For a long time, I treated myself more as an employee than as a business owner.
That might sound strange coming from someone who runs a jewellery store, but I think many independent retailers will understand exactly what I mean. I simply worked hard within the business every day. What I didn’t understand was that I was never working on the business.
Like many family-run jewellery stores, ours has always been built on honesty, relationships, and genuine customer service rather than pressure selling. We’ve always believed the important thing is finding the right product for the customer.
It doesn’t matter if it’s an expensive ring or an affordable bracelet. That approach has served us well over the years and has become a major part of our identity as a business.
At the same time, the realities of running an independent jewellery store have changed enormously. My sister is my best friend and works full-time with me, while my partner is the jeweller upstairs handling repairs, remodelling and custom manufacturing. Over time, we also significantly expanded our CAD design work, which has become a major part of the business.
But with a small team comes an enormous workload. Then came the rise of social media and digital marketing, which created another layer of pressure for small business owners. Suddenly, if you weren’t active online, it felt as though customers couldn’t properly see who you were, what you created, or what made your business unique.
Like many retailers, I simply adapted as I went along. I learned what I needed to learn and added it to the increasing list of responsibilities. Before long, my full-time job in the business had effectively become two full-time jobs. I was working in the store during the day and, at night, behind the scenes, managing social media, marketing, and everything else that
now comes with modern retail.
Eventually, I realised something needed to change. I had been curious about business coaching for a long time.
But finding a business coach who understood my business and the jewellery industry seemed almost impossible until I was connected with Malcolm Scrymgeour.
I decided to try coaching for a few months, and two years later, I'm still doing it. Finding a jewellery industry-specific coach was like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Initially, I thought the idea was to help me better structure my staff. I wanted support with roles and staffing decisions. I thought it was about understanding who should do what and how I should manage the business more effectively.
What I discovered instead was that the coaching process was really about changing the way I managed myself. One of the biggest lessons was learning the difference between working in the business and working on the business.
Before coaching, my focus had always been fairly simple: work hard, purchase stock, pay the bills, save money and hopefully take a holiday once in a while.
Like many small business owners, I had spent years operating on instinct and momentum. I was ‘coping’ – but that’s it. The coaching process forced me to step back and properly analyse the business, rather than simply reacting to day-to-day demands.
Importantly, it also taught me accountability. I realised very quickly that coaching only works if you are prepared to do the work yourself. Nobody can transform your business for you. They can guide you, challenge you and help you identify opportunities, but ultimately you have to implement the changes.
That accountability became one of the most valuable aspects of the experience. I also realised that meaningful change takes time. Had I only committed to business coaching for a few months, I probably would have slipped straight back into old habits. After all, water always follows the path of least resistance.
Many small business owners are incredibly resilient and adaptable, but we are also very good at falling into routines and simply coping with whatever is directly in front of us.
The longer-term coaching process helped create consistency and discipline, which eventually became part of how I approached the business every day. Over time, it also made me think more seriously about the big picture - both personally and professionally.
For years, working six days a week simply felt normal. That’s often the mentality in small businesses. You just keep going because that’s what needs to be done.
But eventually, you need to start asking bigger questions about longevity, balance, and what happens if the business relies too heavily on just one or two people.
It’s always in the back of your mind, but I’d never stopped to seriously answer those kinds of questions. Those are conversations many independent retailers put off because there’s always something more immediate demanding your attention.
The coaching encouraged me to stop operating in survival mode and start putting proper systems and structures in place.
Maybe most importantly, none of this meant changing who we are as a business.We are still the same down-to-earth jewellery store we have always been. We still focus on honesty, relationships, and helping customers find the right piece for them. If anything, the business coaching strengthened those qualities by giving us greater clarity and confidence.
What changed was the structure around the business itself. There is now a much clearer understanding of responsibilities, priorities and long-term direction. Decisions are made more strategically than reactively.
More than anything, though, the experience changed my mindset. For the first time, I truly started thinking like a business owner rather than simply someone working inside the business every day.
And once that changed, everything else started changing too.
Name: Melanie Hancock
Business: Diamonds Plus
Position: Owner
Location: Lismore, NSW
Years in the industry: 24
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