March 2021 | Lab Grown Magazine

March 2021 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 20 I n Part One of this series, we compared a frozen computer needing a hard reboot to our continued Covid crisis. Like an unresponsive computer, many of us are seemingly frozen in time awaiting a realignment—a reboot. When any machine is suddenly un- responsive, as a last resort, we pull the plug from the power source and plug it back in again. That’s a hard reboot. It’s also not the best thing for the machine; you never really know what you’ll be dealing with until it powers up. We each wield considerable reboot power when we grasp a power cord. Thankfully, human society isn’t wired to simply plug and play, but we do sometimes need a hard reboot. Ideas to Ideals Many speak with an admirable job of disguising their concerns of an unknown future. Yet, all agree that listing proven and positive options far outweighs the exchange of even the most imaginative of ideas. So, we won’t discuss ideas; we’ll propose ideals. In an angst-filledwaiting game to power up, the diamond and jewelry sector—especially diamond jewelry store owners—have made a mad rush to the internet to sell and be seen. For jewelry retailers, going online was always logical and necessary. And, for many, turning to digital platforms to raise retail awareness and make sales continues to be profitable. Lately, several small-to-mid-sized shop owners have contacted me with a laser focus on digital, even to the extreme. These contacts are located in both large and small cities. Covid opens conversations. I feel fortunate to have them with owners of a chain of locations and with those standing proudly with just one. During the last four months, the majority have hit the brick-and-mortar pause button so often and so hard that they’ve turned “shop” to “stop.” Understandably, it was peak holiday season and people weren’t shopping in stores then; by-and-large, they still aren’t shopping as they once were. The red flag wasn’t that their “pause button got stuck”; it’s that they pressed it in the first place. Some have retired their real estate to the market, while others are taking a fresh look at an old and highly trusted place of grand tradition. Don’t wrestle the lock down. It didn’t end well for Houdini.This story offers no sleight of hand. Updating and maintaining an engaging retail website should be a weekly performance by now. Yet, to turn actionable ideas into proven ideals,we must first perform a bit of mind magic. To absorb the tangible ideals put forth, you must pretend the Internet just got Covid. Mask it up and keep it at least six feet from you. At least until the end of this story, or longer, if you like.