I am the fourth generation of a long line of Jewelers. Springer Jewelers in Fort Wayne, Indiana has been in business since 1931. Back in the day, this small business located in the heart of downtown was bustling with holiday shoppers from all over the city. However, Springer Jewelers has seen better days. After moving to its new location in Southwest Fort Wayne, the small family business is struggling to keep its hold on an ever-changing jewelery industry.
I am currently interning at my dad's shop, trying to learn the trade and find out more about how small-businesses run. Currently, the store is ran by my uncle and father in an S-Corp business structure. My key responsibilities have been to wait on customers, come up with creative ways to get more patrons into the shop, and create a web presence. Springerjewelers.com is not the most modern of websites, and I have found that the competition for small jewelery retailers in the city is vast, and changing rapidly as well. My first week in the shop, I was responsible for placing an emphasis on social media networking site, Facebook.com. I started a facebook "fan page" and sent out an invitation to all of my friends. Also, we created and took snapshots of other company's websites and decided to inherently take "a look" at the competition.
Springer Jewelers does not do a whole lot of marketing. If the 1980's carbon-copy receipts for charging credit isn't a clue, the business has brought people in solely because of word of mouth. I've noticed a whole lot of jewelry retailers trying to get into the e-market, and have a web presence. Most of us are really crossing our fingers though, this store was never set up for the vast "designer lines" and differentiation of products that you are seeing in the Fort Wayne market. Marketing to a constant connector demographic that is currently just graduating will be a huge problem for Springer Jewelers, and as the "rookie" it is my family-given right to try and fix this business.
I think that e-marketing and social network ideas are huge when it comes to this industry. Everyone is now checking for inventory before coming into the stores to buy their special people a gift. Springer Jewelers is posting its worst year ever, but I think that the market currently will be able to respect a jeweler who has been doing the right type of business for 77 years. However, time will only tell how much innovation an old-school small business might handle. I'll show you all some great ideas next week when it comes to launching a website.
Until then,
Have a great Christmas Eve, and remember the reason for the season.... "buying stuff" jk, its being with family and counting those blessings.
-Brad
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Welcome
Hello all. My name is Brad Springer. In order to enhance what this online site has to offer you, I would enjoy letting you know a bit about my areas of study at Marian University and some of the projects I have been fortunate to work with through my past years in academia. The major that I plan to graduate with in a few months is a Bachelor of Science in Marketing/Business Administration. My two minors are both Finance and Pastoral Leadership. I am also a part of Marian University's Liberal Arts "Honors Program."
As for my scholastic progression, I find that being at a school focused on Liberal Arts as a study has enhanced my business degree in a variety of ways. First, I am able with this degree to learn a great deal about Sociology, Psychology, Theology, History, and Political Theory. These courses would not be as available to me at an Institution that focuses solely on the study and science of Business. This has helped me deal with a great multitude of issues that business people hold dear: labor disputes, financial compensation, health care issues, decision making etc. It has also allowed me be able to broaden my experiences and learn how to think critically about other disciplines.
My two minors are also interesting when it comes how I will approach the topics covered in my courses and where I see them fitting into my ideas for running marketing/public relations/distribution/communications programs effectively. Finance as a minor has allowed for me to look critically at Financial Statements and the management of resources in a quantitative way. This I believe is essential in today's economy and business world. My other minor Pastoral Leadership, has allowed me to work with various non-for-profit organizations and given me a place to express ethical problems in the system we currently do business in. I also believe strongly in giving back to charitable organizations and churches, and plan on doing so upon my graduation. My Pastoral Leadership minor has made this possible.
When it comes to real world experience. I have been fortunate enough to work with Marian University's Scion Marketing Team by creating both my own advertising campaign, and working on raising funds for the Marian Motorsport Program for two years. I am also the president of Marian College's Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEOs). I have been fortunate with this group to travel to the CEO National Convention in Chicago and work with some extremely talented students in developing business ideas and meeting with Indianapolis entrepreneurs. I have interned as an Account Executive in a start-up advertising business based in Bluffton, Indiana, and am planning on working as a Marketing Consultant with a Fort Wayne business this upcoming winter and spring.
Through my education and experience it is important to note that as I approach various topics such as, effectively running an Integrated Marketing Communications project, leadership development as a constant factor in successful companies, strategic business simulations, and issues in current non-for-profits you will be challenged and entertained. Regardless, I want this blog to be a resource to my readers, especially business students to compare and contrast their programs and ideas with mine. It is through challenging ourselves to learn about other ideas that we form our own and bigger ideas. For companies, maybe this site will serve as a resource for what is being taught to those who would like to work for you one day. Finally, for those who are not necessarily interested in business, this may be a resource to start learning about marketing both yourself and the ideas you may have in your field of expertise. In closing, I hope we can all have fun bouncing ideas off of each other and learning respectfully with a degree of intelligence.
As for my scholastic progression, I find that being at a school focused on Liberal Arts as a study has enhanced my business degree in a variety of ways. First, I am able with this degree to learn a great deal about Sociology, Psychology, Theology, History, and Political Theory. These courses would not be as available to me at an Institution that focuses solely on the study and science of Business. This has helped me deal with a great multitude of issues that business people hold dear: labor disputes, financial compensation, health care issues, decision making etc. It has also allowed me be able to broaden my experiences and learn how to think critically about other disciplines.
My two minors are also interesting when it comes how I will approach the topics covered in my courses and where I see them fitting into my ideas for running marketing/public relations/distribution/communications programs effectively. Finance as a minor has allowed for me to look critically at Financial Statements and the management of resources in a quantitative way. This I believe is essential in today's economy and business world. My other minor Pastoral Leadership, has allowed me to work with various non-for-profit organizations and given me a place to express ethical problems in the system we currently do business in. I also believe strongly in giving back to charitable organizations and churches, and plan on doing so upon my graduation. My Pastoral Leadership minor has made this possible.
When it comes to real world experience. I have been fortunate enough to work with Marian University's Scion Marketing Team by creating both my own advertising campaign, and working on raising funds for the Marian Motorsport Program for two years. I am also the president of Marian College's Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEOs). I have been fortunate with this group to travel to the CEO National Convention in Chicago and work with some extremely talented students in developing business ideas and meeting with Indianapolis entrepreneurs. I have interned as an Account Executive in a start-up advertising business based in Bluffton, Indiana, and am planning on working as a Marketing Consultant with a Fort Wayne business this upcoming winter and spring.
Through my education and experience it is important to note that as I approach various topics such as, effectively running an Integrated Marketing Communications project, leadership development as a constant factor in successful companies, strategic business simulations, and issues in current non-for-profits you will be challenged and entertained. Regardless, I want this blog to be a resource to my readers, especially business students to compare and contrast their programs and ideas with mine. It is through challenging ourselves to learn about other ideas that we form our own and bigger ideas. For companies, maybe this site will serve as a resource for what is being taught to those who would like to work for you one day. Finally, for those who are not necessarily interested in business, this may be a resource to start learning about marketing both yourself and the ideas you may have in your field of expertise. In closing, I hope we can all have fun bouncing ideas off of each other and learning respectfully with a degree of intelligence.
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