We're Live!
Hey everyone, my name is Marina and I am so excited to announce the official launch of our brand new website! Everyone who knows me, knows that when I am determined to do something, I give it my ALL. And for anyone who knows my family through our business, knows how much my family and our business means to me.
It's been a long time coming- our e-commerce launch- that is... With countless obstacles, sleepless nights, and a normal amount of frustration, we have finally figured it all out and launched our brand new, e-commerce, website!
Before moving on about my journey, let me give you a little Birmingham Jewelry history: My father, Gregory Pilibosian, was the Master Designer at the House of Chanel in Lyon, France. After learning of his sisters terminal illness, Gregory made the decision to move to the USA, Michigan - specifically- to be closer to his sister and to share memories with her on her last given months of life. With years of jewelry design and skill under his belt, Gregory founded Birmingham Jewelry in Birmingham, Michigan in 1975. A legendary business was born. For over 43 years, Gregory has been hand-crafting wearable art and making magical memories for thousands of customers. After a few re-locations, Birmingham Jewelry made permanent grounds in Sterling Heights, Michigan with over 5000 square feet of showroom and a whole, full-service, in-house workshop! Today, Birmingham Jewelry in Sterling Heights is home to the Largest Selection of Engagement Rings in Michigan.
Phew! That was a mouth-full, and I could go on and on but I know you want to hear about my journey to my launch date! So back to the website: If I gave you $100 for how many times we had to postpone our anticipated launch date, you'd be able to buy yourself an engagement ring right now. There were so many unforeseen logistical issues, even with mine and my husbands backgrounds in Business, Computing and Administration, we had a lot of struggles along the way. This was a project that felt like pure disappointment at times, but honestly it eventually paid off in the end! Everything in this website is available for purchase online, throughout the United States!
So, when I began to embark on this journey, I thought I could go live in about a month or two but HAH, was I in for a surprise! Within the first month or two, I was hardly able to finish the cosmetics for the framework of our website. It was not until a few months in that my husband was able to get started and set up on inputting actual product and this was just another crazy journey in itself. With no prior e-commerce set up experience, we thought we had a good template ready for input, but boy were we wrong. After hundreds of items were finally uploaded, we ran into a brick wall when we realized we had it all wrong. Long story short, we deleted everything and had to start the input from square one. If I were on payroll for the amount of hours I've put in this website, I'd possibly be able to retire soon. So many weekends spent, putting off plans with friends for months and just trying to overcome every single struggle that came about through the process. A whole year and a half later, here we are! We have finally launched and we couldn't be happier.
Disclaimer: my family did not ask me to, nor did they know in the beginning, when I decided to create this new website. It was a project I took the initiative to try on my own, and I'm very happy that I did. Would I take on a project to this caliber again? Absolutely not! But would I do this all over again for my family business, 100%.
If you have any questions about my journey, or simple questions on how to start your own website, feel free to drop a comment below. I am by no means a web expert, but I can do my best to help based on my experience!
xoxo, Marina
