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Success With Jewelry
160 - Laryssa and Liz on Feeling Behind in Business (And What It Really Means)
00:13:53
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to the Success With Jewelry Podcast. Your go to source for real conversations about business marketing and what it actually takes to succeed as a jewelry brand Today.
- [00:09]
B
I'm Larissa, the strategist systems queen and the one who finds joy in turning big marketing challenges into step by step plans that actually work. Email marketing and generating revenue through it is the specialty of my agency, Joy.
- [00:22]
A
Joya and I'm Liz, your creative compass and advocate for designers doing things differently. I live for brilliant brand storytelling, beautiful visuals, and helping designers confidently show up and shine. I founded the Stay Gold Collective to create community and support for independent jewelry brands.
- [00:39]
B
Together we bring you nearly two decades of jewelry marketing experience and on this podcast we're pulling back the curtain on everything we've learned. Whether you're just starting out or scaling to your next big milestone, you'll get honest insights, helpful tips, and maybe a few giggles along the way.
- [00:55]
A
This is episode 160. If you've been feeling behind in your jewelry business, behind on ideas, behind on sales, behind on where you thought you would be, this episode's for you. That feeling can sneak up quietly, especially when you're doing a lot of work that isn't immediately visible. Today we're talking about why feeling behind is so common for jewelry designers, what it actually means, and how to respond to it with clarity and compassion instead of pressure and panic. And in the insider episode, we're sharing a deeper behind the scenes look at why feeling behind is often a sign that you've outgrown your old systems and what to do about it. Let's get into it.
- [01:32]
B
Let's talk about it. I was just having a meeting yesterday with one of my team members and we were both feeling so behind and it was like kind of the theme for January. Like we just got thrown into the fire and it's been catch up time ever since then. I don't know how you feel, but.
- [01:51]
A
Yeah, I think that there's that kind of feeling behind which kind of gets to me every day. Like all the to do is just pile up and then you, you're on calls all day and then you're just like, I have so many things to like sit down and actually like write or finish or like actually do. But also the feeling of being behind when you're kind of like comparing yourself to other brands or other businesses out there and you're like, I am not. I don't have that number of followers or I'm, you know, you don't know how many sales other people are making. But I'm not making as many sales as them or they're doing trade show and I'm not. And I should be at that level by now. There's that kind of feeling behind, too, which is tough.
- [02:34]
B
Yeah. Feeling both of those kinds of behind at the same time has to be the worst kind of business hell.
- [02:42]
A
And it always kind of like, creeps up in, like, this time of the year where you, like, start the year strong and you're like, I know we're only like. I mean, we're recording this at the end of January, but, like, we're only a month in, really. But I feel like I started the. The month so strong the first couple of weeks, and then now I'm certainly feeling like, oh, gosh, I had, like, if I want to do this promotion in March, I gotta, like, get on it. And I, like, had this whole plan to be, like, clientelling, and I, like, need to get on that. But I'm just on phone calls all the time. I feel like it kind of creeps up when you have kind of entering the year with big ambitions.
- [03:21]
B
Yes.
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A
Yeah, it's.
- [03:24]
B
That's so true.
- [03:26]
A
But it often shows up when you're kind of in a phase of growth or transition or kind of, like recalibrating where you're at. And. Yeah, it's tough. I almost wanted to talk about pivoting today. I think we'll talk about it next week. Just because we can't record an episode without acknowledging the metal prices, we don't have to dig in and talk about it. But, gosh, I just need to say we know, we see it.
- [03:52]
B
We see, we know. We're not just ignorant and in our own little bubble. Yeah.
- [03:58]
A
There's such a balance of, like, recording content in advance to get ahead of things, but also, like, being real time in the moment, you know, Anyway.
- [04:10]
B
I know because it probably sounds like we just don't know what's going on, but sometimes we gotta get ahead of the calendar.
- [04:17]
A
Although I will say that we don't know what's going on. I mean, we see what's going on, but we don't. We don't have any concrete answers is what I'll say. But we'll get into.
- [04:25]
B
Very true.
- [04:26]
A
That's maybe next week we'll get into it. But anyway, being behind, I think, or feeling behind is typically about expectations for yourself. Like, I give myself a daily to do list, and that is what makes me feel behind if I don't finish the things on the to do list. Because sometimes other stuff rolls through, but also Just like, I think it's so hard. And we could talk for ages about why social media is detrimental in a lot of ways to mental health, but also just kind of like, about feeling. Feeling where you're at in your business and seeing what other folks are doing and, you know, feelings of, like, fomo, or we're gonna see, you know, people doing trade shows in this upcoming week, or, you know, from when we're recording and going to Tucson and doing all this cool stuff, and you see all that and you're like, I should be there too, maybe. But if it's not part of your strategy, it's okay. It's okay if you're not.
- [05:18]
B
Yeah, I notice for me, like, with my business and even personally, it's like, if I'm already having a doubt or a worry or a feeling that I'm behind, the social media stuff just reinforces that. It's not necessarily that it's like creating it for me, creating a fomo, it's more that I'm already feeling it on some level and that it's just, like, reflecting back to me.
- [05:41]
A
I get that way a lot with showing my face and showing up. And I've talked about this here before, but so many people who are selling, like, a membership group, like, I am, or our consultants, like, you're so good at it, showing your face and sharing a tip and doing all of that. And it just. I. I can't do it, you know, And I'm like. So oftentimes that kind of triggers something in me where I'm like, on social media, seeing it, I'm like, gosh, I should do that too. Or like, why can I not do this?
- [06:11]
B
Soon you'll be able to make a perfect AI version of yourself to do all your bidding for you.
- [06:16]
A
Don't make me do that. I do not want to do. That's another topic. I mean, there's endless topics that we could just talk for ages about our feelings on, but not necessarily give actionable advice on. We could give some actionable advice, but AI is another one. I could talk for ages about my feelings. Totally. Anyway, reconnecting with your personal timeline versus kind of what you see other people doing. I see. I talk to a lot of designers, and sometimes I'll be talking to a designer that's like, I don't understand why I'm not, like, further along. And I'm like, you've only been doing this a year, a year and a half. And also this week, I talked to somebody who's kind of headed towards Celebrating their fifth anniversary. And just some of the clarity that comes from being in it for five years is really great to hear and a reminder that it does take time to find your voice, to find your footing, to understand where your sales are coming from, to understand what to lean into and who. Who your client is and who you're selling to and all of those things. It takes years.
- [07:24]
B
It takes so much time. And even just. It's almost like, how do they say, like, you have to pay your dues in your own business in a way, like, I don't know, you can't learn really anything about your customer, about your business, about where you should be or go in like a year. It's just not. It's not realistic.
- [07:46]
A
There's no way to copy someone's exact business model. I think in the jewelry space, like, I don't. You can't. Even if you have, like, a similar aesthetic and that's your dream, you know, your dream kind of clientele is somebody who buys that kind of thing or they're in the stores that you want to be in. It's, you know, you don't know somebody's business fully until you're in it, which you don't. There's not that many opportunities to, like, fully immerse yourself in somebody else's business. But looking at it from the outside, you can make a. Assumptions, and you never know. There's also just, like, a lot of smoke and mirrors out there. So.
- [08:24]
B
Really, like, yeah, yeah. I definitely learned that being like a marketing services provider, it's like, for me, when I was niched just in jewelry, sometimes I would get the question, like, oh, but, you know, if I work with you, aren't all your other clients going to be my competitors? Like, how do you maintain integrity servicing other brands in one industry? And I totally understand that perspective. But, like, my clients were all so different. I don't think I've ever had a situation where it was like, the exact same, oh, I will just exactly copy what we're doing here and paste it over here. No, like, it was never like that. And it is interesting to see the workings behind the scenes, even for two brands that on the outside might look the same behind the scenes. There's always some kind of big difference.
- [09:23]
A
That's so interesting. I've never gotten that pushback before, and I'm. I'm still pretty solidly niched in the jewelry industry, but nobody's ever said to me, like, oh, well, you're working with that person. How about, like, how is that Affecting things or like they're my competition or anything like that.
- [09:40]
B
I've never found that. I've had people ask me like, who my other clients are for the purpose of them wanting to know that I'm not working with like a competitor or something like that.
- [09:54]
A
That makes sense. Yeah, there's kind of, I mean, I don't know. When I came into the jewelry industry, I kind of like my mentors at the time, Cindy Edelstein was kind of like, there's room for everyone here. And she just, she believed that. And so I believe that. And then also it's just kind of the mentality that I kind of came into the industry in, which is one of the reasons I'm still here. And I love it because it is kind of a community over competition kind of vibe, which I like.
- [10:23]
B
I think it's. This is like a little bit off tangent, but just thinking about that, it's an interesting perspective because if you think about showrooms, like sales reps, trade shows, a lot of the brands are like similarly grouped together that are for like a certain customer or for a certain kind of store. So it's like, well, there is some benefit in that.
- [10:46]
A
A rising tide lifts all boats. Like, I truly believe it because a lot of times, like when I was working very niche down in the like high, high end jewelry industry, I would often leverage, not leverage, but say like, oh, like I know this store owner because of this brand that I'm working with, who has a relationship with them. So I have more, they'll trust me when I'm like, hey, can you come look at this brand? You know, yeah. Two totally different aesthetics, but yeah, there's, there's room for everyone. Um, so I don't love that scarcity and competition kind of mindset. It's not helpful. Um, but circling back, you know, sometimes if you're feeling behind, it could be worth looking at your goals again. Always checking in with your goals and. Because sometimes it's about being out of alignment and just not like feeling like I've, I've experienced this before and recently in this year, you know, people who are very desperate to move faster and move ahead. And that type of panic often leads to like a scattered energy or kind of like saying yes to things that maybe don't make sense for the brand, rather than circling back to like, what are my goals, who is my audience? What is my brand really about? Like, kind of like re stabilizing versus like let me try this thing and let me try this thing and let me try this thing.
- [12:10]
B
Yeah. Or just hopping from, like, magic solution to magic solution. Like, I see people, too, not just in the jewelry industry. I'm just generally that will hop from, like, consultant to consultant to service provider to service provider because they think maybe there's some kind of, like, magic answer they haven't unlocked yet.
- [12:34]
A
There's no magic. We've said this here before, but there's no magic solution.
- [12:38]
B
Yeah.
- [12:39]
A
And always, like, one meaningful action will be more impactful than a lot of reactive actions. And, you know, again, like, I feel like we just have to say this, but. Because we always say this, but progress comes from consistency, not just doing a lot of things sporadically. So consistency is always the answer we kind of come back to.
- [13:01]
B
Yeah.
- [13:02]
A
Yeah. So, you know, if you're kind of feeling some of these feelings that we talked about, you know, like, really, like, resetting, getting intentional, getting clear again on, like, your why, your goals, your audience, all of that work can be really helpful. And also, I mean, just doing that work and revisiting that work's really important because the clearer you are internally in your business, the clearer your audience will be and the people you're talking to. And I think we kind of forget that. And we talked about this in the past few episodes, I feel like. But clarity is really important.
- [13:38]
B
Yeah. So true.
- [13:42]
A
All right. Are you feeling behind? Let us know. Visit successwithjewelry.com and if you love the podcast, we'd love to hear from you. Send us a message or leave us a review. Thanks for being part of our community.