Feature Story

Jackie Tuozzo
Romancing the Stone Customers
By Gretchen Cain

Owning a small business is a love/hate relationship. Finding herself involved in every phase of the operation, there are mornings when owner Jackie Tuozzo can’t wait to open up her store, Charles Jewelry, located at 16053 Tampa Palms Blvd. West in Tampa, Florida. And conversely, there are times when she would rather be doing just about anything else, especially an activity geared toward her two young children.

It’s a modern-day romance between retail store personnel and customers. Tuozzo, assisted by her sister Jennifer Caramatti-Boscan, jeweler Transieto Leive, sales person Kym Miller and friend Tracy Potts, is constantly looking for ways to court her precious stone customers in order to ensure they will be satisfied with their purchases and return for more items. Strategically placed sparkling merchandise displays are just one of many sales tactics the staff must carefully plan and execute for both the “in person” shopper and the one who chooses to shop online.

A successful campaign is the "wish list" for ladies that Tuozzo has implemented. Customers who admire pieces of jewelry can go home and report to their husbands or boyfriends that "Charles Jewelers" is keeping track of their jewelry wants. “This works very well, especially for Christmas gifts and anniversaries,” Tuozzo said.

For the store owner, getting the customer in the door is a plus because the experienced staff has the opportunity to advise, knowing the history and proper care of each item of jewelry. “Every retail business today that is competitive should offer the convenience of online shopping as an option. But a distinct advantage of shopping in person is the customer can try on a piece of jewelry to see if it fits for size, color, even lifestyle,” said Tuozzo.

“Wearing jewelry is not just about the bling,” Tuozzo said. She considers owning jewelry a responsibility because it is an investment and makes a statement about a person.

Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend

Tuozzo said there is intense preparation for peak buying “events” of rings and things when the store will be extra busy, but a continuous and strong marketing campaign is needed to lure jewelry customers to make impulse purchases, shop for replacements pieces and request repair orders. The inventory is vast, offering everything from diamonds to decorative charms, watches and porcelain figurines.

Stocking the shelves for Christmas starts in June, and for Mother’s Day, the second busiest holiday, in January. “We sell a lot of diamond bridal rings and we are always looking for different looks. Simon G has been our best seller in that area. There are only about four jewelers in Tampa who carry the line,” Tuozzo added.

“Diamonds are still a girl’s best friend,” said Tuozzo. “When I was 17, I bought myself a bracelet with my name spelled out in diamonds. It was very special to me.” Diamonds represent love and commitment. “When you have a diamond that sparkles and has fire, people will always comment on it. My favorite tag line is flowers die, chocolates make you fat, but diamonds last forever. An investment in a diamond will always be cherished by your next generation,” said Tuozzo.

The staff at Charles Jewelers works together likes the mechanisms of a fine watch. Knowing what parts of the business each person does best and matching those gifts to job responsibilities is essential. Tuozzo said for the past 6 years, warm and friendly Caramatti-Boscany has dealt directly with the customers, leaving the analytical and methodical Tuozzo to manage behind-the-scenes details. Jeweler Transieto Leiva, who has been with the store for more than 8 years and has 34 years experience as a master-jeweler, is the creative genius. “Transieto is very talented and also has helped me to build the repair business of the jewelry store,” said Tuozzo.

One of the behind-the-scenes details Tuozzo is charged with is advertising. “I try everything: advertising with the newcomers, bridal shows, bridal magazines, newspapers, coupons, networking, even donations to schools and charity events. With marketing, you can’t limit your spending to one or two things and expect to be successful. It’s all about exposure, and looking ahead,” she said. Tuozzo also belongs to a networking group in order to encourage referrals from other members.

Tuozzo is in charge of the hiring for Charles Jewelry. She said she uses a jewelry allowance, retirement fund and health insurance as incentives to keep employees. The most important quality she looks for is trust. “Our reputation is the most important asset that I have to keep. I have to be very careful who I hire. We have a phenomenal repair business and customers want to be able to trust us with their valuables,” Tuozzo said. She also looks for a professional attitude. The employee must be patient and willing to spend enough time with each customer for them to feel comfortable about making a purchase.

Pearls of Wisdom

“If there is one thing I have learned,” said Tuozzo, “It’s to be on the alert for changes, and not to leave anything to chance.”

Tuozzo is referring to wisdom gained as a teenager when her life took an unexpected turn. Tuozzo had planned go to college after high school, but her studies were postponed in order to be a caregiver to her mother, who was dying from breast cancer. Tuozzo opted for beauty school, becoming a cosmetologist and hairdresser, which she enjoyed doing for 10 years.

Her early career helping women to boost their self-esteem with skin/hair improvements was foreshadowing of the day when she would help others to enhance their appearance by accessorizing with jewelry. “It’s wonderful to have a job where you can make people feel good about themselves as they leave your store,” said Tuozzo.

Meanwhile, Tuozzo studied to be a youth minister and met her former husband, Charles, at a young adults group. They were married in 1993 and Tuozzo continued her education, this time in the field of nursing.

Then Tuozzo lost her second parent. “My father died and left a small inheritance to me. I wanted to invest my money in a business,” she recalled. The motivation for a jewelry store came from Charles, and in 1997 the couple chose the upscale Tampa Palms West area as a business location because of its growth potential and the lack of competition from other jewelry stores.

“When I was a hairdresser I saw how the area was growing. There was no jewelry store in the area,” said Tuozzo. Their other choice was Countryside in Clearwater.

Tuozzo began her Charles Jewelry with a business plan, as was recommended by the savvy property manager. “Our lease required a written business plan, which was good because it made us consider many aspects of the business and gave us an idea of what to expect,” said Tuozzo. She cautions new business owners to remember that having a plan on paper and making it real are two very different things.

The finance package for Charles Jewelry consisted of Tuozzo’s inheritance, a home equity loan, a small loan from her sister and credit cards at low rates. “We couldn't get a standard small business loan because we were considered high risk," she said. To ensure sufficient cash flow for the new business, Tuozzo continued working as a nurse for the first two years. “My accountant is the one who trained me to do QuickBooks and I learned the jewelry business by on-the-job training,” she said.

Tuozzo said her business training has never stopped and she reads at least two books a month to keep current on the latest trends in jewelry. Tuozzo believes attending trade shows is important toward improving the store’s saleable inventory. “Our vendors come to us now, but throughout the years we have gone to the jewelry shows in Las Vegas and Orlando,” she said.

Regarding inventory, Tuozzo said, “I always have to monitor what goes out because it is so easy to overbuy.” She advises anyone starting a jewelry business to be very disciplined in buying. “When there is an item that doesn't move, we place it in the clearance section and I call in vendors who will do stock-balancing,” Tuozzo said.

When asked to look back with hindsight on the past 10 plus years of business, Tuozzo said there isn’t anything she would change or do differently. “I don't live my life with any regrets. I have gone through some tough life experiences. All my experiences has made me the Godly women I am today,”

Tuozzo said the greatest daily challenge she faces is keeping a balance in her life and admits she has a history of being a "workaholic.” Tuozzo said she hit rock bottom a few years ago, suffering from burnout and stress, before joining a support group to learn how to live one day at a time. Her experiences were not atypical of a working mom. “I had a baby that took 14 months to sleep through the night and my marriage was falling apart. That year I lost my main employee, "Charles," through a divorce. I was dealing with a lot of anxiety and living too much in the future,” she recalled.

Tuozzo is learning to prioritize and delegate, instead of trying to do it all by herself. “I am focusing on dividing annual goals into monthly goals, and taking better care of my inner person,” she said. This is a constant juggling act since Tuozzo is the single mother of two daughters, 4 and 6 years of age. Tuozzo said she is particularly challenged when it comes to keeping up with her first-grader’s homework assignments, which is complicated by the daughter’s learning disability. Tuozzo has found it very helpful to hire a tutor, who comes once a week to the house.

She is also trying not to expect that everything must always run smoothly. Tuozzo hopes her daughters will be as close to each other as she is to her own sister, but children will be children, and sometimes the young girls bicker and don’t get along. Tuozzo said she would love to leave her daughters the jewelry business and is grooming them to learn the trade as they get older. “This is one of my dreams; however, if this is not their calling, I will understand that. I am already planting the seeds and they are taking art classes to bring out their creativity,” she said. For now, they are “diamonds” in the rough.

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