We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Rives a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?
I believe vacations are vital to continuing to grow a successful business. Running a successful business is very challenging. From dealing with supply chain issues, increased costs, customer satisfaction, and working beyond a 40 hour work week, the demand on a business owner is very hard. Is it worth it? Yes ! However, it is so important to take the time to make sure you are at your best mentally and physically. This is different for every business owner. As a mother and wife I feel it is important for me to take vacations throughout the year with my family. Some vacations are brief and include visiting family that lives far away and other times it is a true disconnect from the business and a vacation away from it all. These vacations allow me, as the business owner, to come back energized and ready to conquer all the stresses of running a business. My advice for entrepreneurs is that you need to surround yourself with friends and family that support your efforts and use them to help you navigate even a weekend vacation. It doesn’t even have to be a trip away from your home! Just taking the time to do something that isn’t work related for a day or two will help you come back energized.
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?
Fused Forever permanent jewelry is my business. I began the business after my college age daughter and I got permanent bracelets together. We both loved the experience and it left me thinking how I wanted to be a part of this for other people as well. From mothers and daughters commemorating a special event in their lives, to close friends marking a special occasion together, I truly enjoy every interaction with my customers. I have many repeat customers who continue to seek me out at pop up events or schedule an appointment ready for a new piece of permanent jewelry. I pride myself on making the moment special for each of my customers by truly spending the time getting to know them on a personal level. If they have chosen my company to be a part of commemorating a special moment in their lives, I feel it is important for me to make a connection with them and appreciate that they have trusted me with this experience. When I first started this business I really had to work hard to set myself apart from other similar businesses. Making connections with my customers and other small businesses has been key to my success. My small business depends on the success of other small businesses. I don’t have my own storefront so I need other small businesses to allow me the opportunity to set up at their location. The key to my success has really been my strong relationships with those small businesses. Fused Forever permanent jewelry would not be successful without all the small shops, breweries, and event coordinators that I have built relationships with as a business owner.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I feel like I am still working on building a social media presence and to be honest, I think it is ongoing for any small business. You have to continue to work on building relationships with your audience a lot. I started out posting a lot of information about what my business was and included pictures as well. As I started to book more events, I posted pictures from those so potential customers could see what my work looked like and if it was something they were interested in purchasing. I also did a few contests asking for likes, tags, and sharing posts. I also think posting where customers interact is a good idea.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
My clientele has grown for the most part by word of mouth from other customers. I feel like this is key to my success. I have made my customers loyal by creating an experience that has them coming back many times for more permanent jewelry. Many times they bring along a new friend with them and from there my clientele continues to grow. I pride myself on the quality of my inventory and my work. I use high quality chain and charms for my jewelry and my equipment is top of the line. My clientele is appreciative of my dedication to using only the best materials and equipment which provides them with jewelry that lasts and is a good value for their money. I stand behind my work and offer free repairs if a client accidentally breaks their chain or has an injury that requires removal.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
all my own images