- PNC is proud to support Business Forward, where community leaders discuss the issues confronting business in Central Illinois.

(upbeat music) - Welcome to Business Forward I'm your host, Matt George joining me tonight a good guy, Bob Woolsey.

Bob is the you're everything CEO, owner you name it at Jones Bros Jewelers and welcome Bob.

- Thanks Matt.

- Yeah, so let's start off are you from Central Illinois?

- I am, I was born at Proctor Hospital, grew up till fifth grade in Pekin and then moved to Peoria and really haven't left besides going to college.

- Okay where'd you go to college?

- Indiana University, coho osiers.

- All right coho osiers.

I won't say IUO, right?

- You can.

- All right, so your business is interesting family business, correct?

- Yes.

- Explain the business to me cause I was thinking about after we spoke a couple of weeks ago, take like diamonds as an example, I'm jumping right in.

So like as an owner of a business like this, do you have a supplier or do you just go and randomly just buy diamonds and then make the jewelry?

like how do you do your business?

- So as far as the diamonds go, we have a handful of suppliers and it's very important to be very important to like one or two, because then you tend to get the treatment that you want to make sure you're able to take care of the customers that need better product and better services.

Most of the jewelry we sell is finished.

We do have a significant custom business that it's pretty interesting story, though.

The guy that I work with, Vallon with the company shared how it all came to be.

And then we, have our service department where we repair other things.

But most of what we get comes in finished from different suppliers.

And my philosophy has been to try to be in a partnership with those businesses so that they're important to us and we're important to them and we're able to be successful together.

- Yeah, so I was gonna ask you about, I like that partnership like a Rolex, as an example, do you go to them or they come to you and you say, yeah, we'll be an exclusive seller or whatever of just yours and then it blocks out other types of watches or how do you do that?

Like, because some places don't sell certain watches and I've always wondered, well, why can't I get a watch there this is a high-end place.

- Yes Rolex is an interesting one, when I started in '96, they had about 13 to 1400 doors, they now have less than 400.

- Wow.

- And so about two years ago, they actually ended our relationship that started in the 50s and their distribution model and the way that they go about things is their business continues to grow with fewer outlets.

And so smaller communities like Peoria are becoming less important and they're opening more stores if they open a store in a larger metropolitan areas.

And so with a company like Rolex, they're very exclusive.

A lot of those businesses that were, I would consider like partners with, they would work with us in the Peoria area and then not work with others.

When it comes to like basics like diamonds, I mean, it's hard to tell somebody, you can't sell corn to this farmer or this farmer 'cause I sell your corn, 'cause diamonds are a little more of a, I'm not gonna say generic item, but they're a little more like that.

- I got you, so Rolex is, I'm just gonna go back to this 'cause I find this interesting.

Do they look at it as a business as saying, we're in demand, we're going to make it even more in demand and they can raise the cost.

Is that what they're doing or is it just 'cause they're harder to get?

- Yeah, I mean I think if you can sell more watches with fewer people to sell them through, that's a good business model.

And I remember probably 15, 20 years ago seeing a statistic that in the US that year by like volume, they were the number one and I think Citizen at that time was number two.

And I think like, let's say Citizen sold a million, Rolex sold 10 million.

So it was 10 times the volume of the other line.

So they're a market dominator, they're I think the company that holds them might be a not for profit foundation.

Hands Will's, Door Figures, it's a fascinating business model that is worth like reading into because they do things very differently than most, and-- - That's why I use them as an example because I find it very, very interesting.

So let's talk about your business.

Your business has grown this past 20 years a lot has.

And do you attribute that to what, just you and your team do you do it as, you have a unique marketing and brand when you go out and you promote your business.

I mean, what's the formula without giving away all the secrets.

- Sure in the late 90s, we worked with a guy named Roy Williams, the wizard of Ads.

He has a great thing called the Monday Morning Memo and his philosophy is whatever your marketing plan is if it's a good one, it'll take you wherever you're going quicker.

And so we were in a tough location in Metro Center.

There were a lot of other jewelers around us and it was taking us where we were going quickly, which wasn't the greatest place.

So our accountant actually told us, you might wanna think about ending this and my mom and I went to lunch and she told me on our way back to the store, she said, we're not quitters, we're not gonna quit.

So we started looking for property, and at that point is when we really kinda shifted gears to where's our next location going to be.

And honestly, once we decided on the Jones Brothers Plaza that we ended up building and we own the building, we have four tenants out there.

By the shops at grand Prairie, it was like instantly our business went from here to here.

- Wow.

- And we said, once we hit a certain amount of money in volume that we would close on Sundays and Mondays and we did that in the first one or two years.

So the work-life balance thing became a real important piece that was able to happen because of our success.

And the interesting thing is like we do have a sign on our door that we put up every Sunday and Monday as to why we're closing those days, which is, to give-- - [Matt] Yeah I've seen.

- Everybody deserves time off not just, customers, this and the other.

So yeah, I mean honestly, location, location, location.

- [Matt] You hear that-- - It's true.

- It's true, I mean you just gave the best example.

- Yeah, and then I would say in '08, '09 when, the kinda economy went crazy, we got really into the, everybody was liquidating their gold and their scrap golden and we've just pivoted.

I mean, I know that's a popular word right now is pivot, but we continue to evolve our business.

The last three years we've gone, way deep into lab grown diamonds 'cause I find them to be, a great value and something that the younger population that's getting engaged looks at it and says, I'd rather get that than blow up, the earth.

And so yeah, we just continue to evolve and move forward and definitely we're not afraid to like be ourselves on the market.

- Yeah, and you're not you're not afraid and you do some fun things.

- We do, and this year, I think we've really started to incorporate some unique people in the community and we're gonna continue to do that.

Like Kendrick Green, Go Steelers he's been doing a really good job and Marcellus and Brooke are on our current commercial.

And, there's just a lot of wonderful stories to be told and interesting personalities that we like to include.

- And you brought up that work-life balance and that piece obviously is important, but it really ties to your team and your team is strong.

I mean, you pretty much could not go back into work today and your team's got your back, don't they?

- They really do and it's about finding people and putting them in a position where they're really working in their unique ability.

Like my unique ability is definitely not, organizational structure and following process and this I'm just like go energy, vision, inspiration, gratitude kinda person.

And we have some awesome people that pick up the pieces that I probably leave behind, absolutely.

- I mean you need it, but they also need you and that piece, the more you're actually out of there, the more you help the business.

- I would agree a hundred percent.

- I totally believe that.

So, how does a business like this stay on top of like the popular trends?

Because the older we get, I mean, I see things that my daughters are doing and like what they like and this and that.

And they didn't think that it was stupid two weeks earlier.

So how do you sit here and have in your store, the trend setting type of stuff that you need to sell?

- So two ways, one partnering with the right people.

So, one of our largest partners would be Gabriel & Co out of New York and they've always been on the cutting edge.

They always kinda know whether it's what styles, what fashion at what price point, but they also understand the social media side.

And I was meeting with Dominic Gabriel, one of the owners and I was like what should we do, on social media and what do we do here?

And what do we do there?

He always answered, he just follow us.

He's like, we know what we're doing and there's a large like marketing, I don't know, survey company out there.

I can't think of consulting organization that met with him and said, why don't you just go at it yourself?

And he said, the key to the jewelry industry is working with the independence because a manager or a general manager in like a 30 store chain is never going to be as connected to the community as the owner of a business.

And so he recognizes the importance of working with important retail partners, as opposed to setting up their own stores on every corner, which a lot of companies have done and found that there's a shelf life where it just ends.

Because again, they don't have that connectivity to the community.

Well, that's transitioned into that because your, I guess competitors are not on, and maybe it was different 10, 15 years ago because malls were more vibrant, but you have the stores that are in the malls, but now you're competing against the internet too.

So if you were giving a pitch right now to say, here's why you buy from us, it is community in it?

Community and customers.

- Well, it isn't I always tell people like engagement ring, if you have a problem with it, do you just put it in the box and let the post man take it to where you got it and they fix it.

Nobody really liked, like the guy might be okay with that but once she's attached to that ring, she doesn't like to just box it up.

And there's an important piece to that ability to come back get your ring clean, to get it serviced.

It becomes a part of you and if there's a problem, do you wanna just drop it in the mail and send it to who knows where?

And, I think that, Costco for example, people love Costco.

We'll try to get your ring size to Costco, they sell bananas, they do a good job of it, but they're not gonna size your ring.

So I think it comes down to, you get your car online, you still have to have somebody to service it so you can get your ring, you get your diamond online but it's a real personal family decision and it's important.

- Is important, so let's switch gears here for a minute because I've watched your business I've watched you from up close and afar because you're on TV all the time, you're promoting, you're doing a lot of good things, but the more that you're out of your business, I'm gonna transition to what you do for community so let's talk about that for a second.

So this is really a way of life for you right now, isn't it?

Taking care of community.

- Yep.

- Your family's here, your wife, your kids, your embedded in this community, not just to make dollars and keep a business open it's to take care of what's right underneath your nose, correct?

- A hundred percent.

- And you started something, why don't you talk about a POTENT Gratitude?

- So POTENT Gratitude, POTENT is an acronym for the six things that we can be grateful for.

People, Opportunities, Things, Experiences, Nature and Thoughts.

So for those people that have a kinda a daily gratitude practice, it's very easy to get kinda gratitude fatigue.

So the POTENT acronym is a good way of focusing your gratitude energy in different places.

So the day the lockdown hit in Peoria, I was gonna go downtown to see my mom and instead of driving, I was like shoot, I'll just run down there.

So I started taking pictures of, different places that meant something in my life.

And I started posting them and friends from out of town were like, hey keep doing that it's great to see Peoria again.

- It's true.

- There's a Dr. Rick Pearl Children's Hospital who wasn't from here but I mean, there's a new hospital and jump trading is a part of his legacy, which wonderful guy he's like, I love seeing the community through the eyes of somebody who grew up here.

And so I'd say last summer, I just kinda kept it going, kept it going.

- [Matt] Every day.

- Yeah and then I got to the point where I'm like, you know what, I think that we can turn Peoria's conversation from one of what's wrong with Peoria and what's wrong with the world to one where, every meeting and every interaction and every, whatever it is impactful starts with gratitude.

And so with the help of Central States Media Ann and Brian out there help put a potentgratitude.com together, which is just my first toe in the water of saying, hey if you've got a cool story about Peoria, then post it and it's neat.

We've got, somebody wrote about the Luthy Botanical Garden, somebody wrote about the stadium, somebody wrote about, the Riverfront there's a lot of different things.

And my goal is just for it to become a common language that's intentional in our community.

So that everybody understands, we start in Peoria with gratitude and move on from there.

- And let's stress positivity.

Because really you've formed a positive Wikipedia for the Peoria area, I mean, that's what it is.

You want people's input, you need those stories and it's cool.

One of the things that I really, really give you credit for, and I think a lot of people have, and I know you're not there for the pat on the back, but you not only have written checks and donated to a lot of nonprofits, but just as importantly, you roll up your sleeves, you're on boards and committees, and this is how all this started 'cause you and I had been on many committees together.

And then you sit there and I started watching what was happening during COVID and you had that positive vibe every day.

And what it became was, I don't know if you want to call it viral.

I guess that's the term, but it did because every day somebody I would look every day, wonder what he did today.

And there you are, you're in front of all ones.

There you are you're in front of children's home or you're in front of OSF or UnityPoint, whatever it was.

And you kept doing it, and doing it, and doing it and then this came out of it, it's a pretty impressive thing.

And I applaud you and Mia on that 'cause she supports you heavily on.

- She does and we won the build Peoria grant this year.

So the cool thing about it is we've got three houses it'll be demolished next to Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church, which kinda sits on the perimeter of Proctor Center in the park around there.

And the great thing is it's to be POTENT Gratitude Park.

And that will be to me, the epicenter of gratitude in our community.

And it'll be a place where we'll, have events and do different things, but it will be sacred if anybody like has not been down to the Proctor Center, it's an amazing place.

- Make it talk about this more because this is such a cool idea.

This is an example of, you know how many people in any community, they have great ideas.

They just don't execute on a lot of the ideas or they just, and they move on and procrastinate.

You picked up this land and you're what building a building is that what you're doing?

- So basically last summer, Hettie Elliott, a good friend of mine said, you gotta meet Pastor Riley runs, he's the pastor Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church.

And so I went down there, we had lunch and I said, anything we can do for you.

And he said, yeah, I'd love to knock down these three houses, put in a park and if possibly a little fellowship center, I said, great.

So I reached out to the mayor and Jim Kaiser, Jim Kaiser from Gmax and others, and within a month we had plans for this park and it was kind of like, okay, all the courts are closed so there's no like demolition being done.

So we had to wait for that all to happen, which was kinda this summer when everything started up again.

But the cool thing was Darlene Violette who moved here I don't know how many years ago, but she's been really involved in the community in many ways and she's on the board for built Peoria.

And she said, I saw your post on Facebook it was Easter this year.

'cause it was my POTENT Gratitude Easter post about the park.

And she said, I'm gonna submit it for the built Peoria, the project this year.

And, Hettie and I and Marcellus and others were embattled in quite the challenging vote 'cause there were five projects.

And I think it was a really close.

They had, more than 4,000 votes this year.

And we won, which means now, not only do we get build Peoria team and backing, but a significant amount of fundraising.

So the park will happen, whether it be this fall or in the spring.

And there will be a sacred space right next to sovereign grace, right across from Proctor that, there's three completely just run down.

One house had a fire, all their windows are out, it's terrible.

- It's terrible.

- And kids like to play in areas like that.

Well, it's gonna become a really nice park where they can play as well it'll just be a lot safer and it's cool.

- [Matt] And the keyword safe.

- Yeah, and I had the blessing of being able to have lunch with Pastor Riley and, anybody who knows Alvin Riley Senior, he's not afraid to speak up and he's like, yeah let's get this done.

And I was like, okay well make it happen and just wonderful people when they put their minds together can make things happen, so.

- I said a thing recently and I was talking and, we're talking about collaboration and talking about really a lot of times and some people get sick of me saying this, but I think it's very important that people don't know what collaboration means, but this is a perfect example of what true collaboration means is someone could have an idea someone could have an idea to a funding source.

Someone could have the clients or the people that are gonna be able to use it, but it's really tying all that together and I think a lot of times that's what we miss.

And, so I do applaud you and your team for this 'cause this is going to be very cool.

- Well it's gonna be cool in the collaboration it starts with Peoria Park District 'cause it's right across from Proctor, the friends of Proctor Hettie, Elliot's the head of that, is the one that kinda got me involved.

You've got Pastor Riley, who's pastor of a church, but also a custodian at Lincoln School.

You've got a police officer who's been very instrumental and helpful down at Sovereign Grace.

Then you've got, mayor artists started and now we'll move on into, Councilman Denise Jackson now and Alex Sierra from the Park District and so many different groups.

And then Jim from Gmax and then with build Peoria, there's so many different, all of a sudden it's like, we've got the trades, we've got the whole community, putting energy and positivity in the knocking down three houses in this park.

And to think if that one project can happen how many more can, if we just are willing to say, hey, what can I do to help you instead of me saying, well this is what you need to do.

And so, you ask one question, you don't always know what's gonna come out of it and a lot of blessings do.

- Yeah, you said to me once, and I won't forget it.

You said you and I and all of us need to be grateful for all of life's gives and it's very true.

- Yeah.

- Pretty cool stuff.

What if you had an ask to the viewers, what do you ask of our community?

What do we need to be better community members?

- I feel as though as a community, we need to truly look at what that means.

And depending on where you live, depending on where you work, depending on all of those facets, I think we need to define what is the community.

So in the POTENT Gratitude logo, there's a circle that starts with U, and then you've kinda get your circle of, friends and family, and then you've got your community and it's like, what community are you a part of?

You're a part of children's home, you're a part of Peoria.

You're a part of your kids' schools, you're a part of WTVP like looking at every community that you're a part of and saying, oh wow, I never even thought that that community is a part of this community and how do we help each other?

And so, I would challenge everybody to go to potentratitude.com and post a story of something you're grateful for just living here, being here, breathing here.

Because to me that is like starting to focus on just what good you see in this community and all these stories sort of build on themselves.

And I think for every individual, if you don't have a daily gratitude practice of whether it's writing something down, whether it's prayer, meditation, whatever it is, but starting your day in gratitude, starting your meetings at work in gratitude, starting your meals with your family, starting if you're a coach.

And at the end of the game, at the end of the day, at the end of whatever the meeting is, bringing it back to gratitude because we live in a world of VUCA world.

VUCA is a term for Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic and Ambiguous.

So all the negativity just sticks to us like Velcro.

Well, if you put on the armor of gratitude, it becomes just, everything just kind of rolls off of you because you're really effectively intentionally creating a body armor of gratitude, it's like Teflon to all the junk that would stick to you.

So to me, focus on gratitude and it's amazing what can happen.

- So the website, again.

- Www.potentgratitude.com.

- Yeah and you can go on there and all of Central online can go on there and check it out because Galesburg, Champ wherever you're watching this, you can be your own, have that POTENT Gratitude feeling every day.

Well, I appreciate you coming in this was a fun talk and it started with business, but this really is about community and business too.

And so we appreciate you, we appreciate your company.

We appreciate your wife Mia and thank you so much Bob for coming in.

- And thank you Matt for all you do.

- Well I appreciate it, and I'm Matt George, and this is another episode of Business Forward.

(upbeat music) - Thank you for tuning in to Business Forward, brought to you by PNC.

(mummers) - [Matt] Stay tethered I got one more show so appreciate it man.