"The ability to make and execute on decisions quickly was a big influence in my decision to become an entrepreneur."
Like so many others, in 2020, Adrienne Pelts was let go from her position. She had been an engineer for over 12 years in both the medical device field and the plastics industry. For many of those years, she was also a project manager and had the opportunity to see every part of a multi-million dollar, international company.
Over the years, he worked with hundreds of people in various functions such as research and development, manufacturing, and customer support that even included a call center and repair center. Once she was let go, she decided the time was right to start my own business with her husband. It was a dream they had shared for a number of years, and she felt the time was “now or never.”
They started a custom fine jewelry business, especially for those seeking unique birthday, anniversary, and holidays gifts. Much of the framework we have in place for the business is a direct result of my years spent as a project manager.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us, please introduce yourself to our readers.
Adrienne Peltz: I am a former engineer that became a custom jewelry business owner. In college, I studied Industrial engineering and worked as an engineer / project manager for over 12 years. Throughout that time, I learned about the different aspects for running a business. When I was let go from my position in 2020, I decided to take the leap and become an entrepreneur. I decided it was “now or never” and started a custom design and manufacturing jewelry business with my husband.
To get us started, Can you tell our readers what does your company solve differently in the crowded marketplace? Give an example or share a story.
Adrienne Peltz: We provide unique and custom jewelry pieces for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, engagements and holidays. Our entire business is built around “just in time” and “lean manufacturing.” We aren’t producing just to produce; rather, we are producing for each individual customer for that special occasion in their life. All our raw materials are purchased for each order and we process jobs one at a time.
And we are able to do this because we have the skills and talents to design and manufacture ourselves. As a result, we have a lot of flexibility for what we are doing and can honor special requests such as specific stones or shapes. For example, we professionally set a stone that was found off of the shore of Cape May. Many jewelers wouldn’t do that because it is an odd/shape size, but we created a custom setting just for it. We also film our process and typically gift the videos to the recipient. So, you not only get the piece, but you get pictures and a video of how it was made. Especially for special occasion and engagement pieces, this really sets us apart.
While your company is growing, what are some of the challenges you face? Hiring? Tech development? Raising capital? Branding? Tell us more about the journey.
Adrienne Peltz: Right now, the biggest challenge is getting the word out to people. We do a lot of networking and content creation, but getting the word out has been the hardest part. Some of it is a timing aspect as to when someone might need a jewelry piece. For example, I might be talking to them now, but the milestone anniversary isn’t for a year or two. The big companies make marketing look easy, but people forget that before companies become a household name, there is a ramp up period where they were still defining themselves and working on getting the name out there. Sometimes, those companies spent many years working on their brand and products.
Everyone has a different story, what influenced your decision to be an entrepreneur, what would you have done differently?
Adrienne Peltz: The ability to make and execute on decisions quickly was a big influence in my decision to become an entrepreneur. I wanted to run a business that could be quick to change when something was going in the wrong direction or when a better opportunity came along. In my previous positions, a lot of what we did was highly regulated and it was very hard to make changes to products or processes. I also wanted to bring in an element of sustainability. By running a “just in time” operation, we don’t have inventory or over production issues. Furthermore, we only source 100% recycled metal and our gemstones are certified as to their origins or are lab-grown.
Now for the main focus of this interview: what qualities or characteristics do women entrepreneurs have that make them great leaders? Please share some examples.
Adrienne Peltz: Listening skills, teamwork, and emotional intelligence are definitely traits that make women great leaders. I feel these are critical to building a business that truly cares about the customer and the environment. There is also an element of women helping other women succeed. I am a member of a few women’s groups and they genuinely want to help others in the group succeed. It is a better dynamic versus the competitive atmosphere that one might find in a male dominated group.
What are some of the biggest challenges you still see women face while conducting business, compared to their male counterparts? What would you like to see change, and how would you make it happen?
Adrienne Peltz: As an engineer, I saw the glass ceiling. I saw males advance or hold positions more so because they fit into the “club” than to allow a female into it. I do think some of them didn’t realize it was happening and others, I am not so sure. And it wasn’t just women, but it was also minority groups also. This goes back to why I wanted to start a business– so that I could set an example and help change things for others. I wanted to break the glass ceiling and the easiest way to do it was to set the example and start my own business. As part of this, I am also more selective about who I am doing business.
I am tending to buy from smaller business owners and/or minority business owners than large corporations. I am also rewarding businesses that are providing better customer service than other businesses.
With all of your experience as a business leader, what is the most important thing you can tell fellow entrepreneurs that you’d like to share with aspiring women entrepreneurs?
Adrienne Peltz: Surround yourself with people who dream big. I am on the email lists of people who are doing amazing things in the world, and those emails help me to dream bigger as well as give me the inspiration to continue during challenging times. I have joined the lists of other jewelers, investors, copywriters, motivational speakers, marketers, etc just to follow their stories and learn a thing or two from them.
What do you plan on tackling during 2022? Share your goals and battles you expect to face.
Adrienne Peltz: Our biggest goal for 2022 is to reach out to more people. We have lined up some in-person tabling opportunities, but we are also pursuing other avenues such as social media, improving our website, networking, and more.
How do you keep learning? Podcast? Books? Audiobooks? Videos? Share some of your greatest sources of inspiration? Share an impactful story.
Adrienne Peltz: Most of my learning now-a-days comes through various email lists. There are two copywriters in particular – Robert Allen and Daniel Throssell. Both of these individuals would send daily emails through their lists about their business as well as advice about copywriting. In six months, I went from very dry technical writing to being able to write an email with lots of emotion and intrigue. From another email list, I found a way to quickly audit my website and fix a large number of issues. The email lists tend to have best practices information because these are the tools and techniques that others are using on a daily basis.
I’m sure our readers will be very thankful for the insights you have shared. Where can our readers follow up with you?
Adrienne Peltz: I would encourage readers to check out our website at https://fgconclusions.com/ We show a lot of our past work there. We also have an email list you can sign up for at https://fgconclusions.com/join-our-email-list/ We typically email once a week on Sunday morning with an interesting behind-the-scenes story of our business.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Adrienne Peltz for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Adrienne Peltz or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
