by Georgina Schiavelli

Black Diamond Body Piercing

People often ask me what the secret of my success is. In an industry as multifaceted as professional piercing, that’s a very difficult question to answer, but I’m going to do my best to boil it down to some key points. Like everything else in life, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back is when many valuable lessons are learned. Over my 22 years in this industry I’ve learned things that have helped me find success and things that hindered my growth, both professionally and personally. I hope to share some of those lessons.

When I started my apprenticeship in 1997, piercing was barely considered its own industry. We were more of an addition to another industry, and because of this, there were a lot of tattoo artists who offered piercing; my old bosses being two of them. Fortunately for everyone, they got “too busy tattooing to deal with doing piercings” and hired an actual piercer. I became that piercers’ apprentice and that is where my story begins. Planning a career path in piercing wasn’t really on my mind at the time because I didn’t know if piercing would be there as a career down the road. The industry was so young, and we were all so hopeful, but also quite unsure of our futures and basically flying by the seat of our pants. Thankfully, I followed my heart, stuck with it, and built up a great clientele. I became known for my high standards, ethics, and a true passion for the job. I treated every client with respect and professionalism and like every piercing was the most important one I’d ever done. I did outreach at local colleges to promote safe standards and educate my peers. If the shop was open, I was working, and I did everything that I could to further the reputation of the shop that I worked in.

Even though I had always been a team player, and went above and beyond my job description daily, my bosses still had very little respect for me or for piercing. “They come here for us and stay for you, not the other way around, and don’t you forget it” was said to me so many times that I lost count. I knew in my heart that wasn’t true and that I was creating my own success. I could also see that the industry was changing and going amazing places. I knew that I wanted to be a part of that, so after almost 11 years at the same shop, I left. The running mental list of “if this was my place” I had made over the years made me realize immediately that it needed to be a piercing-only studio. I knew it was risky, but it just felt right. So, I cashed out the sad little retirement account that my dad made me start at 20, got a line of credit at the bank, got a small loan from my accountant who is a venture capitalist, and opened a new credit card with the highest limit they’d give me. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I had no idea how much harder it would get before it got better, but it was the right decision, and I knew with all of my heart that this was where I belonged. I found a great location, scraped together enough money for a security deposit, a few month’s rent, the renovations needed to build my shop to APP standards and a small stock of implant grade basics and simple gems to get me through a couple of months of piercing.

It took a total of four months to build my shop. On top of my 50 hours a week piercing at the tattoo shop, I worked every morning, every night, and every Sunday doing anything I could do to get my shop ready for the opening. I had planned to open Labor Day weekend, but was found out by my old bosses (who were less than supportive) in early August, so my deadline became as soon as possible. Those last two weeks were an all-day, all-night marathon of painting and finishing touches. I opened my doors on August 19, 2008. I had made it, and thought I had it all figured out. Now I just needed to wait for the money to roll in, right? HA! I hope you laughed at that too.

There’s a saying that if you’d like to make the universe laugh, just tell it your plans. The universe  apparently had some hard lessons for me to learn, because on September 29, 2008, just six weeks after I opened my doors, the stock market crashed. I had originally expected to get back to a decent salary within a couple of years, but between everyone being scared to spend money and worried about the future, and my naivete in the reali ties of owning a business, I really had no money to pay myself, especially if I wanted to still grow the business, so I basically lived on my tips. Fortunately, I was married, and my husband was  supportive  enough to agree to cover the bills while I built back up to real paychecks. I worked at the shop completely by myself for two years, and every cent that came in went right back into Black Diamond. It was the hardest two years of my adult life.   I remember choosing groceries by what coupons I had and ate  meals at friends and families houses whenever  I could. I was 31 years old and living like I was 18 again, except now I was married and previously knew what it was like to not be broke all the time. That was a hard pill to swallow after making fairly-good money for so long, but I would do anything to make the shop succeed and I knew this was the only way to make that happen.

By 2010, I took on an apprentice. Thankfully, the time went by quickly and Brooke Bittens was a natural, so by 2011, I didn’t have to do every single piercing that came in and even got a day off a week! Since I was trying to grow our jewelry selection, I still needed to be very careful, but at that point I was finally able to get a steady, albeit tiny, paycheck! Thanks to living on as little money as possible, I paid off the last of my loans by Christmas 2013, just 5 years and a few months after I opened my doors. Unfortunately, I also ended my marriage during that year due to a few factors, but largely because of how much time I dedicated to my shop. It was always a cause for fights, and ultimately the love I have for my career and my determination to succeed very much overshadowed my relationship, so one of them had to give.

From 2010-2015, I had hired quite a few front-end people with the hopes of turning them into jewelry experts. I always favored having front end jewelry experts and not just “counter people”. It was clear to me that they were both very specific skills and if I wanted the shop to be able to handle more clients, it was a necessity. Thankfully, I found a couple of people that worked out well! Andie Saunders became my second apprentice and Melissa Willette became my shop manager. Around then, the physical reality of full-time, medium to high volume piercing was also starting to really emerge. By the end of 2015, when Andie was finishing up her apprenticeship, I had a full blown non-traumatic labral tear from 18 years of constant piercing. Overuse syndromes are sneaky because you deal with the symptoms for so long that they become normal. Suddenly, my hand started to go numb, I would wake up crying from the shooting pains in my shoulder and chest, and no matter how many massages I got, it never let up. I saw a few Doctors, and the consensus was, either get surgery (which may or may not actually fix the problem; cartilage is a funny thing) or work less, since it mostly was only unbearable when I pierced a lot. That Christmas, I also took my first real vacation of my entire adult life. While I was away, I did a lot of thinking and decided this was it, time to change roles. I had put in my time piercing, and my body was telling me to take a step back from it. I still loved to pierce, I just couldn’t handle the volume anymore, so I started working by appointment and spent the rest of my time either filling in up front showing jewelry when my manager was off or sitting in my office ordering jewelry/supplies and brainstorming my next move.

It was becoming obvious that two full-time piercers and one part time, by appointment, piercer just wasn’t going to be enough. Everyone was getting so burned out, we were getting busier by the day, and I couldn’t physically handle any more piercings than I was doing. Thankfully, I was still accustomed to my inexpensive life, so my paychecks stayed low throughout the years, and largely because of that the business finally had a pretty decent savings. That is when I asked my landlord if I could expand into a part of the other side of the building for an additional piercing room. The expansion only took a few months, and before I knew it, we were hosting guest piercers almost monthly. For a year and a half, we hosted guest piercers during our busiest months, sometimes for weeks at a time. From the guest spots, I was able to hire a great piercer to round out the crew, Rob Gold, who officially joined the team in March 2017. I also recently hired another jewelry expert, Lilly Young, as well as a part time jewelry-expert-in-training to help with front-end overflow. This has allowed us to grow into the potential that was already there and finally catch up to the needs of our clientele. In October 2018, just over 10 years after I opened, I was able to buy the building that my business is in, so now not only can I take over the rest of the first floor to allow for a larger waiting room and a new office for me, I also inherited 3 tenants for more income, thereby starting a whole new business, Black Sapphire Properties.

So, that brings us to 2019: my 22nd year as a piercer, my 11th year as a business owner, and my first year as a landlord. Now that I finally have a full staff that I trust, my main role at the shop is all the background stuff like finances, jewelry orders, and website updates, and I can still take appointments here and there. I now have plans to buy an apartment building down the street, hopefully within the next year, and plan to buy more investment properties over time. When I look back on everything, it now seems so obvious how I got here, but as I said in the beginning, hindsight is a great teacher. My journey has taught me some of the vital components to success:

• Standards—As a Member of the Professional Piercers whose primary goal is promoting safe piercing, this one should be obvious, but it’s also worth mentioning. It is important to stay on top of what’s happening in the industry as far as jewelry standards, sterility practices, and aftercare. It’s easy to sell yourself to clients when you know you’re doing everything you can to give them the best experience and the safest piercing possible. Do not sell any jewelry you wouldn’t wear yourself and educate yourself on every aspect of the jewelry companies that you carry and their products.
• Integrity—Be impeccable with your word: with clients, other piercers, other industry people— with absolutely everyone. Honestly, I believe this is true in every part of your life, but it’s essential in business and is the key to building a business that will stand the test of time. On the same note, be wary of people who belittle you and your vision. Walk away from toxic people and those that lack integrity, they will only bring you down.
• Passion—Your clients can sense if you’re genuine or not and this industry is only truly rewarding if you love it more than anything. If you are in this industry for any other reason than your love of piercing and jewelry, do yourself a favor and don’t open a shop.
• Image—To put it simply, be professional. Speak with confidence and be able to back it up with knowledge. Be careful who you represent yourself as, in person and especially online. No one wants to give their money to  a jerk, no matter how well you pierce or how nice your jewelry is. Period. There’s a saying in retail that applies well to piercers, “A happy client tells  a  few  friends. An unhappy client tells EVERYONE.” Whether you are opening a shop in a year or ten years, the internet never forgets and neither do salty clients. Also, be sure your shop physically reflects what you’re trying to project to the world. It’s hard to sell a $500 piece of jewelry if you look like you just rolled out of bed or your shop doesn’t look like a fine jewelry store.
• Consistency—Be sure your staff is all on the same page and your front end is well trained. Have frequent meetings to quickly address problems or inconsistencies that arise. Having an employee handbook is also essential. You want all the things that are important to you in writing so that there’s never a question what should be done in any situation, whether you’re there or not. You want any client to walk in on any given day and have just as good of an experience as any other, no matter who is working. Part of this is also treating your employees well and paying them well to create an environment that encourages long term employment. When you have a staff that you trust, you have a lot of freedom too.
• Sacrifice—When you own a business, you may be the most important person as far as image and decisions, but you’re the least important person when it comes to paychecks. It will pay off in the end, but building a shop from the ground up is not for the faint-of-heart or the weak-willed. The shop HAS TO come first, and your staff isn’t going to work for free. This will impact your life in every facet, and it may mean you make the least amount out of your whole staff at times, but if you stick to it and go all-in you will be rewarded in every way down the road. As far as start-up capital, however much you think you need to open a shop and make it successful, at least double it. You have no idea what can/will happen during your building years and you should be prepared for anything. Insurance may cover lost wages if your shop collapses or burns down, but it certainly won’t cover things like being slow because the economy tanked. If your plan is to open a shop someday, start putting away money now and don’t be frivolous. Make yourself a budget and stick to it; get used to being frugal. Think in years and decades, not weeks or months.
• Limits—Remember, you are only human and just one person. You cannot do it all and still be healthy, either mentally or physically. Know when it’s time to take on other/more employees! And know when it’s time to take a step back too. On the same note, do not tolerate employees that do not share your vision. It’s very easy to be held hostage by talent and/or circumstance, but remember that it is your shop in the end and stick to your guns.
• Preparation—The banks do not just hand out loans. Do your research and know the market in the area you want to open. Write a few practice business plans until you get it right and feel confident enough in your facts for a meeting with a loan officer. There’s plenty of information on the internet to lead you in the right direction. You can also look for a venture capitalist! The loan interest can be a little higher, but if a bank can’t help you, or can’t give you enough money, they are a great option. They are typically more adventurous than banks with what types of businesses they are willing to work with.
• Confidence—Know your worth! Don’t compromise on pricing your services and/or jewelry thinking lower prices will bring people in, even in the beginning. It will come back to bite you and really limit your buying power when ordering new jewelry and growing your shop. If you do great work and sell great quality jewelry, the right people will happily pay you what you’re worth. Do not lower your prices, have piercing sales, or let people bully you into charging less. I promise, you don’t want those clients anyway; let the lesser shops have them. It will only make you look better in the end and win you more clients overall when those who were at first unwilling to pay your price come back to have you fix things. They’ll learn the difference first hand and you’ll now have a client for life who tells everyone they shouldn’t go anywhere else. Never apologize for having high standards.
• Autonomy—Taking inspirations from other great shops is wonderful, but don’t concern yourself too much with what the other shops around you are doing. Just do your thing and believe in your vision! If you believe in what you’re doing, and you put the time and effort in, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.