Do this to protect your jewelry business in 2026.
It’s crazy to think what we have to deal with as businesspeople in Israel, and as citizens. As an Ole, growing up in Sweden I read about war and saw it on TV, but never expected to get used to it.
Here in Israel, the word “war” isn’t a hypothetical—unlike Europe or the States, war is not something we Israelis fear, it’s something we know and expect.
During the Iran war (summer 2025), I remember having a conversation with my friend about the night a ballistic missile was shot out of the sky outside Jerusalem—there was no alarm, but I heard a huge explosion. Shortly thereafter, there was a rocket alarm. Me and my wife went down to the mamad, came back up again around 2 a.m. and fell asleep like babies. Tells you something about how adaptable human psychology is—the things we can get used to!
But how are we supposed to stay sane while running a business in this balagan? As business owners in Israel, we have a unique challenge to deal with. It’s tied both to our national security situation, and our unique history as Jews. And guess what?
Israelis are cheapThat’s right—and that’s not a complaint, it’s a statement of fact. We like to solve our problems in the cheapest, most efficient way possible, and we don’t want to לצאת פריירים. And no wonder! We live in a country where every day is a blessing, and tomorrow is not taken for granted. Even more so, we grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust and are still in the mindset of preserving resources—it’s survival mode! Today on the individual level, and generally, on the national, עם ישראל level!
It doesn’t matter whether you run a marketing agency like me, or you run a jewelry business. Maybe you make judaica or run an art gallery—we all need to be smart to survive the Israeli market and strategize to deliver higher value to higher-paying customers. And there are a few ways we can do that:
Make a better product: increase the (perceived) quality of our craftsmanship.
Raise fees: charge more.
Position ourselves to a different audience: stop trying to sell gorgeous, handmade pieces of art to people who don’t appreciate it!
(Sell to חו”לניקים instead.)
Market ourselves better:
Make high-quality content that showcases the quality of our work
Storytelling! Our content has to tell a story that makes our customers connect with us.
Sales-oriented: good content becomes great content only when it leads the customer into our sales funnel!
It’s not enough to post nice pictures of your jewelry on Instagram. Anyone can do that. So how do you set yourself apart?
Well, guess what? You have something nobody else has—your story. And it’s a unique story that only you can tell. Not only that, unique stories are exactly what discerning customers are shopping for. The more they have to spend, the more story matters. Think about it for a second.
when you can afford anything, matter doesn't matterWatch this video. 👉🏼
What’s happening here? What are they doing wrong? The company is selling shiny stuff with no story or purpose. Every piece is “מיוחד,“ which makes no piece מיוחד. Why?
Truth is, they’re doing nothing wrong. This content is totally appropriate for their market—they’re selling to poor people. Here’s the kicker:
➡️ Poor people buy shiny things to make themselves feel rich.
If you’re selling to Americans, Europeans, or Australians, you must never make the mistake of marketing your products as shiny pieces of metal—there’s not enough polish in the world to sell your product to the right people.
Here’s the next kicker:
➡️ Wealthy people buy stories that make the shine irrelevant.
Someone who can comfortably afford a Ferarri doesn’t buy a Ferarri because the cost of making it is higher—they buy into an identity, into status, into a story of craftsmanship and legacy. They’re shopping for some kind of meaning. The Ferarri doesn’t matter—the who, the why, and the how matter far more than the objects they’re attached to.
As business owners, we must understand that we sell emotional outcomes—not beautiful products. You’re not selling “stuff,” you’re solving emotional problems.
Pro sales tip:Next time a customer enters your shop, think of yourself as a doctor. Ask yourself this: What emotional problem am I solving for my customer?
And you don’t have to figure it out on your own—ask them! Here are a few questions you can ask to help you deliver the most value and get them in an investing mood:
If you run an art gallery:
What drew you into my gallery today? → Reinforces their purpose of entering your gallery them tell you why they like your gallery
What role do you feel this piece would play in your home? → They visualize the piece in their home and see it in context
Why do you feel this piece would fill that role, instead of other piece? → They do the selling for you
Your homework this week:Here’s your homework for this week