We talk a LOT about online business – but what about traditional brick & mortar maker business?
My guest today is a traditionally trained jeweller with a successful small business in South Australia – Shannon Cornish.
I’ve known Shannon online for a few years now (she’s a member of my Thriver Circle community) and I’ve always admired her beautiful work.
In this episode, we talk about her journey to becoming a jeweller, opening her own B&M shop, taking on her own apprentice and staff jeweller, and how her business has become – and continues to be – a great success.
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.
Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
- Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
- Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
- Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Highlights from this episode:
- Unlike a lot of creative entrepreneurs, Shannon’s business is run through a bricks and mortar store in the Adelaide Hills in Australia.
- Most of Shannon’s customers are local but she does have people travel from interstate or use email and Skype for design consults.
- After many years of opening the store seven days, it is now closed two days a week.
- “Working Sundays was lovely for the customer but exhausting for us” {Shannon}
- To keep up with orders and administration, Shannon has a small team including two jewellers (Josh and Ben), an administration assistant (Yvette) and a bead worker/designer (Skye).
- Not long after she opened, Shannon was approached by a high school student who had begun to teach himself jewellery making. Josh joined the team as a school-based apprentice and is now a qualified jeweller who runs jewellery making lessons in the shop.
- “We do compare our pricing structures so that its similar so people don’t look at a bangle I have made and say why is that is so different to the price of a bangle that Josh has made. We do try to make sure we’re pricing our work using a similar formula” {Shannon}
- Two of Shannon’s team are paid with wages and two are paid on consignment. She also provides perks and incentives to everyone throughout the year to share her appreciation.
- After five years of running her bricks and mortar store, Shannon established a website for the business. As she didn’t want to do this herself, Shannon outsourced the setup of her website and development of SEO which saved her time and frustration.
- 32:50 “If you are going to outsource someone, make sure it is the right person and it is working.” {Shannon}
- 33:25 “You want to be nice, but sometimes you just need to be the boss” {Jess}
- 35:24 “I struggle to define success. Because it’s not an end goal for me. It’s just a continual process” {Shannon}
