Forge Gone Conclusions

In 2020, Adrienne decided to start a business with her husband, Aric Potter. They embarked on a path to create custom fine jewelry for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, and holidays.

Having worked many years as a project manager, Adrienne Peltz knew that in order to run a successful business, she would immediately need to create a team to help her get there. That is why one of her first calls was to the SBDC to see what resources might be available as she was establishing Forge Gone Conclusions, LLC, a custom fine jewelry business.

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Husband and Wife Team Aric and Adrienne

The name “Forge Gone Conclusions” is a play on the words “fore gone conclusion” as well as a nod to Aric’s hobby of blacksmithing.   Although they do not have a store front, they are based out of Skaneateles, NY and meet virtually or in-person with each client for a complementary custom jewelry design session. Once the design is established, they hand manufacture each piece in their studio using 100% certified recycled metals and jeweler quality graded gemstones.   One of the unique features that sets them apart from other jewelers is the videos they produce of how each piece is made. They not only share personalized copies of videos with each customer, but they also create public copies and feature them on their Youtube channel.
 
According to Adrienne, “Starting an independent business from scratch is no easy feat, but it is a worthwhile challenge for one who is ready. When working a traditional job (or even opening up a franchise), there are a lot of organizational resources in place – human resources, legal, finance, marketing, etc. But opening up your own business, none of those resources are handed to you – you have to go out and find them and build them up over time. The SBCD has a lot of resources to help make that bridge for you and help you to develop the skills needed or make the appropriate connections.”
 
Adrienne worked closely with her advisor Frank Cetera to grow their business. He was able to provide her a report of trends and financial benchmarks pertaining to the jewelry industry through the NYSBDC Research Network’s subscription to the Vertical IQ database, which helped her understand operating costs for others in the same industry.  Over a period of sometimes weekly meetings, Frank also reviewed client income statements and pro forma projections, and created a KPI (Key Performance Indicators) report and analysis through ProfitCents software.

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Advisor Tip:  Use the NYSBDC Research Network access to resources such as the subscription to the Vertical IQ database to find valuable data and statistics you can use to compare against your actual numbers or projections, and determine the feasibility and performance of your business.  Ask your Advisor how to do this.

Husband and Wife Team Aric and Adrienne

He also helped her work through an understanding and process of a marketing and sales funnel planning, and facilitated her obtaining individualized marketing consulting through the COVID Consultant Grant Program so she could improve their website and social media presence.   She credits the SBDC for being a driving force in helping her to establish Forge Gone Conclusions. Some of the webinars pertaining to marketing and social media helped her to understand the fundamentals as well as current best practices needed to run a business.
 
 “Frank and the rest of the SBDC has been an awesome resource for helping me grow my business! He was able to provide resources in a timely manner that I probably wouldn’t have had access to otherwise. In addition, he was always available whenever I needed to talk to him!”
 
Forge Gone Conclusions’ current business goals are to continue to keep growing, and one day, have a piece modeled on the “Red Carpet.”

For more information about, you can visit the Forge Gone Conclusions website: https://fgconclusions.com/
You can also visit their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ2WrThG0rECd-XldPPsBaw

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Frank Cetera is an Advanced Certified Business Advisor at the Small Business Development Center located at Onondaga Community College.  Contact him at ceteraf@sunyocc.edu