This time of year gets busy fast, and hopefully, the past two months of holiday sales have gone well for your jewellery store.
After more than 30 years working in and supporting retail businesses through the holiday period, I’ve learned a number of important things that show up every year.
The most important lesson is that you’re more successful when you make it easier on people.
This applies to customers, employees, and yourself. In jewellery retail, simplicity is a competitive advantage, especially during peak trading periods.
The holidays amplify friction. The easier you make things, the more customers buy, the more confidently your staff work, and the smoother your day becomes. Every small act that removes effort or confusion immediately improves outcomes.
Secondly, you must always remember that ‘the speed of the captain is the speed of the ship.’
I’ve heard that Jerry Kohl, the CEO of US-based retailer Brighton Collectibles, often reminds the leaders within his business of this fact. If you’re stressed, people around you feel it. If you move with urgency, they adopt it. If you stay steady and upbeat, your staff will rise to meet it.
During the holiday period, people follow your energy more than your words. Business owners set the tempo for the entire store, whether they realise it or not.
Finally, your fundamental beliefs are constantly in motion. Every day, they move you toward or away from the outcomes you want in performance, success, and happiness. In a retail environment, those beliefs quietly shape how you lead, sell, and respond under pressure.
That’s why mindset and how you start your day matter so much right now. A grounded, optimistic mindset gives you better choices when the pressure mounts. Better choices translate directly into better customer experiences and stronger staff performance.
Happy New Year!
I’m excited about the new year after recently publishing my book.
It is titled Start With What If: Weekly Questions to Spark Change and Growth.
As that moment drew closer, I started thinking a great deal about why I wrote it in the first place. It’s what I’ve learned about the power of pause, questions, and taking action. These same principles are essential when stepping back to evaluate a business and its people.
New Year’s Eve creates a similar atmosphere. There’s a sense of reflection in the air and a feeling of closure. And often, an unspoken pressure to turn the page with answers already in hand.
We find ourselves asking what went well, what didn’t, and what needs to change. For jewellery stores, this can shape how the entire year unfolds.
With that said, the most useful lesson learned from a year is rarely the loudest moment. It’s often the pattern you didn’t notice while you were in it.
What if your biggest lesson from 2025 becomes your most significant driver of personal and professional success in 2026?
When I say this, I’m not talking about a goal, and I’m not describing a resolution. Instead, I’m thinking about an advantage.
An advantage is something you have already developed over the past year. This advantage might be a strength, pattern, or alignment that you observed consistently, even if you didn’t strictly identify it at the time.
If you’re struggling with ideas, here are three ways to start identifying these advantages.
- Notice what worked when things seemed effortless.
Think about a time when you felt steady, clear, or effective without overthinking. Those moments often point to a strength or an operating approach that already works. This might a way you can intentionally build on in the year ahead.
- Pay attention to what drained you faster than it should have.
The quickest energy leaks are usually misalignments. Conversations, commitments, or roles that consistently cost more energy than expected. Understanding why this happens helps you make different choices next year.
- Look at what brought you joy and momentum.
In retail, joy often comes from meaningful customer moments or a staff member performing at their best.
This doesn’t have to be restricted to big wins. Reflect on the moments that quietly energised you. Remember those instances where you lost track of time because you were so engaged or ‘locked in’ to the work you were doing, because it was happening with ease.
Try to recall pivotal conversations from the year past that you have since replayed in your mind. In these circumstances, joy often points to alignment.
Indeed, your most significant lesson learned from 2025 doesn’t need to be dramatic. It just needs to be identified and leveraged for the year ahead.
When applied intentionally, it can improve both business performance and personal satisfaction in the year to come.
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