My Weekend Gem Hunt

On Thursday, a Sri Lankan gem dealer friend that I knew from last year was in town. Naturally, I went to meet him. This time, he came with another friend who I understand to be the cutter of some of the gems that my dealer friend gets from his mine (yes, he is a co-owner of a mine). 

He was only in Singapore for 3 days so I didn't have much time to get hold of many other interested buyers. Nevertheless, I did introduce people to him. 

Though there is the obvious path of being a middleman or broker for this friend, I figured that I prefer to simply help other people get reasonable prices for gems and help this friend make more sales by introducing potential buyers to him. The more sales he makes, the more likely he will be to come to Singapore, and the better my prices will be when I buy from him. 

I may miss out on the profits by being a broker, but, as a gem buyer, I don't quite trust brokers myself, and would much prefer not to play a role that I am myself suspicious of.

As a gem hunter, my job will be made much easier if they bring in regular supplies of stones while I build my own clientele. I will then be able to give my clients better value for their money.

All in all, I will have happy clients and friends who get good value, a happy seller who gets good business, and a happily colourful vault of gems for myself at good prices.

This round, I bought an exceptionally beautiful royal blue sapphire (I'll take proper pictures soon), a pair of pear-shaped blue sapphires for a client, a really small ruby, and 3 garnets.

While you wait for the picture of my lovely blue sapphire, here's a picture of a lot of small blue sapphires that I contemplated buying:

Projection of Projects

In the coming months, there is going to be a whole slew of projects with schools. There will be some inevitable clashes in timing which will have to be worked out but, as a whole, things should go quite well, if rather tiringly.

I suspect that I'm going to be a little low on time and energy for the next couple of months due to these projects. Nevertheless, I will endeavour to continue blogging and updating this site.

Rather interestingly, I spoke to someone working at one of the companies that I work with, and he told me that he was developing new courses to tie up with companies and schools or corporate entities. This might be a potential new direction that I want to look at.

I'll come up with a more fleshed-out proposal to show him next week and see how it goes.

Busy days ahead, but busy days bring in ideas, experiences and, of course, funds.

A Class in the Business Canvas Model

Last Saturday (I realise it's been quite a few days), I attended a workshop on the Business Canvas Model.

Never having heard of it before, I went with an open mind.

What I learned was very useful for what I am doing now. It was a rather straightforward template which you fill in with information about your targeted customers, their behaviourial patterns (to help you determine what you should provide for them), how you intend to get the product/service you are providing to them, what your company does etc.

The facilitator (whom I happen to know from a previous meeting) was careful to remind us that many of the things we put down on the canvas template are assumptions until they are tested.

Even so, he encouraged us to try them out and make changes along the way. He emphasised the need to experiment and adapt because the market changes all the time and things are always moving. 

What he told me reminded me about microtrends - seemingly inconsequential small trends that, if you integrate into a big picture, can influence the outcome of an idea or direction.

Having had the opportunity to make some plans, I realise how much more planning and thought is required to get a business to work. That said, it's great to have guidelines to follow so I don't have to come up with everything by my own limited experience.

It's going to be busy these few upcoming weeks, what with major projects coming in and all sorts of events to attend. Gotta get that brain and body rested!

Weekend of Photography

Sometimes, you just have to do what you've been putting off for the longest of times.

One of these things, for me, has been the taking of proper photos for my book's marketing images and book cover (on the back, of course).

So, I finally booked a studio and had my photos taken.

Unfortunately, the background isn't completely white because the pictures in the camera looked much whiter than it does once I transferred the pictures to my computer. 

Nevertheless, it was quite an experience to work in a professional photo studio for the first time.

I learned to adjust the lighting, positioning, camera settings to suit the lighting etc.

It's quite a different ball game from outdoor photography, which I've been doing all my life. Well, new experiences are always good.

Apart from taking photos in a studio, I finally got the equipment necessary to do proper product shoots at home. I got a proper light tent, lamps and proper bulbs.

Now, I am no longer at the mercy of the Sun and the weather. I can shoot whenever I want in the comfort of my home. Why do I need to take product shoots, you ask? That's what the Gem Hunter is going to reveal next.

So, here's a shot of some very colourful tourmaline tumbles: