CEO's You Should Know x Nelson Coleman Jewelers

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
iHeartMedia Presents CEOs you should know. I am John Denkle,
founder and CEO of Dnkle Business Development and former president
publisher of the Baltimore Business Journal. This is Iheartradios CEOs
you should know, and I'm here today with Amanda Coleman Phelps,
owner and President of Nelson Coleman Jewelers. Welcome, Amanda, thanks
for being here, Thank you for having me. Yeah, looking

(00:23):
forward to our conversation. I thought we'd start off by
getting to know you a little bit and maybe the
organization a little bit. So for those who may not
be familiar, to tell us about Nelson Coleman Jewelers. Sure so.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Nelson Coleman Jewelers is a sixth generation family owned business.
I am six generations. We are the ninth oldest jeweler
in North America and we are Yeah we're really old.
I'm not old, but we're really old. So, and you're
deeply rooted in creating meaningful connection through jewelry in any

(01:01):
community in which we reside.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
I love that. Where are your locations?

Speaker 2 (01:05):
So we have three locations in Maryland, Towson, Frederick, and
Eastern Maryland. We also have locations in West Virginia in
in wood West Virginia, right outside of Harpers Ferry. And
then we have Jewelry by Designs, which is another location
in northern Virginia, so right in the Woodbridge area.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Awesome. Any plans for expansion.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
We have a very big goal of having ten stores
by twenty thirty one, but we don't have any plans
for acquisitions in twenty twenty six yet. But yes, we
do plan on expanding in the future.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Awesome. Awesome. We I wanted to talk a little bit
about your services. Tell us a little bit about how
you service clients, what kind of services you provide for them,
and get a little bit about that if you don't mind.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Sure, we are what you would consider a very holistic
retail jewelry store, So we sell new products. We also
sell previously loved items, which we call our vintage and
Estate collection, and then we offer services like jewelry repair,
over the counter, goal buying services, custom design and appraisals.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Awesome, thank you. And yeah, you mentioned designs. What trends
are you seeing in jewelry design right now? I imagine
yourself or you know, I'm not sure if you have
buyers that go out to the various either manufacturers or
conferences and things like that to see what's like the
hot trends. What are you seeing out there right now?

Speaker 2 (02:50):
We are seeing a huge shift towards personalized and meaningful
pieces rather than following what everybody else is wearing, which
used to be the case our buyers. Yeah, so everyone
who comes in wants something unique to them, and we
love that because that's what our business was based on.

(03:12):
Nelson Coleman himself was an actor and artist downtown Baltimore,
so it's part of our history and heritage to be
able to create these one of a kind pieces. Our
buyers work with our buying groups and they heavily vet
the vendors that we use to source these items, which

(03:33):
is great for us so that we can then pass
along that trust to our clients.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, that's really cool. And do you also see that
with the estate jewelry because I know you can find
some really unique pieces, you know, from you know, the
twenties and thirties and stuff they just you know, don't
design or make anymore. Do you see a lot of that,
like folks going towards the estate rowerside as well?

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yes, we do. We have an higher State Department. It's
a well oiled machine. The amount of knowledge that is
in our State department is amazing. We have buyers in
every location and we have any piece of equipment you
can think of to make sure that we are testing

(04:19):
the products that are coming in, to make sure that
we know what it is that we're buying, so we
can offer our clients who are coming in and selling
it to us the highest possible price in our area.
And then also being able to disclose when we turn
around and refurbish and sell these items, disclose to the
clients what it is they're buying.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Got it? That's great? That's me And you talked about
like the people wanting something unique, and is that true
also with the younger generation or are you seeing any
different trends with them and their jewelry buying habits.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
It's more so with the younger generation that are seeing
this need almost to be completely different than their friends.
I love that this generation is technologically savvy. They're coming
in with their Pinterest boards, their mood boards, and they're

(05:17):
giving us such a huge leg up in the process
when it comes to custom designing these items. They really
want to be a part of the whole entire process.
Most of the couples you see coming in now are
doing this together from beginning to end, and it's really cool.
They're partners in this life changing moment that they're creating together,

(05:42):
especially when it comes to bridle.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. Are you also seeing that, you know,
not to get too technical or like Indy, but are
you seeing them still gravitate towards diamonds as that or
are there other precious zones that they're tending to go
towards a little bit more now or in your experience
of what you've seen that hasn't really changed a whole lot.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
We are seeing a shift kind of a fifty to
fifty split between mind diamonds and lab grown diamonds. It's
two yeah, so it's two very different price points. And
while I can say scientifically diamonds are the lab grown

(06:29):
diamond and the mind diamond are of the same one carbon,
they're the same product, they are completely different when it
comes to price point where they're grown. And the clients
that are coming in now they want big, big diamonds,

(06:50):
and so a lot of them are gravitating to the
lab grown and I am also seeing a lot of
colored gemstones as well, like sapphires, pink tourmaline and things
like that.

Speaker 1 (07:01):
Meat. That's pretty cool. Thank you. I appreciate you sharing
all that. What would you say, Amanda assests you Apart
from the competition.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
We one try to align with our customers needs and
wants within the community. We created a community commitment called
the Chris Coleman Enrichment Program, and for every full price purchase,
we give ten percent of that purchase to any organization

(07:30):
or nonprofit that our client selects. Yeah. We just feel
like this is the way that we can give back
to the things that are most important to our clients.
And I think that's what sets us apart. That's authentically
who we are. I remember my dad, Chris Coleman. I
feel like I should mention he's still alive. A lot
of people ask me that, But I named this program

(07:51):
after him because ever since I started working in the
business twenty plus years ago, that's all he did. He
only wanted to give back to the communities. And I
want to keep that as part of our legacy and mission.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
Yeah, that's going and that is particularly a point with
the younger generation too. Not's not that you know, the
gen xers and everyone else you know before them aren't philanthropic.
There does seem to be a that's very important. It
seems to me in my experience for the gen zs
and the millennials that you know, there's an opportunity get

(08:26):
to get back and how can they you know, anything
that they do be a part of that. So that's
pretty cool.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
I do want to ask you, you know, it's kind
of interesting times right now and being in the retail business,
how has or have you been impacted by the tariffs.

Speaker 2 (08:43):
So, like many businesses in our industry, we've had to
navigate some cost pressures, but our focus has always been
on providing the value regardless of the market conditions. So
we work very closely with our suppliers and we have
strong relationships that help us maintain that quality. So we
keep our pricing accessible. It's a little bit more work,

(09:06):
which we're happy to do, having those individual conversations with
our suppliers to make sure that the pricing is accurate,
but it's worth it to make our clients happy.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
That's great, Thank you. I appreciate you. If you sharing
that all right, maybe switch hears a little bit I'd
love to talk about leadership on the show.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
So I would describe my leadership style as someone who
tries not to take life too seriously and try to
have fun with what we do. We spend more than
fifty percent of our time with each other at work,
and I feel like it's important to have fun at work.
So while I'm not saying to be unprofessional, of course,

(09:48):
we are me to be professional and respectful. I think
that my style would be just fun. I just listen
to an amazing book by doctor Bolatto and he talked
about how you enter a room and the energy that
you put out is the energy that you receive. And
I think that is so true and so important. And
I try to lead by example when it comes to

(10:11):
that in all of our stores and locations and with
our team so that they can have fun and put
on a authentic space to our clients and have an
actual good time with them. We deal with life's precious
moments and it's important that our clients enjoy the process

(10:34):
of getting that with the pieces that we sell, and
that feels down to how happy and so I feel
like that's that's my style.

Speaker 1 (10:45):
Yeah, And I love that point about you know, the
energy you bring into the room and the attitude that
you have and your mood. You know, as you walk
into your place of business, your team members automatically see
that and react to it, and that's how they tend
to like, you know one and we've all probably had
leaders where you just don't know what kind of mood

(11:08):
they are going to walk you're going to walk into
that day, right like you know, myashious, are they going
to come in like you know, matt or angry or
are they going to be happy today or like And
it's a really good point that you make if you're
consistent with that, no matter what's going on in your
personal professional life and you're in front of your team,
it's like, oh, let's let's make today really fun. Let's

(11:29):
help our customers, let's do the best we can do.
I mean, that's what you're going to get in return, right.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
I agree, And you make an excellent point. When I
started coming up in this business, I wanted to make
sure that I could be predictable and consistent for the
people that worked with me. I always felt like that
was the best way to show up. And whether it
was they knew when they crossed the line or they

(11:59):
knew when they were doing a good job. It was
always the same And I feel like that helps build
trust within the organization and helps people grow and feel
good about it.

Speaker 1 (12:11):
I agree, I agree, I love it. I love it.
So resiliences seems to be kind of a buzzword these days.
What does resilience mean to you and how do you
demonstrate that when you lead your team?

Speaker 2 (12:22):
That's such a good question. Resilience to me is being
able to radically accept the things that you're dealing with
on a daily basis. And when I say radically accept,
I mean being able to understand truly why you feel
the way you feel about something, being able to communicate

(12:43):
that in a professional management manner to your team, and
then really doing that doing what you say you're going
to do right. It also means to me being able
to fail, fail forward and make sure that your team
knows that that's okay as well. It's being a human.

(13:06):
I think resilience to me is just being human and
accepting the things that as they come, and being able
to adapt and shift in a way that helps make
good decisions and guides the people that have chosen to
work with you.

Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, I love that. That's great advice. That's great advice.
Thank you. I appreciate you sharing that. And speaking of
team members, are you seeing you know, young people when
you get into the jewelry business or retail in general.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
I have retail is the largest job sector in this country,
and I always feel like it gets a bad rap,
you know, like it's considered a lot of like entry level.
For us, it's a career. We are a career jewelry store.

(13:58):
There are credential that we pay for for our team
to learn and grow within our industry. And with what
we were talking about earlier, the uniqueness of what we're selling,
the creativity and the customization, it is lending now more

(14:19):
towards a younger generation where they see these opportunities. And
I also believe that there's a desire for this live
human connection because we sometimes lose that with our technology.
And I'm not bashing technology, I love it, but I
think that retail and these emotional transactions that we provide

(14:46):
really help lend to something that they might be missing.
So we are seeing younger generations come into the business now.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
We love it. Yeah, that's good to hear. And I
imagine too, if you know there's you know, potential flexibility
and schedule. So a lot of you know, we see
the younger generation taking on multiple roles, whether it's starting
a you know, a business on the side for themselves
and doing consulting or whatever it is. But it's that
kind of gig economy, and I think the retail industry

(15:17):
cans can can support that and offer a career opportunity.
Like you said, that they can really sink their teeth
into and have that you know, connection with people and
one on one kind of relationship building, because I would
imagine in your business, like you know, people go back
to you year after year, their kids go back, you know,

(15:39):
go back to you, their their grandkids go back to
you because because of service and because you've been around
for so long and you're you know, those your associates
have the opportunity to build those kind of deep relationships
with families, which is pretty nice.

Speaker 2 (15:54):
I agree. It's funny you mentioned so for our retail stores.
I used to work in the mall and the hours
when anyone listening, if you worked in them all the
hours were like crazy, like you had to wait and
you wouldn't get out until like nine o'clock and you
had to wait for somebody to walk you out. So
for us, our retail hours are really good. And I

(16:17):
always tell our team members that to your point about
having some flexibility and still being able to have a
life outside of work, you're able to offer that, and
I do think that's attractive.

Speaker 1 (16:30):
Yeah, especially with this generation. So yeah, what gets excited
about the future of Nelson Coleman Jewlers.

Speaker 2 (16:42):
What excites me the most about the future of Nelson
Coleman Jewelers is kind of what we've done in the past.
So we've been able to pivot through some of the
most unprecedented times in our history, and that gives me
the knowledge and the courage to know that we are
on the right path. And I don't know exactly what

(17:06):
the future is going to bring, but I know that
staying on this path, it's going to be an exciting one.
So I guess the best way for me to answer
that question is almost being known. That is the most
exciting thing to me. With the introduction of AI and
how we're incorporating that properly into our company, with the

(17:28):
way that people are shopping and buying, those challenges are
really exciting and we are really looking forward to seeing
how that's going to impact our business.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, that's great, that's great. And on the other hand,
what keeps you up at night?

Speaker 2 (17:46):
What keeps me up at night? Well, if somebody leaves
the TV on, that keeps me up at night. No,
I'm just kidding. I think I think that's what keeps
me up at night is almost the exact same thing

(18:06):
that makes me excited, and it's what's going to come next.
And I can't say that it keeps me up at
night because I'm apprehensive. I think it's because I'm curious,
and that curiosity does lead to a lot of great
idea generation and great conversations that we have within our company.

(18:29):
And I think that's one of the most precious gifts
that we can have in leadership, is maintaining that level
of curiosity and leaning into that and getting comfortable with
being uncomfortable. So I wouldn't say that it's a negative
thing that keeps me up at night, but I think
uncertainty definitely keeps me up at night. And then problem solving,

(18:52):
how we would work through those things.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
Yeah, I love that. That's a great answer. That's good.
We'll do to wrap things up. Is there anything else
you'd like our listeners to know about you and Nelson
Colman Jewelers.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
I would love the listeners to know that we are
one hundred percent team member focused, and the reason why
we are one hundred percent team member focused is so
that they could be one hundred percent customer focused. We
have these little bracelets that we had made for our team.
Some of them wear, some of them don't, and it
says how does this impact the customer? And essentially what

(19:31):
that means is every time you come in the store,
every action that's being taken by our team is to
make sure that our clients are impacted in a positive way.
We also are growing and we are excited to be
able to bring our culture and our store to as
many communities as we possibly can in order to be

(19:54):
able to offer the Chris Coleman Enrichment programs. And if
anyone has something that really is means something to them,
to come in and give us a try, because we
might be able to also help that mission in your
life as well.

Speaker 1 (20:08):
Excellent, and lastly, tell us how to find more information
about Nelson Coleman Jewelers.

Speaker 2 (20:13):
You can find us online at Nelsoncoleman dot com or
jewelry Buydesigns dot com, which is our store in Northern
Virginia and you can visit our five locations which are Easton, Frederick,
Towson and Maryland in wood West, Virginia and Woodbridge, Virginia.

Speaker 1 (20:33):
Excellent. Well thrank you so much for madam. It's great,
great catch up with you, a great conversation. Really really
enjoyed it and that really appreciate your time.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
Thank you so much. This has been great.

Speaker 1 (20:43):
This has been iHeartMedia CEOs. You should know