're supposed to love but the stress of it is taking a toll on your personal life? Business burnout is no joke! 

Sometimes you may even want to give up. But Jennifer Dawes is here to prove that you can always overcome overwhelm and turn your biz around.

Jennifer has been in business for nearly 20 years, and is known for her eclectic fine jewelry. However, like so many designers, she hit a bottleneck and felt overwhelmed when it came time to grow her business.

I first met Jennifer when she joined the Flourish & Thrive community. To say she’s completely transformed in the time I’ve known her would be an understatement.

Utilizing our resources and her creative brilliance, she’s been able to overcome her hurdles and find tremendous success in business

How do you achieve freedom and financial independence? By taking risks.

Elise Darma rebelled against her traditional upbringing and chose the freedom to travel instead of being tied down to a job. 

She made her dream come true when she started her own business providing social media marketing services. 

Social media is integral, now more than ever, to running your business - but learning a new platform can be intimidating. 

Elise is here today to give us advice on how to help our businesses thrive in a whole new way.

What’s the most important tool to set yourself up for success? A good support network.

Here at the Flourish and Thrive Academy, we aim to create antifragile businesses that can survive anything.

Robin Kramer is my dear friend and co-founder. As an expert on wholesale and client relationships, Robin has been overjoyed to see all the creative solutions you have been coming up within the #ThriveTribe!

The best quality of any creative entrepreneur is resourcefulness, and our community seems to have an endless supply.

Even better, these success stories seem to have a lot in common...

Some designers think selling high price point jewelry is harder online, but Shehana Kimiangataue is here to prove otherwise.

She sells striking high-end jewelry with a cause. Her business used to rely primarily on retail sales, but when shelter-in-place hit, she immediately sought a quick and creative solution to keep sales flowing. 

During a 2-hour virtual trunk show hosted on Facebook live, she managed to sell over $30,000 worth of jewelry. 

Yes, you read that right!

So how did she do it? Let’s jump right in.

Adaptation, creativity, and collaboration have been key to the success of our very own SOS coach, Ana Maria Andricain.

She’s no stranger to pivoting. She started her dreamy brand, Jewel of Havana, in her dressing room during her time performing on Broadway. As life twisted and turned, it soon became her full-time gig. 

Her tendency for innovation led her to organize a virtual art fair with other artists and designers. It was such a huge success, she’s already planning the next one!

During a time of hardship for many businesses, Ana Maria Andricain is using live events to grow her sales and inspire other artists.

Here’s how she did it…

In times of financial uncertainty and online-only shopping, jewelry can still thrive.

Merging creative marketing solutions with the adaptation of online retail, independent jewelry designers who once relied on in-store sales are able to both stay afloat financially and nurture customer relationships.

Mallory Shelter, Joyia Jones, and Nichole Gariepy are all great examples of jewelry designers who’ve done just that. 

Each designer has had to close down their retail shops during this time of social distancing, but they’ve all come up with creative strategies for staying in business and keeping customers engaged. 

Nothing makes me happier than seeing a jewelry designer move from a place of uncertainty to a place of power.

Meet Dr. Sarah McAleer, a jeweler and long-time member of the F&TA community who designs jewelry for strong-minded women and their families. 

Sarah faced some pretty intense conflict during the transition into life under COVID-19 restrictions.

I think you’ll be inspired by what she has to say, especially if you’re struggling with some very real fears right now.

I want to tell you something: it’s OKAY if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now.

We’re creatives - we excel at thinking outside the box and finding ways to keep designing and inspiring, no matter what.

You’re in good company.

Today, I want to highlight just a few examples of effective strategies designers are using to move their sales online and spread positivity at the same time.

It’s time for you to show up for your business without worrying about what the external world thinks.

That’s what Susie Moore is all about! She’s a life coach, author, and good friend of mine. And she came on the podcast to talk about CONFIDENCE.

Susie’s been obsessed with mastering the confidence game since she was a kid. Now, she’s a confidence coach who helps people pursue success and live a life they love.

She’s got tons of valuable insight on how to shake off your need for approval and manifest success in a way that’s true to your vision...

Breaking news: double-sided tape is about to rock your world.

At least, that’s what happened to me when I sat down with Corkie Bolton for a second round of podcasting!

Last time, she shared her story about founding Metalsmith Society, a community for jewelers to come together and share tips and tricks for working on the bench and improving your jewelry-making process!

This time, she’s sharing 7 of her favorite jeweler life hacks that she’s picked up over the years.

“Shows are cancelled, stores are closed, and sales are down. How do I sell at a time like this?”

This sentiment has been popping up all over the jewelry community. It’s a scary and uncertain time, but you still have a family to feed and a business to run.

So what do you do?

Here’s what I think, m’dear...

The Coronavirus situation has majorly disrupted people’s livelihoods all over the world, and small businesses have been hit the hardest.

It’s a scary and stressful time, but the good news is we’re all in this together - and Flourish & Thrive Academy is here to help!

There are plenty of resources available for entrepreneurs, jewelry designers, artists, and creative business owners that may be able to help you protect your business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We’re in the middle of some rocky, uncharted waters, m’dear. But that doesn’t mean we’re doomed!

It’s time to pull together as a community to support one another as we navigate this brand new territory.

I’m tuning in with my friend and co-founder Robin Kramer to answer your most pressing questions about what you can do now to protect your jewelry biz and preserve your creative energy.

Are you freaking out a little bit? Don’t worry, the voice of reason is here!

I’m talking about Jason R. Ayers, of course.

In Part 1 we talked about what you can do to protect your mindset and creative energy. 

I highly recommend listening to that first. You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of your business.

Now, we’re diving into tactical strategies to protect your business and income during these uncertain times. 

It’s a scary time to be a business owner right now. I’m sure COVID-19 wasn’t a part of your 2020 business plan, but here we are.

Things will go back to business as usual, but in the meantime you have a choice... 

You can freak out, make a bunch of fear-based decisions, and possibly tank your business, or you can be mindful, devise a strategy, and look at this as an opportunity for growth.

Yes, there’s always a silver lining, m’dear!

Take if from Jason Ayers. He’s a strategic business growth consultant and certified Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner.

He recorded this two-part episode with me to offer some advice on what you can do NOW that will protect your business and put you a step ahead of this situation.

Do you ever stalk other jewelry designers on Instagram?

Yeah… I confess!

It was no wonder that after stalking this designer’s IG that I wanted to interview her. She’s a private jeweler and designer of all things sparkly, blingy and over the top gorgeous, Stephanie Gottlieb.

Lots of people say it’s hard to sell jewelry online, especially fine jewelry. Yet, Stephanie is legit CRUSHING IT! 

She’s built a completely loyal fan base of online (and offline customers) and has learned to leverage online sales channels to grow her audience and keep the sales rolling in.

I mean she’s doing so well that she’s built an Instagram following of over 330K followers!

Wanna know how she did it?

Some people think selling fine jewelry online is impossible. Oren Katz from Carbon & Hyde is here to prove them wrong.

Oren founded the high-end fine jewelry brand with her sister Yarden. their collections have decorated several high-end boutiques and retailers, and their pieces are loved by fashionistas and celebrities alike.

In the beginning, the sisters only planned to sell direct-to-consumer online. It was going okay, but getting new customers to buy jewelry online at such a high price point was a challenge.

They decided to expand into an omnichannel brand to allow in-person customers to feel the quality of the pieces and build trust and credibility for online customers.

Now that their brand is more successful than ever, Oren agreed to come on the podcast to share her secrets to developing a prominent omnichannel brand...

Jewelry designers are a kooky lot. We know how to embrace the weird that makes us unique in a world that would often rather stifle it.

My friend Re Perez is someone who knows a thing or two about embracing his weird.

Re is is the CEO and founder of Branding for the People, and is about to publish his first book, Your Brand Should Be Gay (Even If You’re Not).

With expertise like that, I knew I had to have him on the podcast to talk about how jewelry designers and makers can create a magnetizing brand around their work.

And boy did he deliver!

When was the last time you got something fun in the mail from a brand you like?

The truth is, not a lot of companies are sending out snail mail anymore… which makes it the perfect opportunity for you to stand out!

Meet Miriam Schulman, founder of Schulman Art and host of The Inspiration Place podcast.

She sat down with me this week to talk about her creative snail mail strat that keeps her customers coming back time and time again. 🐌

What kind of questions are successful, in-demand jewelry designers asking about their business?

Today, we’re going to find out - and answer them!

I had some of our SOS students send in their most pressing questions about running successful jewelry biz.

SOS is designed to offer guidance for jewelry designers with goals of scaling to multiple 6 figures and beyond.

So, these questions were asked by some pretty smart cookies - just sayin!

Listen to episode #238 of Thrive by Design to get your all-access pass to Ask Me Anything: Questions From Our SOS Students

Every time I get an influx of new students, this question comes up in one way or another:

“Tracy, why do you care whether my jewelry business fails or succeeds? Why should I listen to you?”

Ouch, but fair!

To answer that question, let me share a little bit about my life-long journey to becoming a jeweler, mentor, and coach...

Building a business takes courage.

I’ve seen designers try to do the same thing over and over again expecting things to be different because they’re afraid of what might happen if they try something new.

The monotony is familiar and safe, but ultimately flatlines your business.

To be a successful jewelry designer, you must find the courage to put yourself out there, try new things, and most importantly, ask for help.

The Flourish & Thrive community is filled with brave designers who have done just that, and their businesses are taking off. Today, I want to celebrate them.

I wish I could say the jewelry market isn’t saturated, but let’s be honest… it is.

But I’m not telling you this to discourage you. On the contrary, you need to know that it takes consistent strategy and effort to make your brand stand out!

Truth bomb: It is possible to distinguish yourself among the crowd! With the right strategy.

Let’s talk about what designers just like YOU are doing to make their brand stand out in this saturated market.