Retail Congress Host, Michael Donaldson, Explains the Importance of Mindset
05 May 2025
Ahead of this year's Retail Congress on June 3rd at Drayton Manor Resort, Congress host and JBN Facilitator, Michael Donaldson, reflects on his time with the JBN.
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"As I reflect on my time as JBN Facilitator and my involvement in 11 annual Congresses and over 100 regional group meetings, perhaps my biggest challenge and most satisfying reward has been around MINDSET.
Our greatest battles are with our own minds (Jameson Fran), and if you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right (Henry Ford) because to change a situation, we must first change our mindset.
The JBN now in its 21st year is a remarkable community of independent retail jewellers who share so much more than their knowledge, experience and expertise with one another, they share things that they have achieved in their businesses and encourage others to do things that they might be fearful of doing, by giving them the support and tools to do it themselves.
In 2014 the theme of my first Congress was Differentiating yourself in a commoditised world and in 2025 the theme of my last Congress is Lessons from the best in class, which features three JBN members who have made this journey, won the awards and are now sharing their success stories to help others in areas of Marketing, Inspiring People and Local Recognition – all of which came from changing their approach and the mindsets of their teams.
Still not enough to get you to Congress on Tuesday, June 3rd, then consider the incredible opportunity to hear from our 4 other speakers as well as meeting my JBN successor, Steve Ennis, before he officially starts on July 1st.
Uncertainty's Gift: Using Uncertainty as Your Competitive Advantage.
Sarah Gregg of The Intuitive Psychology Association will dissect the fascinating psychology of how our bodies and brains react to uncertainty, then equip you with practical, evidence-based strategies to unlock its hidden potential. So be prepared for actionable insights that will leave you rethinking your relationship with the unknown.
Creating today's top sales performers
Debbie Barrow of Virada Training will be answering all the questions you’ve been asking yourself when it comes to improving your sales team's performance. What makes the difference between top jewellery sales performers and the rest? Is it possible to train anyone to be a top sales performer? What can be done to develop a team's ability to sell to today's customers?
In this tough market, these are important questions. In this session, you'll get the answers. And more.
There’s no such thing as can’t!
Sonja Leason of Love Mondays will be talking about how to shift through adversity and overcome challenges in order to grow and scale. She will talk about turning Victim into Victor, regardless of the circumstances. She talks about fear, ‘doing it scared’ and that no matter what, everything can be figured out AND she will be talking from personal experience.
Differentiating your business with ESG engagement
Charles Betts of The Betts Group will explore changing consumer expectations around ESG engagement from jewellers and examples of how doing the ‘right’ thing from an ethical perspective is increasingly aligning with increasing profitability. He will explore practical, cost-effective measures that can be implemented to differentiate a business from an ESG perspective, as well as highlighting the increasing dangers of perceived ‘greenwashing.’
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Source: National Association of Jewellers