Business Growth

Between December & January, I picked up 3 new clients for my faceting business. All of them were looking for someone to repair tiny gemstones (less than .5 carats). Most gem cutters won't work on small stones because they are troublesome, in many ways. Small stones tend to take flight during repair - ricocheting off the faceting machine, hitting the wall, ultimately landing on the floor (which is a BIG pain if you have carpet). Small stones are also difficult to make precision repairs to because the facets are so tiny. Additionally, many faceters are aging and can't see as well as they once did - so those tiny facets and flying stones pose a big problem.

I get more new clients because their primary faceter refuses to do a repair on a small stone, or wants to charge an outrageous amount for that repair - so they start looking. Thanks to business relationships building over the past 5 years, my goldsmiths refer their friends to me. I have clients across the country simply because of word-of-mouth.

You know that cheesy saying? "Our highest compliment is your references." It's true. I feel such pride when someone I've done work for recommends their friends to call me. It's reassurance that I do quality work, that has good value, and that my customer service goes above and beyond.

So my tiny references grow into repairs on rare and valuable gems - and my business grows. It's taken 5 years to reach a steady pace, but this triumph is mine.