Welcome to the inspire people impact lives podcast. This podcast is for people who are looking to get more out of life by making an impact on those around them. Each week we bring you local, influential business and community leaders, delivering powerful messages to help you live a more inspiring and impactful life coming to you live from Northwestern Mutual Middleton. Here's your host, Josh Kosnick.
Welcome to another episode of Inspire People Impact Lives. Today's topic, walking with confidence. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Now picture yourself approaching a prospective client walking into a board meeting or a party. How do you look? What message do you communicate? The moment you walk into a room, what are your eyes, hands, and shoulders saying about you? What does your dress and or appearance say from your vibe, tone and energy?
What information can people gathered about you before you ever say a word? Never thought about it? You should. Today I have Scott Chalmers from Chalmers Jewelers joining me on the show. Scott has been in the jewelry business for 38 years now. He has built a successful business not only on the quality and craftsmanship of his jewelry, but also on the impeccable service to the customer, delivering the ultimate jewelry experience. Scott, welcome to the show.
Josh. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
That was always my friend. So today I want to discuss your opinions on why body language, appearance and the way you present yourself are important, not only to business, but in life. It's been said that the confidence of your body language, your appearance, energy and mood or lack thereof can either relax people or make them feel nervous and uneasy. You find this to be true?
I do find it to be true. What I try to do on my own is I want to look sharp. I want to look crisp I wanna look confident, but I want to present myself always with a smile, always looking someone directly into the eye whenever I talk to them and when I walk into a room I try to be more open and more friendly. And I also, I like dressing nice. I mean I. I sell fine jewelry. I'm meticulous in what I make, so I'm meticulous on the way I look. I, I'm, I'm the brand, so I want to exuberate that.
I want to show that to everyone.
Well, sure. When you put your last name on a business that you are the brand. Well, I love it and I've always experienced that with you walking into your store. Uh, we share a suit guy. So we share that meticulous style with clothing as well. How do you convey that to your staff?
Well, what I tried to do with my staff, as I say, look, your representing fine jewelry, you're representing Chalmers Jewelers and people have to feel comfortable with you. So if you look totally together, if you look in style, you know what the current colors, current designs, things like that on how you present yourself, right down to the hairstyle. Then convincing that person that you know what you're going to sell, what you're selling jewelry and, and what the styles are. They believe you.
And especially when you look them in the eye and you tell them this and you have that whole look going on.
Yeah. So it removes one barrier or maybe even an initial barrier for them. Trusting the salesperson on what they're talking about.
Exactly. The last thing you want to do is have a 10 year old sweater on, with puckers all over it. Okay. And you're pulling out a $20,000 piece of fine jewelry. It just doesn't go together. So that's what my staff, they actually like, they love it. Especially now that they got my suit guy in your suit guy.
Well you have some phenomenal women staff as well and they're not wearing suits, but they're always dressed to the nines.
They do look good. They, they, they feel if you feel confident in the way you look, you'll feel confident making the sale and following through to the customer.
I would agree. I would agree. So speaking of that, I think there's usually a lot of emotion involved in purchasing jewelry, particularly on the engagement side of things. But I think in anything big event or special occasion, in what ways do you train your staff to ensure they're putting customers at ease, you know, throughout the client experience or customer experience and not just what they wear. How else do you communicate that with them?
Our staff. What's fun about our staff? First of all, I'd like them to try to read the personality of the customer because all personalities are different. Some are meek and mild, some are very gun ho. You know, there's all these different personalities and so I want them to feel this person out for a few seconds by getting to know them. Talk about the anniversary. How long have you been together? Wow. Have you been together? Forty years. That's amazing. Didn't time fly.
Start talking about things like that. Where'd you meet her? While we were at this basketball game and you know, I was looking at or over the aisle. She looked at me and I decided to go and talk to her. So we find out about our customer's experiences and why they're in and get to know them on a personal level before we try to sell them anything, you know? That's just how we do it.
That's. No, that's really good. So let's, let's take it back. Because you've been a staple in Middleton medicine community forever. You've been in this business, sales in business 38 years, Do you recall someone you admired that was exceptional in the way they carried themselves and what, what did you learn from them? Whether it was way back or even up until today?
You know, it's funny you should mention this because I was just at the kind of the grand opening of the Sylvie, okay. Which you all know is a wonderful venue with Frank and Frank Productions and Herb Frank who is, I think he's in his eighties by now. He always struck me and I'm talking going back to 1986. Okay. As he'd walk in and this guy was always funny. He was always jovial. He was never a negative type personality. He was just a great guy.
I wanted to just talk to and I was at the Sylvie just the other night and he was there and Scotty, when I come walking up to a big hug, you know, it's like those are the kinds of people and what, that's 30 some years ago. Okay. That I still remember and still appreciate and still think is a great human being. So he would be one of them for sure.
Besides that jovial nature and that he treated you so warm, was there anything else? Obviously he's been a great businessman within the community. But what, anything else that stuck out to you about him?
Well, you know what? He did dress very well. He always looked together. He always looked stylish and even the other night that uh, he looked fantastic even at his age is so, so he's Kinda do kind of what I try to mirror for my employees and my staff come out looking your best, you know, they'll remember you.
I always remember that growing up my father was always in suits, but I think the lesson actually might even come from my mother is to always dress your best. And if you happen to show up or maybe one level above what you think it's going to be. So say we're in a suit and tie, you can always take off the tire off the jacket, but if you show up potentially underdressed, you're going to feel out of place the entire time.
Your mom is 100 percent correct.
So I, uh, that always stuck with me. So speaking of going back, you're in business in sales and I've heard this story from you on the golf course before, but I want our audience to hear it. 27 years ago, what made you start Chalmers Jewelers?
Well, I worked at another local jewelry store. I worked at two for 12 years. The last home was six years. I was getting a lot of promises because he had asked me to help him open his business. So I did. And I mean I literally got married with no job to help him out. And I did. But after five years of promises, you're going to be manager, you're going to do this. I finally had it up to the top of my head and I said no more. Okay. So I knew I did nothing wrong.
I knew I did very well and I helped his company grow to where it was that day. The thing was is that I had a two month old at home, a five year old at home. My wife wasn't working in the sector at all because she was taking care of the kids, which was something that we were able to do. And of course the car payment, the 11 point nine percent mortgage on the house back then. Right. Which, yeah. So Yup. And I walked in and I said, rick, I called him every name in the book. Why?
Because I wanted him to fire me because I knew I had a responsibility for my family, but I couldn't do what I was doing any longer. So I came home on December 17th of 1991 and I said to my wife Ruth, I said, look, I just got fired. What was her reaction? What are we going to do? No, she was like, she just had this wide eyed because we knew the kids were, I mean, what are we going to do? It was her thought.
So I said, look, I'll either go on the road and sell jewelry wholesale or I could start my own store. Well, her concern was the children were quite young and she said, look, I don't want you on the road traveling all over the country selling jewelry. I want you to be home because the kids are little, uh, she said, you opened the store for Ousman back then you can do it yourself. So I said, okay, here's the deal. First Time in 12 years, I was home on Christmas Eve first time.
So said I'm not doing anything till January first. We got a little bit saved up January first I'm designing a business plan. February first I'm going to four banks. I did all this and the buy got approved by two banks and I got unapproved by two banks. So it worked out like clockwork. I went to the bank, I started out with a very small amount of money for this business. I got $110,000, I put up my 64 corvette because that's the only thing I had that was paid for for collateral.
I had $8,000 saved up and here we go. I found a location just two blocks down in mid town square for my store current store now. And I was lucky because a former jeweler was trying to go in there and he was doing all this remodeling while he failed to check his lease in West town in Hilldale. He was too close so he couldn't open up for business. So Ron Gross, who owned the building, I went to talk to him and I said, look, would you like me to get in here? And he says, absolutely.
So I took over a five year lease, but I said to him, I said, Ron, you can't tell anyone who's coming in here because everyone knows me in this business. He said no problem. Calls me up the next day. Yep. They want to get outta there. Perfect. So I, uh, so it was a three quarters of the way built out, so I was able to walk in. I hired one of the funny, one of the jewelers was um, a great dry waller that worked with us, so he would come over in the evening and do my dry walling for me.
Okay. While he was working for the person I just got fired with. Right. So we started doing all that. I had a friend make my showcases in the garage. I had lots of vendor friends because they knew I was doing all the volume at that store. So they said, Scott, whatever you want, you give me $10,000, I'll give you 20 in jewelry, you know, that type of thing. So I was able to get almost twice as much jewelry for the money because of my credibility with these people and that's how we started it.
And my goal was to do a million dollars in five years and we went crazy and we did it in three and then after seven years I got it to the max most I could possibly do out of that location. And that's where you see us today where we took over the Country Kitchen in late 1998, remodeled it. We're still there today and we doubled the volume. Literally.
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If you know of a friend or colleague that could benefit from listening to some of Madison's top leaders, give us a share now, back to our guest. There's got to be some dreamers that are listening right now that potentially don't own their own business, but aspire to someday. Get rid of that first year. For you for now, how old again were you then? So you're 36. You got. You got two very young kids, a stay at home wife. That's scary time.
It was, and I'll tell you, you, you've never worked so hard. You know, I get these people today that, you know, 40 hours to them is too much. Well, I'll tell you, I started, I was there in the morning at 9:00. I left at 8:00 six days a week. We actually had, we actually brought the play pin for my daughter sleeping bags in the office so that my wife would bring the kids after 5:00 or when they get woke up from naps and things and come to the store and hang out with me til we closed.
That's how it was. And so I was putting in, what, 70 hours a week, something like that for many, many, many, many months. Finally after six months I, I was losing it a little bit and we're growing so much. That's when I started getting help and that really helped. But no, if you want to open a business prepare to work 70 plus hours a week and and be extremely serious about it and do not look backwards and you can do it. You just need the confidence to do it and work ethic to do
So going into the business and that spot and talking about our, our topic with walking with confidence. How do you feel jewelry can play a role in this because I see you or you know, I. You got a custom piece on your wrist, you've got a great watch that I know is from your store. You got a custom ring from your store. You're constantly putting that out there. Like you said, you're the billboard. But someone that's not a jewelry store owner, someone like myself or someone in our audience.
How do you feel jewelry or, or how those accessories could play into that.
I think by having accessories that are unique and different that aren't everywhere, you know, there's chain store type merchandise out there and then there's one of a kind unique type pieces like yourself. You love us for, let's say my cufflinks no one in the city has my cuff links, but you love them because they're 3D. They're absolutely amazing. They're pretty much one of a kind. And the company's been making them since the late 17 hundreds in England.
So when somebody sees the cuff links on your wrists, you always get a compliment from them as I get a compliment on my pieces. So fine jewelry, especially custom fine jewelry, doesn't have to be gaudy but can be tasteful in quality. People compliment on it all the time, especially on the watches, especially on the bracelets and the rings and definitely those cufflinks.
Yep. No. And I do, I love them. And uh, you know exactly what I like now. So it's good. So, uh, how important to you, and I'm thinking of your example earlier, is it for a business owner to be conscious of the way they present themselves in the community?
Well, you got to be careful. You know, you can't be in a bar slinging down drinks and be drunk. I mean, I'm not into that type of thing. I'll go have a couple cocktails. Mostly like a beer or some wine. I don't even drink hard alcohol, but you need to be, you need to know your surroundings. Okay. And you need to know there are other people gonna recognize you. I mean me, when I've been on TV, a lot of times I'm on the radio all the time.
So many times I go out, I get the old the kind of look like I know this guy, I know guy right? From somewhere, right. So I have to be a little careful that way as far as where I go and what I do because somebody could, somebody always says something, you know, so you gotta watch what you do sometimes. Well, you know, and they always, not only rumors but they're always embellished beyond whatever really took place. So that's never good.
It's like the telephone game back in grade school. It sorta just gets bigger and bigger and all of a sudden it's not even the same story. So That's interesting because I'm talking to my financial advisors and my staff about that as well. And I had an example early on in my career and I had someone outside of this business give me this advice.
So it was actually a real estate person that said you can have a drink or two in public but never drunk, never drunk, and, and it was great advice and I stuck to that and then it smacked me in the face one time when I was at a badger tailgate and I saw someone, I don't want to be careful not to disclose anything, but they were high up at a bank and they're being carried out of the stadium bar by two people. And I'm like, holy crap.
And then you know, I'm observant enough to see this and I happen to know who this person was. Now I didn't. This wasn't my client, this wasn't my banker, this wasn't any of that. But I at least knew who they were. And I was just thinking if that was me who would have saw me and I'm their financial advisor or I'm, I run a Northwestern Mutual, I'm their organization leader.
If I was to be carried out of a tailgate like that, who would have seen me So I was, I was fortunate enough A, to get that advice prior to to starting in this business and then B, to really see that in the first couple of years take fruition and luckily it wasn't me and it wasn't someone that I was close to, but it was someone that I knew of. That was like, he gave me that a reality check. So I think very good advice there.
So do you believe that you are a direct reflection of your work, your business, your family? It sounds like we've already answered this, but I want to make sure we're crystal clear as an audience.
Well, I feel I am, but I also feel that some of my employees like my son, he's a graduate gemologist. He's going to be the new face of Chalmers. My daughter, she's in California. She'll be coming back. She's also a gemologist.
So I feel, I mean, I'm 62 years old, so how many more years am I going to be the face, you know, which I don't mind it, I kinda like it, but I, I'm trying to get them into it now for the next generation type thing and also some of my coworkers, like in John Buman's been with me for 15 years. Um, I'm at a wedding on Saturday, but we are going , the firemen and police ball, which I always donate heavily to because I think it's a wonderful cause.
Um, and I always give away my villa in Mexico and it always goes for at least $6,000. What I like doing is I like getting up on stage and then get trying to get it for more or if somebody wins it, the next one in line, I make them match it. And I've done it many times. So I said, look, are you willing to spend the same six as Steve just did? Yeah, sure. What's he gonna say no in front of 400 people. So I do that. And then boom, yeah, they say, Yep, take it.
So we donate at least they get probably, $16,000 from Chalmers Jewelers for that cause, which I think is wonderful. But it's my staff, they're gonna, they're gonna help me, they're going to have my back and they're going to get up there and they're going to do the same thing in my presence because I can't be there.
So you know, I'm going to ask you for that villa for Alex's lemonade stand outing next year now. Right? This is recorded. You spoke to Garrett, your son real quick. I want to talk about that because I want to talk about the generational differences. Right? So Garrett, big hair tattoos everywhere. Awesome. Awesome guy. But so different from you. So, and uh, and most of the time he's in the back room, a designing jewelry designing, some really awesome stuff that he's helped me with with my wife.
But, uh, but talk a little bit about that, maybe some, some on how you've dealt with family and business and then maybe some on the generational differences when you started 27 years ago to today and that customer.
All right, well I would say some of the differences are he has his own ideas, which I am always open to hearing his ideas and I'm, I don't mind implementing some of his ideas. Okay. There are some ideas. Old School has always worked. So there's some things you just don't get rid of, you know, but I like some of the things he brings up and I followed through with several things that he's brought up, which I think is wonderful.
Um, I think more often what I, what I, he does go a little bit above and beyond, but I think when I wish he would have worked for another company on his own for years and years and years. And I recommend that to anyone that has children coming into the business because I think it gives them a different work ethic. They you know it's just Dan's business. I can do whatever I want, kind of thing that wouldn't hold true in another business or somebody else's business. Yes, yes.
And I wish that would have happened because then they would have maybe seen how my daughter's currently doing that, but they would have, he would have seen more of what, what is needed and what other owners do. Um, and he could bring actually more things to the table also by learning more things from where he would have previously worked. Um, you know, he's, I have to say he does stay longer than the hours needed when he's needed and he never bawks about that, which I think is wonderful.
Um, we are in a retail setting, so to me Saturdays are the same as a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Well, they don't see it that way sometimes, you know, because they're, you know, that's just how it is. So some of those type of things, I'd like to see a little more, you know, look, Saturday, Saturday you don't take off Sunday. Monday I took off. I've been off Sundays and Mondays for 38 years and I thought it was the best schedule ever because Sunday was family day.
Okay. And Monday was get the oil change day or whatever you can not do on a weekend. Right. And Saturdays I didn't mind. And nor should they because we're not open as late. We're only open 10 to five instead of 10 to seven, which will be a normal work day during the week. So you know, that's the only thing. But then there's Badger tailgate. So they've gotta go.
No I get you there. So anything on the how generational customer has changed?
Oh yeah. Oh yes. Wow, you know, I've hired in the last couple of few years of social media person. Okay. Like you have and he's only like 23, 24 at the most. So this guys dialed in on what that group, how they, what they listen on the radio if they even do, you know, everything's computerized, everything's on their phone. Everything is, you know, what used to be.
We do really well with word of mouth, reputation, reputation, and people all the time, but everybody googles, everybody goes and reads, you know everything about you and that's important in, in. That's what's going on now. So it's a whole different way of advertising. I remember when newspaper used to be hot, well newspaper, no way.
You know, all those things have changed from when I started that the 25 year old, 28 old, I mean the average engagement ring engagement couples now it's like 28, 29 and when I started this it was 22, 23. So things have changed on age groups of Who's getting married and getting engaged now too. They have access to the Internet. The only problem with the Internet, they're not as educated as they think. Okay. There's like a diamond cut color and clarity.
The average consumer looking online just thinks that's all there is. They have no clue of what the crystal color was before the shape. If it's a milky crystal, if it was silvery crystal, if it was a yellowy crystal, they have no idea what makes it cheaper. Okay, so things on the Internet aren't exactly a great deal. We just had a customer in yesterday, spent 13 or $12,000 on a colored stone on the Internet and had it brought in.
She came into my store and ended up spending 17,000 on the stone that was march are stones were $3,000 less than the one that she got on the Internet, but because she got it on the internet she thought it was a better deal and it's wasn't a better deal whatsoever. So everyone buying things on the Internet unless it's a known brand. Okay. I want those Converse size 10 tennis shoes. Right. It is what it is.
You can compare, but what I'm finding with the millennials these days, not that that's a good word or bad word, but they're doing things a little bit differently and I like it that they're doing research because that helps our business because we're American Gem Society, registered jeweler with GI graduate, gemologists and you have to have them. Eighty percent, 85 percent of the stores in this town do not have graduate gemologist selling you what you're supposed to be getting.
So how do you know what you're getting and how do you trust somebody on the Internet when you're spending 5,000, 6,000 2,000 no matter what it is it seems like expensive to me to trust somebody you don't know. And where's the romance? No, no. There's no romance in that. I'd rather meet your fiance.
I'd rather put the, you know, show her the rings and have her be part of the whole program and have fun and, and have her come in and have it cleaned and checked on the house and, and get to know how the wedding went and things like that. And and upgrades, if you want a bigger diamond or something, give them their money back toward the old one to get a newer one. These are things you can't do on the Internet. No, not at all. Right.
And it's going to change a little once they'd start charging tax, which I think they should do on the internet once they start doing that. Now we're on the same playing field.
So anything else or I wanna go back to that family business aspect because I know that there's a lot, a lot of family businesses in the Madison area. Uh, you know, I've been, part of that with working with my father. He retires, but my brother and I are still working together now. He's, my brother. Spent five years in Arizona under a different managing partner in Northwestern Mutual before coming back here. And I think that was hugely valuable to us.
I spent a few years in retail before joining northwestern mutual and realized that weekends is not something I want to continue. Black Fridays as a sales manager at best buy. I was opening a store at 1:00 AM, 2:00 AM, so every black Friday as a reminder as to why the heck I don't do that anymore. But uh, uh, you know, it teaches you lessons, like you said, outside of family.
Any other familial advice, if they're going to go into business, if they're going to transition businesses because not a lot of businesses last past the original generation that started the business.
Wow. You know, I'm not out of it yet, so it'd be hard for me to answer that 100 percent. Um, I think a couple of, one thing I just did, which I thought was a good thing for keeping employees and, and, and, and transitioning down a little closing Sundays. But I was totally against that at first.
And that comes from old school, you know, um, and we do fine on Sundays, but then we figured, you know, my son, he's got a girlfriend and he's got things he likes to do on Sundays and people go to church on Sundays and, and I kinda went, you know, let's try it. And so this is something we've just started and it's worked out well.
I think as far as transitioning down, I understand what you're saying, Josh, because especially in my business, second and third generation a lot of times have sunk the business. Um, but I feel that my son, because of, you know, because he is into it. He's very, very, very good at his CAD design work and creating unique pieces. And he's also very, very good, uh, working one on one with our customers and our clients.
And, and I don't think that's going to be an issue, but I think family members need to know what they're best at. And people like myself need to know what our family members are best at and put them in the roles that best fit their personality. And what they do for the company. Okay. Because my daughter and my son are total opposites. One's a super perfectionist.
One is, one is I should say tight with money or conservative, but what she spends, um, my son's opposite, but he's got amazing talents in other ends that my daughter only went to school for and hasn't really practiced those. And he's really good at those because he's been doing it now for seven or eight years now with CAD design and things like that. So he's really good at that. And the same with the gemology.
He's more into the gems so he knows about the gems and works with them on a regular basis and diamonds. So he's got a lot of pluses on all those type ends and he knows how the procedures on how things should run smooth and how pricing should be quoted. So these are all things my son brings to the table that my daughter right now doesn't. Okay. So finding their roles, they would actually compliment each other because they are a little bit opposite that way. So I'm not worried that way I think.
I think. But they need to know their roles in there and they need to. They need to work as hard, you know, they need to work as hard as you did. They really do. They don't think they do sometimes, but in the back of my mind, the more you do for our company, the more I remember. So when it's time for compensation, when it's time for extra time off, when it's time for these types of things. I remember all this stuff and I give it to them, you know, I say look, yeah, you deserve that.
Go for it, you know?
No, it's really good so a key there is setting your kids up for success in the roles that they're particularly good for? Yes. Is there anything you did to develop certain things with Garrett so far that you feel you did well and maybe a lesson that didn't go so well?
Well, I think the. I was never privileged to go to college. Okay. I was in a household, we had very low income and uh, and I wasn't able to do that and so as I improved in the business and I came financially comfortable, I was blessed to be able to put my son and my daughter through jump school and have them both become graduate gemologists.
That's something I feel proud about and I think they feel proud that they have those titles and the, and they worked very hard to get those titlesand work with these titles. And so I feel, I feel that's important. I feel by that made me feel good by giving them something I never was able to have my business me, it was fly by the seat of my pants and my experience is 38 years of doing same type of thing and try to do it in an incredibly creative way. Um, and I've taught my kids that.
I mean, I went custom probably five years ago where now there isn't a jeweler in town that can compare the quality of what we do and I have six of the most talented custom jewelers in the state, but I did that rather than than merchandising like everybody else does. Buy The merchandise with designer names that are already marked and merchandised, super high. Okay. And now I got to mark it up and sell to the public and then diamonds are fallen out of it all day long. I had enough of that stuff.
So some of these things I instilled in my kids to say, look, quality first, not quantity, quality first on everything, whatever we do make it work. Our stones don't fall out, make it so it lasts for twice as long as everybody else's piece. And they do that. I like it because my son says, no dad, we're only gonna make shanks, which is the bottom of the ring. A minimum of three, about two and a half, three millimeters, no less because out there, the one point five, one point eight.
So our rings are jury will last longer and stand up to day to day wear and last for generations and he knows that and so he builds things accordingly that way.
Well that's great. But one thing you said there, and I don't know if you'd do this, but my dad always did it to me and a drove me bonkers was if I questioned anything that might've put them on the defensive he was just like because I said so. If I would ask why he'd be saying because I said so and I think that might've been a put it out there as your generation maybe because that's how you guys were treated. But I hated it. I could not stand it.
So I even promise to people that I lead nowadays where I'm like, if you ever asked me why, I will tell you the reason I never carried. And I would use that as an example if my father is like. And it was just. Maybe it was just a pet peeve of mine, but I think there is some merit to it as like. Because I said so isn't a real answer. That's an authoritarian thing. You might use certainly know better. You have the experience, but I just work. I'm curious.
I want, I want to know why we're doing what we're doing.
Right, right. Well, it would have been a good because I said so, but here's why I said so. And then you tell them. Okay. Um, yeah, there's been many times my son and I butt heads. A lot so, but it's a good thing. We're still working together and I, and I respect things he does and I hope he respects some of the things I do. Um, and it, it's so far working out.
Well, I know this was a little bit off topic, but I thought you could shed some valuable advice there for our audience. So, uh, so going back to the body language and walking with confidence. So what are some key points for our audience to be conscious of as professionals and I know we covered on some, so dressing nice. Wear nice custom jewelry from Chalmers Jewelers. What are some other stuff? Eye contact you talked about.
You know what and what I think some people are failing on. Okay, and I know I'm into it. Take care of yourself. Stay in shape. Exercise. Don't eat crappy food. Why? Because that shows your appearance, your suit's going to look nice and crisp and tailored. Not with a tummy hanging out.
But also are you talked about before? Is that confidence? Staying in shape helps you more or at least it has helped me. I know we've talked about this. The confidence that you, that the self worth piece is that you work hard to stay in shape. Like it's easy to not be in shape. It's hard to stay in shape. It's hard to find the time, especially as you have kids, especially as you're running your business. So it's that confidence and self worth piece when you say that that comes to mind.
And I want our audience who were like I've been out of shape, I, I started in this business, I, I literally poured my blood, sweat and tears into it, and two years ago I made a decision, but I was like, I'd always been an athlete my whole life in two years ago, I looked at myself in the mirror. I'm like, Eh, I'm alright. But, but I, but I respected my athleticism back then and that's a core value of mine. And I was neglecting it. So two years ago I made a decision to bust my ass.
And look how you look today you look phenomenal.
So here's what I say is you've stayed in shape up into your sixties. I'm in my late thirties. It's was like, if you're in your twenties and you're listening to this right now, stay in shape it's twice, three times, four times as hard to get back in shape.
Especially my age. People 50 on up. It's the hardest thing to get back into shape. Absolutely. Just stay with it. Eat well, throw away every canned soda you ever looked at. Okay? And you will and just take, you only need like I would say, 45 minutes a day. I mean, you know what you go through.
I only do 45 minutes a day, but it's enough for me just to stay toned as I can stay slim as I can, keep my nice suits looking good and I And not only that, but I think if you feel good about yourself, your self image, it exuberates to the other to whoever you talked to.
And that's the key. That's the key with walking with confidence is yes, you can dress nice, yes you can wear nice jewelry, but if you don't exude that self confidence and self worth, I don't think any of it really. It's just a shell game at that point. You're putting up a front. It's got to come from within.
And you have more energy then to, you know, if you're taking care of yourself inside, physically and everything, you have more energy. So that comes out. You have a better glow in your skin. Your skin looks a nice color. You, you feel good. You know, you have that crisp look, you know you don't have the down here, you know you're nice, thin. You're looking at, you're feeling good. So if you feel good on the way from the inside, you'll look great on the outside.
That's right. That's absolutely right. But also a couple of other things that we didn't necessarily talk about fidgeting. A lot of people do this. I actually got pointed out to this with someone that I've mentored is , some of us are actually a lot of us, the financial advising business. Maybe also as business owners, ADHD can be a trait that carries along there. And I'm mentoring someone and I was fidgeting with a pen. Nice pen. You sold me.
Um, and uh, and I noticed that as every time I moved the tip of the pen, his eyes went there and I was like, and it didn't matter what I did with my hands with that. And so the next time I did it I was fidgeting or someone else's eyes went there. It was like, so some people, especially as you to be cognizant of you may be making eye contact with. But because you're making a fidget or weird gesture, something that you don't even know, tick that you don't even know you have, it's a distraction.
So just being observant and learning that stuff about yourself or having good truth tellers in your life to say, oh, I know it was Jordan, my brother recently. Well probably a year ago or so. Um, I was giving a talk to the organization and he goes, you know, and I can't do this. No, I'm just listening to this. You can see this. But he goes, you touch your eye and make this face sometimes as you're thinking about when you're talking.
And I was like, no, I guess I don't even know what you're talking about. He's like, it looks like kind of like this. It doesn't look good. All right, thank you. I'll be cognizant. So anytime I even think about bringing my hand to my face, I'm thinking. Alright, Jordan said that about better not do that.
There you go. That's a good thing you pointed out.
Yeah. Yeah. So it's good things. So. Oh, and then hands in pockets can also be closed off.
I would never put your hands in your pocket a lot of time people fold their arms like this. Yeah.
So you said it actually earlier. That just rung true in my head you said you walk out open, smiling. So your arms are open,
Arms are open, hands are out. Hi. Welcome to Chalmers Jewelers.
That's key because a lot of people don't necessarily know that because for me, and I even remember going through this, it's comfortable to cross your arms sometimes. Yeah. But, but what you don't realize is if you're in a conversation with someone, it actually signals to them that you're closed off to what they're saying. Or maybe you're not listening.
So yes, it might be comfortable to you, but you also got to remember you're also having a conversation with someone and they may perceive it to be that you're closed off to them.
Exactly. So I also had a, you know, with cell phones. That's another one. Okay. I, I will not take my cell phone in for dinner. I will. If I'm going out with my wife for a nice dinner, cell phone stays in the car, I just purposely do that because I'm seeing too many people driving down the roads. Everybody's got their cell phone in their hand and it scares the heck out of me driving down the road for one thing. But then I see people at a table, a couple.
They both had their cell phones out and they're not even talking to each other and they're not communicating with each other. Nothing. No. It's like everything's so electronic, you know? So those types of things I try. I'm try totally to. If I'm here with you or something, the last thing I'm going to be doing is playing on my phone, you know, I think it's rude. So I try not to do that.
And parents that are listening remember this, that your kids pick up on that. Be very cognizant of that because even if I. here's where it stuck out to me, my four year old who's not five, but uh, it was last year when she said this, um, she told me to get off my iPad just for now. She's my little spitfire of my four kids. She, she literally pushes my iPad down and said get off. I was, I was like, honey, I was actually reading something you know like you read books.
I was reading something but she doesn't know that. A, I was ignoring her. She wanted my attention B, iPads to her are entertainment. To me it's work. But either way I wasn't paying attention to her, which was what I needed to be doing because I was at home. So that's. So you're, you're spot on with the phone and if you're listening to this, please get off your phone on the roads. Save us all. Uh, it's just as bad as driving drunk it's caused us as many accidents.
So. So that being said, all right, so we want to wrap up here. Any parting words for a Scott?
Well, if anyone's out there that wants to open up a business, get ready to work your butt off, get ready for low rejection, which is what the rejection. Yup, because the banks did to me, but pursue, pursue, pursue, think of family, think of your future. Think of, hey, it's always better to do it for yourself then I have to work for someone else. If you have that choice, but it's not going to come from 40 hours a week or 50 hours a week or even 60 hours a week.
Get ready to put in the most amount of hours and time you've ever put together in your life.
But if it's your dream, if it's your passion, go for it.
Exactly, and it's been my passion. Yes. Thirty eight years later, I'm still in the business. I do love it. It's funny. I'm in the love business, Josh. I'm in the best business you could possibly be in. Everybody's happy when they come see me.
That's true. That's very true. Not all businesses can say that.
No. I wouldn't want to be a transmission repair man. I mean, it's always a negative right when you come in and have to get your tranny fixed and they tell you it's a few thousand bucks, you know, I'd rather tell you it's a few thousand bucks, but you're going to put that beautiful diamond on your wife's neck and she's going to love you for ever now. So it's a big difference.
I read a quote the other day that was pretty interesting. It said "if you want to be loved by everyone, don't be a leader sell ice cream". So it could be changed that to sell jewelry. So I don't remember who that was, but. So I want definitely likes ice cream. Definitely wasn't me that quoted that. I'm just repeating it, but, uh, I thought it was funny and appropriate. So how can people get Ahold of you?
Uh, they can email me at [email protected]. And uh, we'd go from there. They can also call me if they want. I'm usually at the Middleton store, which is 608-233-4700 if they have a question, I'm happy to answer it.
Perfect. And uh, congratulations on the second store.
Thank you. Thank you Josh. It's on the corner of a Blair and East Washington, the old Hirschlater furrier building.
A real Cool little safe room in there, right?
The safe's pretty outrageous. Yeah, because it was a huge safe back then for furs, stacking furs. So the room is gigantic. Well, we made that into our cad design center with tvs and all their diamonds. Everything's all in there. A couple of Nice desk and that's where Garrett is designing jewelry. So people come in, they love it. They walk into this 1928 safe that I had all wrapped in aluminum. I mean it's quite large. And then I had it all hand edge by Mike Chamberlain add Vital Signs.
So if you want to come into like an artistic look and jewelry store that's totally a little bit crazy inside and fun, stop on in. It's very comfortable. You'll love it.
Well it sounds right up Garrett's alley. Alright, perfect. Well thank you again and thank you to all our listeners. Today's topic, walking with confidence with Scott Chalmers. Thanks for listening to another episode of Inspire People Impact Lives. If you've been inspired today, please share this episode with as many people as possible so that together our impact is exponential.