When you're running your own jewellery business, there are so many decisions to make. What should you focus on next? How can you increase your sales? Are you pricing your jewellery correctly? Is your marketing working? Should you invest in a new collection, a professional photographer or a better website?
Sometimes you know exactly what you want to do, but you're not sure how to make it happen. And sometimes you're so busy making jewellery and keeping everything going that you don't get much time to think about the bigger picture.
Imagine having an experienced jewellery business mentor you could turn to throughout the year to help you work through those questions and make progress towards your goals.
That's what I've created with the 12-month Business Mentoring Programme at Jewellers Academy.
Why I believe so much in business mentoring
I started my first business when I was 19, and mentoring has played a huge part in helping me grow my businesses over the years.
I've had mentors who have helped me make important decisions, recognise opportunities I hadn't considered and given me the confidence to go after things that felt a little beyond me at the time.
Sometimes the most valuable advice I've received has been quite straightforward. Someone with more experience has looked at what I'm doing, asked a few questions and helped me see a better way forward.
And sometimes what I've needed most is someone to tell me that I'm already on the right track.
Having a mentor doesn't mean handing over your business decisions to someone else. It's about having the benefit of their experience while you build the business that's right for you.
I know how much difference that support has made to me, and I'd love more jewellers to have the opportunity to experience it.
What can a business mentor help you with?
One of the biggest advantages of individual mentoring is that the conversation is about your business and what you need help with.
Perhaps you're making sales but would love to increase your income. You might want to look at your pricing, profit margins or which products are selling best. Maybe you're getting lots of attention on Instagram but struggling to turn that into sales. You could work with your mentor to understand your customers and decide where to focus your marketing. Or perhaps you have a new collection in mind, want to approach shops and galleries, develop your website or work towards making jewellery your full-time career.
Your mentor can help you step away from the day-to-day and think about what will make the biggest difference to your business. And because you'll be working with someone who understands the jewellery industry, you'll get advice that's relevant to the particular challenges of making, marketing and selling jewellery.
A fresh perspective on your business
When you work for yourself, it's very easy to spend a lot of time going backwards and forwards over a decision. You might research lots of different approaches, ask friends what they think or keep putting something off because you're not quite sure which way to go. A mentor can help you look at the options, spot things you might have missed and decide on a practical way forward.
They can also challenge you to think bigger. Sometimes we're so used to running our businesses in a particular way that we don't even consider other possibilities. Having someone with experience who can ask questions, offer honest feedback and encourage you to try something different can be incredibly valuable.
The benefit of mentoring throughout the year
A single mentoring session can be incredibly helpful, but there's also something special about having ongoing support. Your business will change throughout the year. You might start with a goal of improving your website, then move on to attracting more customers, developing your products or increasing your sales. As you make progress, new questions and opportunities will come up. With regular mentoring, you can talk through your plans, put things into practice and then come back to your mentor to discuss what's happened. There's accountability too. Having someone to check in with can be a great motivation to make time for the things you've been meaning to work on.
The real value isn't just in the mentoring sessions themselves. It's in what you go on to do with the advice, ideas and support you receive.
How the 12-month Business Mentoring Programme works
I've designed the programme to give you regular individual support throughout the year, with time between sessions to put things into practice.
You'll receive six private 45-minute mentoring sessions over 12 months.
Here's how it works.
1. Tell me about your business
Before the mentoring begins, you'll complete a questionnaire about your jewellery business, what you're working towards and the areas where you'd most value some help.
2. Get matched with a mentor
I'll use that information to match you with an experienced jewellery business mentor whose knowledge and experience are a good fit for your goals.
3. Meet regularly throughout the year
You'll work with the same mentor for all six sessions, usually meeting approximately every two months on Zoom. There's flexibility in how you arrange your sessions depending on what's happening in your business.
4. Put your plans into action
Between sessions, you'll have time to work on your goals, try new things and make improvements to your business. When you meet again, you can review your progress, discuss any challenges and work out your next steps.
By working with the same mentor throughout the year, you'll have someone who gets to know your business and understands what you're trying to achieve.
How is this different from the mentoring included in the Jewellery Business Academy?
If you've already been part of the Jewellery Business Academy, you'll know that mentoring is an important part of the programme.
JBA includes small-group mentoring throughout the year, as well as one individual 45-minute session with a jewellery business expert.
The 12-month Business Mentoring Programme gives you six additional one-to-one sessions with the same mentor throughout the year.
It's an opportunity to get a deeper level of personalised support, with regular time dedicated specifically to your own business.
And if you're joining JBA with the mentoring package, you'll still have your individual session included in the Academy, which you could use with a different expert if there's another area where you'd value specialist advice.
Who can join?
The Business Mentoring Programme is available to Jewellery Business Academy students and alumni.
If you're joining JBA for 2027, you can add the mentoring package alongside your year of business training.
If you're currently studying with JBA or have completed the Academy in a previous year, you can choose the mentoring package on its own. There's no need to join the full Academy again.
I've designed it this way because the mentoring builds on the business knowledge and training available within JBA, giving you the chance to focus on putting that knowledge into practice in your own business.
What would you love to achieve with your jewellery business this year?
I'd love you to think about where you'd like your business to be in 12 months.
Perhaps you'd love to have more regular sales, reach your next income milestone, feel more confident about your business decisions or have more time to enjoy making jewellery.
You might have some really ambitious plans, or perhaps there are just a few important things you'd love to get working better.
Whatever your goals, having an experienced person to turn to throughout the year could be a wonderful way to help you make progress.
Find out more about the Jewellery Business Academy and individual business mentoring
I'd love to help you build a jewellery business that works for you.
With love,
Jess x