From the Ground Up
It gives me great pleasure to tell you all about Dillon Ewals’ journey today. He’s the owner of Big Sky Brilliance in Helena, Montana. He is extremely dedicated to providing superior service to customers and educating them so that they may make informed decisions about the products and services they purchase.
Dillion entered the jewelry business by happenstance a little more than 12 years ago when he ended up managing a chain jewelry store. During this time period, he oversaw operations for the company at three distinct retail locations as well as in three states. In the end, he found himself employed by a remounting and restyling business that was headquartered in New Jersey. This led him to travel the continental US selling designs and doing remounts and restyling events with partner stores. During this time, Dillion started his own business, Big Sky Brilliance which will turn seven in October 2022.
Using Social Media to Build a Powerful Brand
Dillion is a third-generation entrepreneur and a first-generation jeweler. Being a first-generation jeweler and opening up a business from the ground up required some innovation. Because Dillion did not want to take out loans or borrow money from friends and family in order to get Big Sky Brilliance off the ground, the original launch was a laborious and time-consuming process. That is where Dillion got the idea to establish a retail area within an office that is only 125 square feet in size and is only open by appointment in order to maintain a low inventory level. In contrast to the conventional method of conducting business, this method enabled him to maintain a small inventory, which in turn led to a reduction in the costs of both overhead and merchandise.
Big Sky Brilliance has been able to achieve a great deal of success despite having a limited budget, thanks in large part to the power of social media. Dillion has spent many hours establishing his social media presence and cultivating an audience that is actively engaged with his material despite the fact that he has never once run advertisements. Social media usage has made it significantly easier to run a business with a limited budget while simultaneously attracting a substantial number of new customers.
Avoiding the Social Media Sales Trap
One of the biggest traps that people fall into is trying to sell, too directly, with social media. It is much more beneficial to use social media as a tool to tell your story and share the spectrum of things that your business has to offer. As people start to engage with the content you are creating, you can begin to build an audience and a community of people who share your interests.
Before making a social media post, think of this illustration. Your post is going to be interrupting the endless streams of puppies, kittens, grandkids, and friends located on other people’s social media pages. Your post has to be striking and tell a story that resonates with the person being “interrupted.”
It is necessary for the information that you produce to be both striking and high-quality if you wish to attract attention. The information needs to be interesting enough that the person on the other side of the screen is moved to take some sort of action or engage with the content. One of the things that Dillion has done to generate stunning photography is to use a rugged and industrial background while simultaneously presenting a gorgeous piece of jewelry; the contrast of the image is what pulls people’s attention to the photograph. The great thing is that you do not need a fancy professional camera or equipment to create high-quality content; Dillon simply uses his mobile phone. In addition, ensuring that you have proper lighting is a powerful tool when it comes to creating quality content.
Envisioning the Future of Big Sky Brilliance
When Dillion started the business, he did not have much of a long-term plan. However, as he has progressed on his journey, he envisions Big Sky Brilliance becoming the place of choice for all of Helena’s engaged couples. Now that the business has continued to grow and evolve, becoming the go-to place for engagement rings seems more possible than ever. One of the main goals that Dillion has set for Big Sky Brilliance is hitting over a million dollars in sales as a one-man operation out of a 125-square-foot office.
More people need to understand that you do not need to be a big operation to make people feel like they are getting the very best service. Additionally, you do not need to have a giant space or large staff to generate a substantial income. It comes down to putting in a lot of effort and having a good strategy. You can see Dillon’s brand, on Facebook here, and on Instagram here. You can also watch our full interview here.
