We recently connected with Liz Bucheit and have shared our conversation below.

Liz, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Since I am the sole proprietor of my own business it can be a mixed bag as any entrepeneur will tell you. I’m a jewelry designer and goldsmith and I’ve literally worked every aspect of my industry on a variety of levels. As a younger person working for corporate run jewelry stores in the 80’s, I made a promise to myself that that I would never have another boss again! Since I wear all the hats, running the oldest artist owned and operated business in my small town, (27 years and counting) I can get depressed and down that I don’t get as much time to create. However, when the bank account is low or clients are waffling on projects I’m very firm about asking myself the question ‘would you rather work for someone else?’ The answer is always a resounding NO and I pivot towards being grateful for the situation I’ve created for myself. I’ve also made piece with the financial insecurity that often comes with being a creative and I find myself relishing the challenges that come with what my friends and yes, family, interpret as crushing and unnecessary anxiety. It can also be lonely being your own cheerleader when people blurt out “well, you don’t really have a regular job”. I’ve learned it’s crucial to surround myself with like minded creatives, artists and entrepeneurs so we lift each other up. What I’ve created for myself is still a job and it’s anything but “regular’. I’m passionate about what I do and that’s the rocket fuel that keeps me in flight.

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

Have you ever had to pivot?

Oh yes, I’m all for the pivot! During the 2008 crash I was really financially destitute. Gold prices shot up and everyone just stopped spending on anything other than the essentials. I was behind on every bill (love those stickers on the door from the utility company) and I was in danger of losing my building. My only consolation in the evening was to scan the internet in hopes of finding a job and I was mentally preparing myself for the very real possibility that I would have to move from my beautiful little town right back to the metro from which I had originally fled. One ad I came across called for someone with jewelry and gemstone expertise and I jumped on it. I later got a call to come in for an interview and little did I know I was auditioning on camera for one of the largest online shopping networks in the nation! I landed the position for a completely nuts amount of money and essentially became a “glamoursmith” on air co-host for three years. In that time I was able to dig myself out of my financial hole while upping my reputation as the “diamond expert” on a national level. Things eventually turned around for the better and I made great connections during my short TV career.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I’ve got an online store for my jewelry and another online store for student supplies for several classes I teach. I’m a fan of WordPress, Woocommerce and Amazon and I love the flexibility of all the bells and whistles for sales notifications, reports, followup emails and blogs. My husband is the marketer and we are constantly shooting videos and instructional material for my teaching site since I garnered a huge student base with my online courses during Covid. Having my online stores working in the background contributes to my cash flow when things are slow in the shop and it’s great for introducing folks to all the other facets of my work (pardon the pun!) While it’s great to have these silent employees working for me I’ve learned that you have to market like a maniac to come up on the search engines. And yes, you have to pay for advertising! I do Google ads and honestly, a good old fashion email list from my 27+ history of being in business targets my niche customers through Mailchimp. I still have to be mindful of carving out creative time at the bench or I’d be at the computer all day!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://crowntroutonline.com
• Instagram: liz_bucheit_crowns_tiaras
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liz.bucheit
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-bucheit-539a50b
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SaamiSupplies
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzkJr-QbNj4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSTU0Ohvz5A

Image Credits
Najlis Photography Eye Prize Marketing