Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Jeweler brings Midwest to the Southwest
    Tara Fine Jewelry: Atlanta’s not-so-secret, best-kept secret
    Finding the Big Ones; Zambian Trophies for the Ages
    The Golden Girls of Gemstones
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    NDC Education Partner Program
    Mystery shopping results reveal opportunity for proactive consumer natural diamond education
    Jewelers of America announces 2023 GEM Awards winners
    jeweler
    ASA partners with BrankoGems Academy to offer testing loose and mounted diamonds and gems training
    skull rings
    KIL N.Y.C. introduces the Cranium Ring
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles
    Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide
    The Story Behind the Stone: Out of the Blue
    What’s Hot Now!: Latest Designer Trends 2023
    A Winning Strategy: How SEO and buying intent can skyrocket your sales
    business people shaking hands
    Networking for small business owners
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: A Clean Disaster
    Brad Huisken
    A quick note about technology
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Jeweler brings Midwest to the Southwest
    Tara Fine Jewelry: Atlanta’s not-so-secret, best-kept secret
    Finding the Big Ones; Zambian Trophies for the Ages
    The Golden Girls of Gemstones
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    NDC Education Partner Program
    Mystery shopping results reveal opportunity for proactive consumer natural diamond education
    Jewelers of America announces 2023 GEM Awards winners
    jeweler
    ASA partners with BrankoGems Academy to offer testing loose and mounted diamonds and gems training
    skull rings
    KIL N.Y.C. introduces the Cranium Ring
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles
    Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide
    The Story Behind the Stone: Out of the Blue
    What’s Hot Now!: Latest Designer Trends 2023
    A Winning Strategy: How SEO and buying intent can skyrocket your sales
    business people shaking hands
    Networking for small business owners
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: A Clean Disaster
    Brad Huisken
    A quick note about technology
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Columnists

Successful Custom: The One Thing You Need To Do!

Joel McFadden by Joel McFadden
January 30, 2023
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Reading Time: 3 minutes

As business owners, we always seem to be looking for the next big thing, the next hot brand, or the next essential skill that will suddenly make us brimming with renown, greatness and success. Those sales reps are great at convincing us how much money we will make with whatever the latest fad brings. All they need is that initial investment to start getting the latest fad onto the sales floor. Some will find some measure of success in perpetually chasing that ever changing “current fad”, but most will not.

Recent encounters with some very old friends I’d lost touch with for years revealed some secret to their success.

One friend who was interested in Celtic jewelry had been making things at home for his friends. It was his passion. It was what he loved to do and eventually, he started selling his bronze jewelry at renaissance fairs and craft shows.

I asked him how he was able to make his craft such a success! His answer didn’t surprise me but it might surprise you. “I often wondered if I would be more successful if I learned to work with other metals and set stones, but I stuck with making Bronze cast Celtic-style jewelry because that one thing was my love and passion. My reputation for them reached a point that one day I received a letter about a TV show needing Viking-style jewelry. I had a lot of items that fit the bill so I boxed them up and sent them off. Now my company is thriving making more of those same items that wound up worn by the characters on that popular TV show.”

Another friend used to be a machinist. He discovered his love for working on a lathe. He created all manor of wedding bands, multi-metal bands, wooden bands and well, any other sort of band he could imagine that could be created on his lathe. He decided to stick to his passion for working with his lathe and focused on doing that one thing better than anyone else. He is very successful in his niche.

Selling the latest fad that doesn’t last long probably won’t actually make you much money. Instead of constantly diversifying, try focusing. Focus hard on the one thing that you like to do and that sets you apart from everyone else. Once you find that one thing, try to be the best at it. Focusing on the one thing that is your passion is the key to your success.

Joel McFadden

Joel McFadden

Joel McFadden is the owner of Joel McFadden designs in Chapel Hill, NC. At 12-years-old his career in jewelry began learning benchwork from his grandfather at McFadden Jewelers. He developed pricing for custom jewelry and repair work for the IJO Prototype Store in Greenfield, MA, opened a business which became a million-dollar store focusing on custom, was named MJSA’s first Mentor Jeweler, was the first director of the Council of Custom Jewelers, and is the creator of the Bench Jewelers Challenge seen at tradeshows. He has a passion for teaching and sharing his expertise, is a writer for industry publications and speaker at industry events. He is available for CAD work, stone setting, and complete custom pieces for customers and the trade. Contact Joel at MentorJeweler@gmail.com, JMDJewelry.com, Facebook, YouTube or 984-212-2217.

Related Posts

The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles

March 20, 2023

Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide

March 15, 2023

The Story Behind the Stone: Out of the Blue

March 15, 2023

What’s Hot Now!: Latest Designer Trends 2023

March 13, 2023

Latest News

Columnists

The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles

March 20, 2023
Other News

Mystery shopping results reveal opportunity for proactive consumer natural diamond education

March 20, 2023
Industry Events

Jewelers of America announces 2023 GEM Awards winners

March 20, 2023

Other News

ASA partners with BrankoGems Academy to offer testing loose and mounted diamonds and gems training

KIL N.Y.C. introduces the Cranium Ring

Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide

JCK Industry Fund announces 2023 grant recipients

How to drive more sales and referrals through social media

IGI moves to expanded New York offices and gem laboratory

Southern Jewelry News

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2023 Jewelry Trade Shows & Events
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
  • Newsletter Signup

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.