Struggling to Stay Open?
The content of this article is the opinion of the writer and was written for The Source
Image credit: Christina Malle and Tessa Schroll
How do you make a difficult decision, like staying in business or closing shop? How do you wrangle with a tough decision?
Experts Esther Perel and Peter Drucker and jewelry leaders Andrea Hill, Eric Braunwart and Jennifer Dawes shared their insights on facing a tough business decision.
This isn’t pleasant to admit, but at times I’ve thought “That’s it, I’m done. I can’t keep my business going anymore.” Each time, I opted for a swan song and created a few last pieces of jewelry. I made pieces that were as fabulous as I could afford, purely because they made me happy. And each time, a surprise ensued: the pieces sold, my clients’ feedback put a spring in my step, and the doors stayed open.
Over the years, I’ve shared my moments of despair with my nearest and dearest, who in turn have had tremendously helpful advice. How do you face your toughest decisions? Whose advice do you seek? Is it comfortable to share those struggles with other people? At the risk of going all Karl Ove here, I’ll share a homespun vignette. I told my uncle, who is also an artist, that I was in a rut, business-wise. I had been agonizing over whether to keep going or to close shop. I would still create jewelry, but the business side felt increasingly daunting and lonely. My uncle replied: “Oh, don’t give up now! Look how far you’ve come!” This sage advice continues to echo, reminding me to take a moment, take stock, and see how far I’ve come.
Have you ever come close to closing shop? Or come close to another nausea-inducing feeling of retreat?
If so, I understand; and I’m not judging those who’ve chosen to shut the doors for good. Sometimes that is the solution. For those who have teetered on an edge and then made a challenging decision, how did you make that decision? Not only in terms of a balance sheet, but personally? How does one choose to close the doors or stay open, or leave a job (or project or business)? What’s kept you going? Here are some observations from experts and industry leaders. Thank you, friends and colleagues, for sharing your insights so generously.
Can we re-examine a problem, when we feel stuck? Can we approach it from a new perspective or from a different emotional lens?
Esther Perel
Expert on relationships, creator of the podcasts How’s Work and Where Should We Begin, therapist and author.
Esther Perel observes that “whether to continue a business or to close it is one of the most difficult decisions people make."
Therapist and author Esther Perel. Photo Credit: Ernesto Urdaneta.
“The decision whether to put the key under the carpet or whether to continue to open the gate every day… is one of the most challenging. How do we know if we have invested enough and we can say “Stop!” or if we have still one more thing we should try because it could turn the whole company around? People grapple with this question a great deal, especially with their own companies.
I think that whether to continue a business or to close it is one of the most difficult decisions people make… It’s easier if there is a sense of succession that is not able to be met; if people [choose to] let it go, when they can’t pass it on to someone else. But if it is because the company is not succeeding, for example, at the level that one would hope, then it is much more complex.
Should I continue to invest more? Or, have I done enough, and I can finally say “Stop”?
What happens if my decision is not validated later on? If it’s validated, then I may say ‘I made exactly the right decision: I knew it, I felt it, it was time; there was a reason.’ But [sometimes] one starts to think I should have stayed, I could have continued, why didn’t I invest a little bit more time, energy, skills and et cetera.
Are there people closer to this industry who may be able to say something about this topic?”
Esther Perel poses questions that crystallize a situation. And before we turn to people within the jewelry industry, may I suggest another expert who also looked at work from a wider lens? Peter F. Drucker wrote a great deal on relationships, particularly in business and management. He was an Austrian management consultant and academic, and his writings resonate beyond the paradigms of business management. If he were alive, I would lob the word “multifaceted” his way, and ask him to expound upon it. Although he passed away several years ago, he was a prolific writer, and I encourage the curious to read more about him. For today’s purpose, let’s recall what he said about “success.”
Peter F. Drucker
Late management consultant, scholar and author
“The successful person places more attention on doing the right thing, rather than doing things right.”
Do Drucker’s words suggest another perspective from which to ponder the insistent questions: “What is success?” and “Am I successful?”
Let’s turn to some industry colleagues, who have graciously shared their observations and experiences:
Eric braunwart. photo courtesy of columbia gem house.
Eric Braunwart
Owner, Columbia Gem House
Disclosure for transparency’s sake: Eric serves on the Board of Ethical Metalsmiths.
“Tough question you ask here. The first part is easy, yes there have been many times in the last 45 years I have felt like giving up. I guess there were always reasons I [stayed in business]; most of all, I loved gemstones and I was stubborn. It has been different the last 20 years, though. We started down this path of hoping, wishing, believing that we could use this business and industry to somehow do a little good.
It was a real tough road when it seemed the entire industry was against the idea; but that idea and hope that things would move this direction, and the belief I was right, is probably the only thing that kept me going from 2008 to 2017. That is when I started to see others in the industry, in a more broad sense, start to believe this was a positive direction for the industry. Then COVID-19 came along and I think people really started looking at life, and what they did and how they treated others, more closely. COVID-19 seemed to help move the needle very fast.
So what kept me going through this last year? Just seeing that the direction we took 20 years ago was the right one (for me personally and for the industry) and that other people were joining in and felt the same way. If I had not seen that, I would have given up for sure.
Advice? The jewelry business, or any business, can be exciting and rewarding. We sell beautiful things, but they are only things. People are what matter, and if we are willing to make that a core of our business, then that is a business worth sticking with, through good and bad. That is what kept me going when I thought the financial end was hopeless.”
Andrea Hill
Owner of Hill Management Group
Disclose for transparency’s sake: Andrea serves on EM’s Advisory Council
Andrea Hill of Hill Management Group. Photo courtesy of Andrea Hill.
“You have to know your values and your strategy to be effective in business. Without knowledge of those two things, you can't make the right decisions (or any decisions), and you can't be consistent. So, start by figuring out what's important to you and why you decided to create this business (hint: it probably wasn't to get rich). Then, to get to the heart of your strategy, answer these three questions:
Who are we?
What do we do that makes us different?
Why do we matter?
Jennifer Dawes of Jennifer Dawes Design. Photo credit: Paige Green.
Jennifer Dawes
Owner, Jennifer Dawes Design
Disclosure for transparency’s sake: Jennifer serves on the Board of Ethical Metalsmiths
“So, yes I have considered closing--or more like selling--my business! I was in extreme burnout about three years ago with my business. I felt trapped. The traditional business paradigm was not working for me. I was struggling with employee management, intense financial pressure, travel and the realization that my mental health was suffering due to all these challenges. I knew there was a better way to do what I loved and it broke my heart to think of selling my business, but at that point I would have done anything to relieve the pressure I felt.
You see, I love what I do! I am a metalsmith and that is my calling. Being able to transform an idea into a physical object is an incredibly powerful gift. It is alchemical and that is what I am here on this planet to do. To be able to give joy to people who cherish my work is so incredibly important and to spread joy is something I don’t ever want to give up. It’s a deep and powerful exchange with people I care about. That is why I do what I do.
It is so hard and uncomfortable to suffer and be in pain and this is where the biggest transformation begins. Going inward is the only way to approach a tough decision. To explore it from every angle: what gives you joy, what gives you pain, and ultimately is it worth it to you, do you care about it that much? You must face the fear of it straight on so you can get to the gold or the heart of what you do.
I have been through this gauntlet twice in my business and both times what pulled me through was digging deeper than I was willing to go, letting go of all the expectations of what other people expected from me, and honing down to why do I do what I do and do I love it?
Since then, I have restructured my business and I am happier and more successful than I ever have been. I am making some of the best work I have ever made. I am connecting with my clients in ways I haven’t been able to do before. I am working harder than I have ever worked, but I am enjoying it deeply.
Ultimately my happiness is the most important part of this journey and through the pain I have found my joy.”
Swan Song -- until it wasn’t! Inspiring jewelry (to this author, at least), which kept me going. Bond Street Necklace by Christina Malle. Photo credit: Ralph Gabriner
How do you define your goals, and your success, especially if you are an artist, or work for yourself? The late author and scholar Maya Angelou wrote that “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” Does her vision of “success” resonate or help shift the perspective in any way?
I hope these insights prove helpful, as you consider your definition of success and wrangle with your own decision-making. Finally, if you prefer a more practical approach to decision-making, Paula Davis wrote about the topic in Forbes magazine in April 2020. Her article, The Art of Making Tough Decisions in a Crisis can be found here. She breaks decision-making down to a step-by-step analysis.
On the off-chance you are wondering, why yes, I am still in business! What about you? How are you doing? Your comments and questions are welcome in the comment box below. It may be uncomfortable to communicate our challenges, but after all, we’re all human and we can all learn from one another! Thank you for reading ~ and thank you, contributors, for sharing your experiences.
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