The Time is Now

Don’t wait for the next recession to start preparing for it

By Andrea Hill

There’s so much talk of recession lately. Will there be one? If so, how bad will it be? The predictions change weekly, but there’s one thing you can count on: There will always be another recession. It’s just the nature of economic cycles. So it’s key—at any time—to recession-proof your business.

The Good News

The good news is that there are aspects of the jewelry business that fit into the recession-proof category. According to a Pew Research study, the “marriage rate appears amazingly insensitive to the business cy-cle.” Engagement ring and wedding band sales are likely to stay steady during a recession. The average amount of overall spending on weddings declined by about 10 percent during the last recession, but there’s no evidence that brides and grooms skipped buying the rings.

Other recession-proof aspects of the jewelry business stem from a “make do” philosophy that takes hold during time...