Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Deb Panish. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Deb, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

What matters most? Hmm. Well, a lot of things matter. Creating a business that is running well is always great of course but doing what you like and creating a job of it is something to be thankful for for sure. For me part of feeling successful is employing people and creating a great team of dedicated employees who feel good about being a part of Funky Pretty Beads. My employees are all part time and have their own businesses. They take off days when they need to. The schedule is flexible. I like a flexible life so I want my employees to enjoy that too.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I LOVE color. I has always guided me. I always tell people that my dream job is to be the color police. My first professional job was an Art Therapist but I missed creating things so I started designing jewelry and I’m a small person so playing with small things suited me well. My work was always about color. My tag line was “Color. Shape. Simplicity.” I created color scapes for beautiful displays in galleries and boutiques across America.

When the 2008 crash happened. I was ready for a change so I started by selling some gorgeous Mother of Pearl beads that I had had custom made for my jewelry lines. People loved my offerings and success came pretty quickly. The real fun started when I started traveling to find great treasures. The hunt is a lot of fun and….. it’s addictive. I’ve been to the Czech Republic and have made some great contacts with smaller family owned business. I think I have been able to tap into some sources to find unique products that other bead shops don’t offer.

My shop has a real colorful fun vibe.

So what I really do is make people happy and THAT is the best part of my job.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think great customer service, great photos and amazing products. In addition to the “WOW” beads that are usually what inspire a design, I also sell the less obtrusive side kick beads that are so important to any good design. We also sell a lot of basic shapes that I have custom made in lots of colors. Most shops don’t carry them (?) Jewelry designers can create entire lines with choices of colors for the same design. That’s important to someone selling wholesale to galleries or boutiques. In the bead world keeping beads in stock can simply be impossible. Some beads are only produced for one or a few runs. They just have a way of becoming extinct. It drives designers crazy. I try my best to keep items in stock and customers appreciate that.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I mainly use e-mail to keep in touch with my customers. We have weekly sales. I try to keep customers in the know about new products. I have a marketing manager who does all that including posting on Instagram and Facebook. I tried to do all that in the beginning but…. not my thing. People come back because they always find new and exciting products. The downside of that is the pocketbook effect. But buying beads is buying fun. :o)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.funkyprettybeads.com
• Instagram: funkyprettybeads
• Facebook: funkyprettybeads
• Other: pinterest – funkyprettybeads

Image Credits
Image credits go to Emma Garcelon