We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Deponte recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Every business has their “oh s$&” moment. It’s that one thing that can go entirely wrong and ruin everything. In my business it’s the break of a chain. Whether it’s the chain or the ring in my business a break is a very bad thing.

As we all know chains are not indestructible and no matter how sturdy they are they can and may break. I have an extremely low break ratio but every now and then we get one.

I need to point out at this time that there’s three types of customers out there.

1. The passive customer who’s going to let the issue go and cut their losses. This may sound like a dream but it’s not because you won’t ever know that something went wrong. You cannot fix or change something you have no knowledge of.

2. The nice, friendly customer who wants the issue rectified but knows if they piss off the owner there’s no chance. They will let you know they’re unhappy and want it resolved but they will be polite and understanding about it.

3. The final boss.
This customer is just plain upset. They don’t want it fixed, they just want their money back and they will bash you on yelp, google, Facebook, Instagram.. to their mom, their neighbor. They won’t listen to reason and their new goal in life is take you AND your business down.

The harsh reality; you will deal with all 3 in business. There’s no avoiding it, if you’re successful and making sales you’re going to run into all 3 personalities.

Here’s what matters.. the part you CAN control.. how you handle it.

I have a no questions asked jewelers guarantee on all my jewelry; meaning if your piece breaks for any reason (whether you chew, rip, pull, or saw it off) I’ll put it back on for free. I don’t care what you did; I won’t get defensive; I won’t argue or turn into The Hulk. I’ll sit you down in my chair and have it fixed. A lot of permanent jewelry shops will only do free repairs if it breaks on the jump ring or if it’s their fault. I don’t care how many times I have to put a chain back on, it costs me next to nothing yet it gains me so much.

While you can’t always make everyone happy having a no questions asked guarantee really helps. It gives people a peace of mind and lets them know we as a business care about them and our work.

I had a client about a month ago who told us she swells and wanted an anklet put on loose. We told her we usually don’t put them on that loose because there’s a higher chance of a break but we did it and let her know she could come back anytime if she had any problems with it. The anklet broke a few days later and she got in touch with me. We took care of her and put the anklet back on tighter.. Not only did she purchase a permanent bracelet that night but her 2 friends did as well. Even though she had a break she trusted my work and my customer service enough to not only buy from me again but refer 2 of her friends.

That is why customer service is so important.

A very wise woman once told me “you have to take care of your customers, they pay your bills”.

You can never go wrong being good to your clients.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I may be in jewelry but I prefer to be referred to as a skilled and motivated entrepreneur. I stand out because I will take the necessary steps and make the necessary changes to crush goals.

I’ve only been in business for 7 months and I’ve figured out I can only sell to one type of clientele and that’s not going to build the empire I want. I am currently working on a second start up that appeals to a broader variety of clients. Remember the Bombshell name, my goal is that one day everyone will know it.

I believe it’s key to know what you’ve earned and what you deserve so I will always speak up for myself and my business. I will always ask for what I want and go after it. No one gets successful by waiting for everything to come to them. I was once told “if you want something then go get it” and that’s exactly what I do.

I also feel it is important to have integrity in your work. I am honest about my products, reasonable with my prices and transparent with my clients.

Integrity is imperative to success in business.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that a slow sales night does not mean that I or my business is a failure.

As a pop up shop many factors play a part in our sales that are out of my control such as weather, time of year etc. I had to learn not to blame myself if the business doesn’t meet my sales goal.

Sometimes the price isn’t right, sometimes the selection isn’t right, sometimes the timing isn’t right BUT sometimes they just don’t want to buy. I always say to do the best you can but at the end of the day you cannot force anyone to become a customer.

Occasionally due to weather or just a slow night there aren’t any customers around. You cannot sell to people that are not there. If this continues I would consider looking at other locations or markets but you need to understand every location has an off night. You cannot expect perfection every time, you will keep getting disappointed.

Just like in life you will be happier and more successful in business when you don’t beat yourself up over things that you cannot control.

Enjoy the nights when you crush your goals and remember those nights when you don’t. A business is full of ups and downs and your job is to make sure the downs don’t affect the ups.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I hit my personal rock bottom in April 2023 when I was sitting in a jail cell. I had just started a new job and was still training. I remember sitting there with a prostitute and a shoplifter and thinking to myself “well there goes that job”.

The truth was I had a choice to make. I could sit there in that cell and stay at the bottom or I could get up and pull myself back out of the hell I created.

I chose to get up. I finished training and worked that job for a year.. It really helped me gain the knowledge and confidence to start my own business and my former boss has been a role model to me.

I started living a healthier, more active lifestyle and lost over 20 pounds. Once my case was dismissed I started counting my blessings and knew I wasn’t going to put myself in that situation again.

I started my business exactly one year after sitting in that cell at age 40. I used my own money, did all my own research and started my own brand. I have never been more proud of myself.

I sometimes think back to when I was sitting in that cell and how different my life is now. I am very thankful and grateful for where I am today.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bombshellbraceletsfl/profilecard/?igsh=em9zcjY2dm5oNTc2
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/kgHfVhydrzbNDh9y/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits

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