Thanks to Sheer Grit, he built a million-dollar jewelry store

As a teenager working in a jewelry store, Isreal Morales was intrigued by Rolex watches. "I couldn't believe a watch was worth that much," he says. "The value of these little things intrigued me and drew me to the industry."

Today, he runs Sky Diamond Jewelers, a full-service jewelry store in New Windsor, N.Y. The five-employee business, which he founded with his wife Jennifer in 2016, has generated more than $1 million in dollars in revenue last year at his 1,000 square foot store, and he is now considering expanding to a second location or wholesale operations. Morales was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by the New York State Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers (EACs) earlier this year, after completing the 60-hour Entrepreneurship Training Program at the Business Development Center. EAC women's businesses in Poughkeepsie.

Starting the business was not easy. Morales' father died before he was born, and when his mother died of cancer when he was nine, his then 17-year-old brother Jose went to court and got permission from the raise him and his sister. "He worked in a car dealership and could show a decent income," Morales says. “He worked all the time and tried to deliver. I remember him coming home, cooking dinners and getting my sister ready for school the next morning. »

Morales worked in local jewelry stores to earn extra money. An employer, ULTRA Diamonds, sent him on courses to learn sales. “Some people don't attend classes. I took every possible course,” he recalls. During this time he attended college part-time at the College of Westchester to study business

His next job, at age 18, was at Hannoush Jewelers, a franchise, where he learned another side of the industry. “I was buying gold and diamonds,” he says. "It was fascinating to me. I'm still fascinated today."

This led to further work in retail and then at Monroe Jewelers, a family business in Monroe, N.Y. Morales ran a side business where he bought and sold gold which he bought from the public, via sites such as Craigslist, at a profit. "I got to a point where I was like, 'I have to take a chance and do it myself,'" he says.

Morales luck came when someone reached out to sell him $16,000 worth of jewelry. Morales only had $4,000 in his bank account that day. He told the seller, “Let me keep the products for a day. I have to authenticate everything. I'll bring you the $16,000 tomorrow. I knew there were parts that a customer would buy."

Morales made a few sales and paid him the $16,000. He estimates that he earned an additional $40,000 on the merchandise he sold. It gave him confidence that he could start his own full-time business.

"At this point, I knew that no matter what, I was opening a jewelry store," he says. “That was the most money I ever had in my life. Making $60,000 to $70,000, it would take me forever to accumulate $40,000.”

Working with the EAC, he drew up a business plan with his wife, outlining what the store would be like if there were no compromises in following the plan. Once the document was completed, he contacted the owner of a local place and shared the plan with him, hoping to rent a space. The owner knew his family and the story of his parents' death. He asked if Morales had funding. When the answer was "No", the owner said, "I might be able to help you."

Initially, Morales was asking for $250,000, the cost of opening the "no compromise" version of his store. His potential sponsor fired him four times to cut costs.

Thinking creatively, Morales found a used safe for the store. He got four quotes from each contractor he needed to hire to get the store in shape, and used his connections in the industry to buy products from vendors who allowed him to pay for them after he sold each piece. Jennifer, who studied graphic design in college, helped him with branding and marketing. These efforts reduced his projected start-up costs to $140,000, and the mall owner agreed to loan him the money. "Finally, he had no choice but to say 'Alrig...