Editor’s Note: We received this extraordinary email today from Joann Osborne a state legislator from Arizona and owner of Osborne Jewelers in Goodyear, AZ. We at The Retail Jeweler thought it had particular application to our jewelry industry. We hope you enjoy reading her story as much as we did.

“To my Fellow Business Owners:
I am a Mom and Pop, brick and mortar retailer.

I will never forget the day, long ago, a few years after we went in to business. We didn’t have enough money to pay our store’s rent and an early morning call from our alarm company was quite the shock. My husband ran down to meet the police at our jewelry store, sure enough, our front doors had been opened, but not by thieves, but by our landlord locking us out because we hadn’t paid the rent. This was the longest day and a half we had to be closed. Pawning my jewelry and begging for money from our family was how we got back open.

Fast forward to today - this November, we will have been in business for 30 years and we have been closed for over a month.

Please understand, not only as a business owner, but also as an Arizona Legislator, I have been fighting for you. I know how badly you have wanted to keep your employee team together, how worried you’ve been that the profitable Spring, which gets us through the summer months, has been shortened, and I know how badly you need to get back open.

We are slowly opening, knowing that our customers really are all over the spectrum of how they feel about this virus - from no concern, to cautiously ready, and to flat out fearful.

You know your industry and I know we all learn from each other’s Best Practices. Put protocols in place, plan for a third quarter promotion, advertise, budget, pray, and find something to cheer about each day!

We are ready to work and Rock-n-Roll!

Your servant leader,
Joan Osborne”