As the fourth generation in our family business, and the only qualified jeweller since my great-grandfather started the business as a watchmaker in 1911, I have seen many changes in this industry – both good and bad.
As far as I am concerned if you can make a business work, as a family working together, you deserve a medal.
As many of you know, it’s not easy. Throughout my working life, I have experienced working for other employers, for family and now for myself. All of these experiences have proved to be beneficial to my working life.
The foundation point in my career was completing my apprenticeship with a great teacher, Marion Schwietzer. She taught me a fantastic trade as well as many life skills, all for which I am truly thankful.
My introduction into the industry came when working with my parents, Peter and Elaine Desbrow, from a very young age. I would work weekends engraving and assembling trophies, stocktaking, unpacking and ticketing stock.
In my later years, I worked with them in a manufacturing and retailing office with multiple stores, through which I was taught many more lessons about work ethic and what hard work can help you achieve in life.
These were not the easiest times in my life – working long hours and not being able to make my own decisions – but I grew from all of this to be where I am today.
I think a lot of people have the misconception that life is easy when you have your own business and you are your own boss, but little do they know.
Having your own business, working full time and being a mother of two young children is quite a big juggling act, as I’m sure it was for my grandmother and mother also before me, but when you make the choice to carry on a success story like ours, you do what you can to keep it going.
The jewellery industry is consistently progressing, changing with the times and fashions. One of the biggest problems in family business is always getting the older generation to make changes when the time arrives to make them.
The younger generation see changes that need to be made and are motivated to want to move with the times; however, sometimes it is harder for the older ones to move out of their comfort zones that have served them so well in the past.
This has certainly been the case for both my father (with his mother), and with myself (and my father).
It is easy for the younger of the two, usually the one who doesn’t pay the bills, to want to make major changes, but things are different when you are eventually in the position of owning the business. The financial pressure is now upon you.
As much as I didn’t agree with every decision my parents made when I was working with them, I only have them to thank for where I am today. I would imagine my brother would have to agree with this, as he has his own chain of jewellery stores also.
Husbands and wives working together? That’s another story. It is not always healthy for the family environment.
Sometimes spending 24 hours a day together can be very unhealthy as it is hard to create any separation between home life and office life – everything travels with you, from work to home and vice versa.
Sometimes it is nice to be able to leave the stresses of the working week behind you at the end of the day and that can be harder to do when your work, including your partner, goes home with you.
When you are employed by someone, you finish your day and go home and leave work behind you. Maybe that is the advice we need to take:; work is work and home is home, and we should all do ur best to keep it that way as much as we can.
Working with a spouse is a touchy subject, particularly if one of you has not come from that industry. Generally, it should be the person with the industry experience who should run the business.
Knowledge of the industry is everything and you shouldn’t be pulled back on growing a successful business.
Toni Desbrow is co-proprietor of Biloela Showcase Jewellers, a Queensland based jewellery retailer.