How I Got Into The Bridal & Bridesmaid Jewelry Market

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. In this week's journal entry, I'm talking about how I found my niche in the jewelry market. If you have your own business or have thought about having your own business, people will always tell you that you've got to find a niche. Last year, when I was in St. John in the Virgin Islands talking about my business to a friend's husband - this really cool, older, super wealthy business man in his 70's - his response was, "You gotta love a niche market." It's true! Especially in this day and age where we can easily purchase anything on the Internet from companies all over the world, it's really important to find your niche or else you're going to be just another company selling another piece of jewelry (or whatever it is you do). My niche is giftable jewelry (i.e. jewelry primarily in the price point of $40 to $70), and even more specifically jewelry for gifting to bridesmaids, and even more specifically, jewelry for gifting to bridesmaids designed by a former lawyer pursing a prettier life. Now, as you know I sell things outside of that niche (i.e. jewelry for brides and casual jewelry not appropriate for a wedding) but I focus on perfecting my tiny niche in the market and then the rest follows. For example, a woman might find my jewelry because she's getting married but she continues to follow along with me after her wedding because she likes how my jewelry can be dressed up for a wedding or dressed down for the weekend and she finds my story of attorney-turned-jewelry-designer inspiring. This whole idea of a niche market might seem counter-intuitive to you. You might think that you need to please a wide variety of people with your offerings in order to maximize your potential for sales. But do you remember what your mother told you? "When you try to please everyone, you please no one." Yep, that's right. So here's how I found my niche in the jewelry market, and maybe it'll be helpful to you if you're thinking about starting your own business or already have a business but need help growing it.

You may have heard that I quit my job as a lawyer not once, but twice. The first time it was 2010 and I opened a brick and mortar jewelry store in New Jersey near where I grew up. While the store ultimately didn't stay open for long, I learned two *really* important things from having that store that have been instrumental in the jewelry business I have today. First, I learned that telling my story (i.e. lawyer turned jewelry designer) was really, really, really important to my marketing. I witnessed this first-hand countless times. My store was down the street from a courthouse so lawyers (and people who worked for lawyers) were always stopping by. When they heard I quit my job at a very prominent law firm in the area to pursue my dream of owning a jewelry store, they were captivated and wanted to know more. I happily told them the short version of my story (or long version if they had time!) and nearly every conversation ended in a sale. They wanted to buy my jewelry because they liked me and my story and they wanted to support me. And maybe too because each time they looked at that necklace in the mirror, it would remind them that they too could quit their job and do something different that made them happy. When I started grace + hudson, I knew telling my story was going to be really important to my success. I just love talking about my career change (probably more than I love making jewelry!) so this is a win-win. If I can inspire just 1 person to have the courage to go after her dream and quit a job that is toxic to her, I feel like I have served my purpose in the world. 

I learned something else too while I had that shop. Brides-to-be were always dropping by asking for bridesmaid jewelry to gift to their bridesmaids. They all said the same thing: "I found classy jewelry that matches my wedding colors at Nordstrom but I can't afford to buy 6 of them because they're $200 each. I also found jewelry that incorporates my wedding colors at Kohl's but it is too cheap looking to wear in a wedding." It was like a record on repeat! I've always played the bridesmaid, not the bride, so I wasn't aware of this problem. This gap in the market, if you will. I decided I was well-equipped to fill that gap - the gap between the expensive pieces at Nordstrom and the cheap-looking pieces at Kohl's - because I absolutely love incorporating soft, subtle, sophisticated colors in my designs and that's often what brides are looking to buy for their bridesmaids. 

So what's your niche? Think long and hard about what makes YOU unique. There's no one like you, and when you really leverage that uniqueness into your branding, no one can compete with you. Seriously. And here's another tip: make your brand personal. Show your face. Tell your story. That's something a large retailer like Nordstrom or Kohl's cannot do. They sell products. Period. They are too huge of a corporate empire to have a personal story. I always think to myself, what can I do that {insert big retailer name} can't do because they're too large? Then I do that. For example, aside from talking about my personal career journey, I offer free adjustments and repairs and customizations of your jewelry. See a necklace on my website but wish it was 20 inches long instead of 18 inches long? Send me an email! That's so easy for me to do. Can a large retailer do that? Nope. Break your dainty necklace chain when your toddler yanks on it? Send it to my studio and I'll repair it for free! Can a large retailer do that? Nope, they'll make you buy a new one. I hope this advice has been helpful and inspiring to you today!

xoxo,

Stacy