09/07/2013
5:20 AM. Been awake since 4:30 in bathroom as not to wake the Mrs. They claim it's darkest before the dawn, possible they are right. Twenty two years ago when I opened my business I had a larger competitor calling my vendors threatening never to buy from them again if they continued to sell me, fortunately many continued, while a few I never saw again. Then there where the creeps that would write an order with me and the take it around the corner to my competitor, tell them it was their last chance, and it was enough to have them make the purchase with larger orders than I could have given. Okay, I got it. So I began to look for lines and product which would not compete with anyone else's, to hone my services and design abilities. To beat my competitors by being the most honest, transparent,skillful Jeweler in the area. Good competition is good great competition in better. Focus on selling not getting tangled in the distractions and focus on building my business. No question we where under capitalized from the beginning but hard honest work is what I believed in. Soon I became involved in my local community believing that as a business you gave back, By 96 I was president of the west Hartford business Associiation. Feeling proud and my oats the future seemed very bright. Then a local attorney took me for $25,000.00 he bought a $40,000.00 diamond gave it to his wife and within days found she was having an affair. Being the snake he tuned to be, he comes to me with a scheeme. That he would file for bankruptcy, divorce his wife, and within a few months pay me. Well the only problem with his plan, he up and died with the estate in bankruptcy and me unsecured. Ouch!
The economy during the 90's was s series of mini economic colamities but we continued to grow. The next real set back came as result of 9/11 our business more than doubled in sales and inventory levels and in one day the world stopped. Nothing I went through could compare with the horror many Local families experienced on that tragic day but here in the north east business stopped for the next six months. We went from 20-25% increases to a 40-50% drop in holiday sales. We all got better but a little worse for wear. In August of 2003 a friend that I had known for 36 years came to me with a offer to help. At first and in hindsight what would have been the prudent course would have been to retire all debts. But being the forward thinker I bought out my competitor from across the street Holden and Gobel Estate Jewelers and expanded in to the estate business.
For all ills are cured by sales.
In November 03 the Sunday before Thanksgiving a fellow merchant walks through my door arm in arm with a man he claimed to have know for 25 years and had sold him thousands of dollars in fur coats over the years, since I was such a upstanding community guy my neighbor thought I would be the jeweler to help his friend. The only problem was his "friend" was a con artist who took us for $ 68,000.00 dollars giving a fraudgelent check and disapearing. Eye opener, the FBI has minimums and $68,000.00 was below their threshold for involvement and local and state police proved to be useless. By the time all was said and done this fiasco cost me over $100,000.00... To be continued... Hey it was darkest before the dawn. Got get to work and make the dough-oh-nuts.
