The Years That Taught Me Everything

Lessons from my time at the Jewelry Mart. The mistakes, the blessings, and the timing of the universe.

At this stage of my life, I truly believe in the timing of the universe. Everything happens exactly when it’s meant to.

For years, I used to think my time at the Jewelry Mart was a waste, that those years didn’t move me forward fast enough. But now, looking back, I see it differently. Those years were part of the plan. They were my lessons, my preparation, and the foundation that helped me become who I am today.

When I first started my business at the Jewelry Mart, I didn’t have business experience. There was no Google, no ChatGPT, no navigation system, just me, a dream, and the people around me. And I trusted them, because I didn’t know any better.

Soon after I started working there, I began doing what everyone else was doing. I thought, they’ve been in business longer than me, they must know what they’re doing. So I followed their lead. But instead of getting better, everything got worse. I was buying the wrong inventory, pricing things incorrectly, and slowly forgetting everything I had learned at Johnson Jewelers. I was operating like a “Jewelry Mart person,” without realizing that everything I was doing was wrong.

Those years were full of costly mistakes and frustrating lessons, many of which make me laugh now, but back then, they felt heavy and discouraging.

One of my biggest mistakes was not investing in technology early on. When I worked at Johnson Jewelers, we used a point-of-sale system. When I started Brax, I called the company to get one, and they told me it would cost $5,000. I thought that was too much, so I decided to use paper receipts instead and spend that money on merchandise. I didn’t realize that decision would put me nearly ten years behind. Eight years later, I finally invested in that system, and it changed everything.

I remember asking one of the “experienced” jewelers how he managed his inventory. He proudly said, “Take a picture of your showcases. A year later, take another one and compare. If you have more inventory, you’re doing great.” I didn’t know it then, but that was completely wrong. Years later, I learned that having too much inventory means you’re managing it poorly.

Another time, I asked someone for directions to downtown L.A. He said, “Just take the 5 freeway, you’ll see the downtown exit somewhere.” I drove for hours, completely lost, until I finally called my husband. When I told him where I was, he said, “Turn around, you’re almost in San Francisco!” No one even thought to give me an address or a MapQuest link.

And then there was the “DBA” story. I was filling out a form that asked for my DBA, and I had no idea what that meant. I walked around the booths asking everyone, but no one knew. Finally, one woman called her husband, a wholesaler, and came back saying, “It means Doing Business As.” That was how I learned, one small thing at a time.

Someone once told me to buy ready-made castings, add loose stones, and sell them as my own designs. I tried it, made three or four pieces, but when I saw the final result, I felt nothing. It wasn’t me. That was the last time I followed advice that didn’t feel right in my heart.

Looking back now, I can laugh at those stories, but at the time, they were frustrating. I didn’t understand why everything felt so hard, or why I was surrounded by so many wrong answers.

My husband used to tell me,

This is your residency. Every businesswoman has to go through her tough years to learn.

And he was right.

Over time, I realized something important: never take advice blindly. Always ask people to share their experience, what they’ve actually lived. That’s where real wisdom comes from.

When I finally decided to leave the Jewelry Mart and told everyone that I had rented a store in Newport Beach, they all said I was making the biggest mistake of my life. It was the middle of a recession, and they told me I’d never survive, that I’d be out of business in months. But by then, I had learned to trust myself. I stopped listening to fear.

And I’m so glad I did, because even though the Jewelry Mart was a tough chapter, it also gave me some of the biggest blessings of my life.

That’s where I met Sako, my jeweler, who’s been with me for more than 20 years. He helped me set up my repair room in my Newport Beach store and has been one of my greatest blessings, loyal, talented, and kind. If it weren’t for those Jewelry Mart years, I would never have met him.

I worked at the Jewelry Mart from 2005 to 2009. For a long time, I thought of those years as wasted. But now, I see them as the foundation of everything that came after. Because if I hadn’t been there, if I hadn’t waited, I never would have found my Newport Beach store.

It was 2009, during the recession, when so many stores were closing. The space that became Brax Jewelers Newport was empty, waiting for me.

Now, I can see it clearly, the timing of it all. The universe had me exactly where I needed to be, learning the lessons I needed to learn, meeting the people who would become part of my story, and waiting for the right door to open.

The Jewelry Mart years weren’t wasted time, they were divine timing. They were the years that taught me everything.