$16.7K/Month Love, Freedom, and Building a High-End Custom Jewelry As A Service Business – Nicolas Tranchant of VivaLatina Jewelry

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Hey, there’re entrepreneurs. My name is Sushant, and welcome to Trep Talks. This is the show where interview successful e-commerce entrepreneurs, business executives, and leader, and ask them questions about their business story and also dive deep into some of the strategies and tactics that they have used to start and grow their, but that’s it.

And today I’m really excited to welcome Nicolas to the. Nicolas is the founder of Viva Jewelry. Uh, this business creates and sells Highend CustomMade jewelry to clients worldwide. And today I’m going to ask Nicholas a few questions about his preneur journey and slow the strategy that he has used to start to grow his business.

So thank you so much for joining me today at Nicholas. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: I’m glad to speak to you. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So this is our second time. Uh, I, I forgot to hit the, the record button, but. Okay, we’ll, we’ll go through it again. So I know, I know that, uh, you know, uh, we were talking a little bit about your, your story and how you got started and a little bit of a background of, you know, how you met your girlfriend and what really motivated you to start your business.

Can you share a little bit about that story again and, uh, you know, share a little bit about, you know, this is kind of, to me it sounds like it’s really. Um, a business, a passion of for love rather than, you know, anything else. Yeah. So can you share a little bit about how you got started? 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Yeah. Yeah. It’s not a, it’s not a common story.

Um, well, I was living in France, uh, back here in, uh, 2012. I was already living with my, uh, Mexican wife, uh, for four years in France. She, she joined me, uh, from Mexico to France, and I was working in the aerospace industry as a, because I’m a mechanical engineer, and my wife, she’s a doctor in Mexico. So when she arrived in France, she had a lot of restriction to be working as a doctor.

In fact, it was impossible for. And, uh, after trying a lot, uh, to, uh, well to start her life together in France, uh, it was very difficult, uh, for her to adapt, uh, with the job. So she decided to go back to Mexico and, uh, I was young and in love, so I decided to cook everything and to go with her. I was really, really, uh, always interested by even I’d been traveling before and, uh, I.

I was quite, I in my, uh, job in, uh, the aerospace industry. But, uh, this is, you know, you, you don’t project 40 years in the same company, and this is not life. So I said, if I need to make a big mistake, this is now, uh, not after. So I quit everything. Uh, I went with her and, uh, we settled in, uh, in Puerto, on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

It’s a, it’s a really nice place. We live where a lot of people are dreaming to live. So that’s nice for us. And, um, uh, I decided to start a business during the business. Uh, and um, this is the main reason I, I really, uh, made the step to quit my job and to start a business to follow my wife, uh, to Mexico. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: I mean, it, it really, I mean, I’m still smiling cause it really is love.

And it’s, yeah. Yeah, it’s, it’s hard, it’s hard to find these kind of stories these days. Cause you know, it’s like people meet so many people these days and, you know, it’s making this kinda commitment. It’s like, uh, its rare, I would say, but Yeah. Yeah. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Also, it’s, uh, yeah. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: That’s great. Um, So coming back to your business, so you are, you are selling, uh, jewelry, uh, and this jewelry is a little bit more on the high end.

Yeah. Uh, can you share a little bit about your, you know, the products you are selling and, um, um, and, and how did you come to, to these products specifically? Yeah, yeah, of course. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Uh, so. Yeah, in the year 2007, 2008, I was traveling in, uh, south America. Uh, I’ve been living a year in Mexico before, and, uh, uh, uh, I noticed that, uh, a lot of people, uh, in South America, uh, the, the people making good livings, there was a businessman.

We’re not the guy with, uh, with a lot of studies. Um, and I noticed also that, uh, every woman always, uh, have, uh, the last, uh, cell phone. And, uh, she had the jewelry which she wanted. So she had a, I noticed like, uh, a market, uh, I was not very interested in business, but I noticed a market. And all the things were moving on in, uh, in Fifth America and in France.

I’m from, uh, an employees background, so I never got, uh, like, uh, educated about business. So it was quite my education to see how the business was moving, uh, in, in Fifth America. So this was a seed idea. Or maybe one day I will be setting up the business. And when I was in France with my, uh, Mexican wife, uh, and she was not able to work as a doctor, we tried together to set up a jewelry business in France.

The idea was to, to import, uh, silver jewelry from Mexico and to resell it online in France. And, uh, the fact is I had some friends in Tasco in Mexico where it’s a, it’s a big, uh, silver market. They, they, in the past they had mines, silver mines, and now they don’t have any more mines of silver. But they do have a lot of, uh, of, uh, jewelers producing in, uh, big batches.

To resell, uh, worldwide. So I started to work with a friend like this to import goods from Mexico and, uh, and to set up an online business in France. And, uh, while I was working, I, I was doing that while I was working full-time, uh, in the royal I space industry. So I did not have much time and I never had the commitment, uh, I mean, uh, to succeed or to die.

Yeah. So I never, uh, the, the business never took. And, uh, we, we started like that. And, uh, so when we decided to come back to Mexico together, the easiest way for me to start a business was to, to pursue this, uh, jewelry business idea and to focus 100% of my time to, to make it and to, so the business could take off.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Um, one question that I have is, you know, when you think about jewelry itself, and I think you were previously, you were saying, In the jewelry business, it’s a, there’s a lot of competition. Right? Um, how does, is there, is there a concern for customers who are buying, let’s say jewelry online? Because your, your business is completely online, right?

Um, and, and you are selling like, you know, more of a high end, you know, 18 karat, gold and silver kind of, uh, items. Is there a concern in customers? So if I buy something from like an online, Store, which is located somewhere in Mexico, they don’t even know where it’s located. Uh, you know, they have paid for the item up upfront.

You know, it’s a sign, significant amount of money, you know, are they going to actually get the real stuff or, you know, it could be fake or, you know, it could not be the good quality. How do you, how do you overcome that objection? Like, how do you persuade people or, you know, market your business in a way so that a customer.

Looking at the item online knows that they’re going to get the genuine stuff rather than like something. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s a, it’s a concern I had, uh, during a long time, um, where it’s, it’s, it’s totally different. Uh, I’ve got 10 years in business right now, so it’s very different now. And, uh, when I was starting, um, when I was starting, it was quite difficult.

Uh, Right now people are used to buy online, and if you have a good reputation, it’s quite easy to sell. Uh, back then what I, what I was doing, I was trying to compete on price. Uh, so to make it interested, I, uh, I always thought. Not to make money, but to make clients. Uh, because I, I was, uh, I had nothing. I had no background.

I will no money. I needed to start somewhere. So my starting point was I need to get clients. Uh, so these clients gonna speak to their friends, so they’re gonna come back with me. So I was always more interested to, to make a deal than making. Uh, it, it’s not the best way to start a business, huh? Because I have been struggling a lot at the beginning, but I mean, this was the hook.

And after that, I was just 100% focused on, uh, on giving satisfaction to my clients. That means, uh, I could never conceive to, to have, uh, uh, a failure on delivery, uh, to have a client upset because I knew I was making my own reputation that, uh, I’m building, uh, since, uh, 10 years ago for 10. Um, so this is the way I started to, to make things happen.

Um, I have to notice that at the start, uh, I was making custom jewelry. I, I still make custom jewelry, but, uh, custom jewelry was very, very, a big, a big, um, a big chunk of my business. Back then, it was like 80%, uh, because I was not able to sell to resell silver jewelry very easily. So it was custom jewelry and custom jewelry.

What I did, I was asking for 50%, uh, uh, payment upfront and the rest after. So if you try to resell, uh, like, uh, $400, uh, jewelry, uh, the client just have to pay 200. So it’s easier to make, uh, to make, uh, like an agreement like that. And after I was sending the picture of the finish jewelry to the clients to show him we made the project, it’s finished.

Uh, it’s exactly as he wanted. And you can pay me the rest to get, uh, the jewelry. So it was a easier way to make like, um, like a, a sort of contract, uh, to be able to, to get the money to start the project and to achieve the, the jewelry to the clients. Now, nowadays, it’s very different because I’ve got a lot of, uh, uh, first of all, I’ve got a lot of traffic on my website, the French website.

I’ve got like, Between 40 and 45,000 people a month. Uh, wow. I’ve got lots of, uh, educational content. Uh, so I’ve already have people, they know me for years because they’ve seen jewelry, they’ve seen articles about me. Um, and I’ve got a very, very good reputation online on, uh, with my clients and with trust build.

So every time a client is quite, um, uh, reluctant, I can show him the, the. What the other clients say about my services. And uh, and um, also after that I’ve got a blog. Uh, I mean the blog is, uh, a very, uh, big part of my, uh, lead generation. Um, I just detail the making of the jewelry we make. Because you’ve got a lot of people that do sell jewelry, but they don’t make it.

And, uh, since the beginning I started my own workshop, I wanted to focus on the jewelry, uh, workshop so the clients in France could dive in the workshop here in Mexico. So they see the tools, they see my guys, my employees, uh, they see the steps of making the jewelry. Um, so it’s not, it’s not like, um, Uh, it is not a cheap website with just generic pictures.

I, I’ve got my own pictures. Uh, I write my own articles about every subjects online. Uh, so I, I, I really deep dive in the information I provide to the, to the web users and to the clients. To make it easier for them to get educated and to ask questions. So it’s a very, very heavy work, uh, for 10 years. But, uh, I can sell a jewelry worth from $500 to $5,000 because of that.

So, and, and that’s why it worked, uh, in France and now I’m doing in the US and uh, this year I’m gonna start to do it in Mexico. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Wow, awesome. Um, and, and the reason you started with customer custom jewelry at the beginning was because if you were to start like a regular jewelry business, it would require a very heavy capital investment.

Was that like one of the main reasons that you started with custom jewelry? So, you know, someone would order a jewelry, they would pay half the amount upfront that will help you to create the item and. You can basically get, 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: no, not at all. Not at all. Uh, no. Uh, I did not even thought about, uh, um, a, uh, really starting my business, uh, failing a lot of ways.

I didn’t know my market and I didn’t know how to proceed to my market study. Uh, actually just jumped in the water and tried what I call. And, um, after getting some traffic on my website, uh, I, I, I started my, my first goal was to generate traffic on my website. Uh, I had one or two clients that asked me to make custom jewelry for them, but it was not because I was offering the service, it was because they asked me.

And, uh, this is where the idea, uh, came in, into my mind. So I, I tried to do it. So back then I, I’m speaking like, um, eight, nine years ago. Uh, I didn’t have, uh, I didn’t have my, uh, own jewelry workshop. So I, I started to work with, uh, other jewelers, uh, downtown and to try to, to make them, uh, to give them the work so I could set the jewelry custom made for them.

And this is how I started. I started with few clients. Eh, I started to see that it was, uh, it was, uh, profitable. It was, uh, it was a good business. And I started to make the promotion of this kind of services and I started to have some more clients. So, Having some success in this direction. Uh, I, I improve my marketing and I work more, uh, on producing content in this direction.

And see, this is the reason why I started to have some more clients and business in, uh, Christian jewelry. And, uh, so it was not planned for me. It was, uh, the, my clients that, uh, shown me the way, uh, what they needed. And I say, okay, I’m gonna do it because I have clients. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Do you, do you use any of your engineering skills in your business at all?

Uh, sorry, I did not understand you. Do you use any of your engineering skills in your business at all? Because you’re, you know, you are engineered by profession, that was your education? 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Uh, for, for the making or for the marketing 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: for anything? Yeah. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Uh, Well, uh, the, the Soli printer, uh, I built it, uh, I mean the, the guy, uh, I bought the fully printer from is a, he’s a technical guy, so he sell kit, but he doesn’t sell the machine.

So he sell me the, the parts, and I had made all the structure in a wood and, uh, to, to build the soli printer, to, to make the settings and to make it. Um, all the, all the, it’s not engineering, but all the, all the furniture of my workshop I made, I made them on my own because I, no, uh, no money. So it was a good way to save money, uh, bought the tools and I made all the like, uh, 12, 12, uh, furnitures to be able to work.

And, um, every time I need something, uh, I do consider maybe to, uh, improving some stuff or making it in spite of. Buying it. Why now? I don’t have any more time. So I try to buy stuff because it’s easier to, it’s easier to, I don’t have time, so I just want to focus on marketing and if I need to buy something, it’s easier for me to buy it.

But generally speaking, the world structure of the business is to be able to do, uh, uh, the most, uh, qualitative work, uh, as Europe. But with the lowest cost possible. So I don’t buy fancy stuff. I don’t buy your generic, uh, jewelry, uh, brands, uh, for the making, the process making. And, uh, I, I, I, I run my computers with a very, uh, normal computers.

I don’t have the iTech computers and, and, uh, I use freelancers from Eastern Europe, from uh, Asia. Uh, but I, the fact is I know what I want. Mm-hmm. And I know how to do the job so I can give the job to someone and I will be able to see the quality of the job. I don’t require to work to work with someone in the US or France just to hope to have a good quality job.

I know how to find the people working with a, a very good quality so I can find someone, uh, with a very competitive price and a very qualitative work. So that’s why. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So, yeah, I mean, that, that definitely seems like you’re very disciplined in your business in terms of managing cost and you know, how, where, where you spend money.

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Yeah. In fact, it’s, uh, it was, it was more necessities than a plan, again, because I started with absolutely nominee, so I had no choice. So I started like this. And, uh, with the years, uh, I just discovered that I was very, very, very competitive because, uh, thinking like, No way to spend money in, uh, in a, in a very expensive 3D printer.

For example, the, the first 3D printer I bought, uh, was uh, 4,000 Euros. And it was a very big step for me, a very huge step for me. But after I’m an engineer seeing the, the floors of the 3D printer, after one year I decided to resell it and I bought another one for 2,500 Euros. And after one year and a half with this one, I, I saw the floors, I found the, the third, uh, 3D printer that a guy was making in his garage.

I. Is mine as idea to buy a, a fully printer to a guy in France, in his garage. But I already knew the technology. I had the, the background as a mechanical engineer and I was seeing, like with the video and the, the technical stuff he was sending to me, that it was very, a very good opportunity. And this pre printer cost me like, uh, 650.

With, uh, with shipping and the same machine, uh, from France, uh, for the jewelry quality I require is 65,000 euros. And it can, it can fail. I need it. The, the, the, the seller I was talking to for the machine told me you the best option will be to buy two And I no money to buy two machines that can fail. So I bought, uh, 650 bucks.

Machines that don’t fail, never, never fail. And uh, and that’s why I’m very competi. One of the reasons, one of the reasons. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So you mentioned that your biggest market right now is France. Yeah. And, uh, and you also said that, you know, your, your, the best marketing that you do is through your blogging. Can you share a little bit about, you know, the customers, the kind of customers that buy for from your, um, from your e-commerce store?

Yeah. Cause I’m assuming like France, you know, France, given that it is very, Fashionable market. There’s no shortage of businesses selling jewelry, uh, there. How do you, I mean, is there like a specific kind of, uh, customer persona that, that, you know, purchases from you? What is the, like, do they, before they buy from you, like, do they contact you?

Do they ask questions? How does, how does the sale occur? Because, I mean, the jewelry is a, is a kind of a thing. A person usually likes to see it in their hand. They want to try it to see how it looks and things like that, which is obviously not possible in an e-commerce situation. So can you share a little bit about your sales cycle?

How do you find the customer? Who is the customer, and how do they actually purchase it? 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Okay, so, uh, so I’m not a marketing expert. I just learned marketing, uh, on while I was doing it. Uh, I don’t have, uh, in, in client’s persona because, uh, I’ve never been able to manage, uh, uh, typical, uh, profile of, of my clients.

I’ve been working with, uh, marketers that do speak about, uh, building a persona. Uh, the way I think it’s very, uh, straightforward and simple is, for me, the persona is someone that is looking for jewelry online with the intention to buy. So thanks to that, my goal is to find the keywords they’re gonna use.

Uh, to answer the question and the need. So I’m not trying to sell to people that, that want information online. I want to buy, um, to buy, uh, in a shop. I’m really focused on people that are looking to buy online. So I’m just, uh, starting with the keyword research. Um, I’m very, very picky right now for keyword research.

I, I’ve got 10 years of failing, so I know what works now. Hmm. And I focus on, uh, building a funeral on my website, thanks to the blog. Uh, it focused on two things on the blog. It’s first is to, to find new leads that wants information online about jewelry. It can be about gemstones, it can be about, it can be about, uh, the quality of gold can be out to, uh, to, uh, to clean your jewelry.

How, how to make a c certain type of jewelry or so, and after that, this gives information to my clients and they show the, they discover the, the, I don’t know how to say it. Uh, I’m a professional. They discover our professional, we are in giving information and uh, showing how we make a job. Expertise after that.

We focus, um, you mix that with a very, uh, good, uh, uh, picture about the workshop and, uh, with a very good content in the article. I mean, if I analyze my, uh, competition as you sell, I’ve got two kind of, uh, competitors. I’ve got big brands. Uh, they are big brands, jewelry brands. They are more like, uh, marketing agencies selling, uh, jewelry.

They don’t make the jewelry, uh, or you have small, uh, jewelers. They usually don’t do nothing. They don’t do nothing. They don’t do nothing about online marketing. So I’m, I’m right in the middle. I’m, I’m a small guy with a, a lot of knowledge in, uh, SEO marketing and with a tool shop, with a workshop, uh, for me.

And I’m showing everything to the client. So when people doesn’t know me, when someone do don’t know me, he can know a lot. Uh, just, uh, surfing on the blog, uh, checking the pictures of the, of the jewelry. And usually what they say is that we, we don’t offer the same kind of jewelry and others. And after that we make custom jewelry.

So we make, uh, jewelry that others don’t do. And if you find a jewelry, as I do make custom jewelry, it just shows the finished jewelry. What I do, I saw, I show the project, uh, before the drawing of the client. I think one of my best article is showing the, the drawing of the client. That is not, uh, very beautiful, but I show what we can do in, uh, can modeling with this, uh, drawing and what we can do in fully printing after casting and finishing the drawing.

So the, what is very interesting for the clients is discovering all the steps from day one to the finish line, and they can project themselves with their own project. So it’s a easy, very easy way for them to, to, to imagine what they would. And, uh, I’m just the guy that helped them to, to materialize their ideas.

And, uh, you know, you have big brands. Uh, you don’t speak to someone in particular, you just speak to an employee. Mm-hmm. Uh, with me, I speak with a business owner and I’m very concerned to have success, uh, in my business, to give satisfaction to my clients because this is my business. So they’re very happy to, to speak to a real human.

I has no idea. There’s no chat on my business. If you speak to someone is with me. And, uh, if there’s a problem, I’m gonna solve it because I’ve got a workshop, uh, at by disposal. So if I will have a problem with the jewelry of, with the clients, I can solve it because, uh, right now, in the next 10 minutes, I can say the priorities.

These clients, we gonna solve it. So this is what other companies 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: don’t do. So I think, I think that’s a really great value proposition, I guess for a certain kind of person who’s looking for a very specific kind of a design that they can’t find in a regular retail store. So, you know, they’re doing research on the internet and they find, you know, your store because you know, you SEO optimize those key keywords and then on your store, on your blog, you show them the whole process.

So you’re kind of creating your expertise and then from there, you know, they can talk to, talk to you. You know, discuss the project and you can basically create their project. Um, and, and, and you have a lower cost of the craftmanship. So, you know, maybe they get a little bit of a, a discount on, you know, on, on, on that also.

So, so, okay. That, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah. And one, 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: one important point also is, uh, for example, to for, for the prediction cost. Um, sometimes I’ve got clients they want, uh, jewelry they’ve seen, uh, uh, in other places. So the cheaper the jewelry, uh, the less competitive we are. Because if you’re talking about a cheap gold jewelry or silver jewelry, uh, that is being made in the US or, or in India for example, they make a lot of jewelry there.

We cannot compete with the, the, the volume of batch of pieces due. Uh, they make in one batch. So for 100, $200 jewelry, we are not competitive. I tried with some clients, we, we not, uh, we’re not competitive. But every time you speak about, uh, a big piece of jewelry with a lot of workmanship, this is where we are the best.

So the funny thing is the, the, the more expensive the jewelry. The cheaper we are for the clients, it means the difference in price with the US or West France is, is phenomenal. Um, and this helped me a lot to build my, uh, my reputation, uh, because those people, they know other people from the same socioeconomical, uh, level.

So for recommendation, I’ve got my client access. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Um, I mean, I’m, I’m from India and uh, I know that it’s, it’s a big jewelry. And it’s like in, you go to the market and you sign find these because it’s such an old and you know, old culture. Yes. And there’s like, uh, these jewelry almost families, right? They’re coming from generations after generations passing knowledge.

It’s like you can create, it’s, it’s almost like most people who are looking for gold jewelry or you know, any kinda jewelry, gold is very. They basically go to these shops and they, you know, they can show them samples and they can, they do the same thing. They, they custom order it and they can create the, the finest, you know, necklaces and everything.

So it’s, it’s kind of like, uh, part of the Indian culture, but I think you’re bringing that kind of, you know, custom jewelry making. Um, In other parts and in France also. So, which is, which is very interesting. Um, 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: well, the fact, the fact is, um, um, I do sell jewelry, but I see more like offering a service because, you know, uh, obviously someone from other country could offer the same service, but it needs to speak French for the French clients.

So in this, in this particular, uh, transac. The people are looking for jewelry, but they need someone they can trust to speak about what they need, what they don’t need, uh, and someone to answer the question. So, for example, I’ve got some clients, uh, I can, for custom jewelry, um, projects, I can have like up to five emails.

It’s, it’s is, is very, uh, quick, it’s nothing. And some of them it’s like 50. Just to, to set up the business, to set up the, the details, what they want, their preoccupation. So after 50 emails to, uh, with someone that wants something and you offer him an opportunity to solve his problem and to have the jewelry he wants.

It’s very funny how, uh, close relationship you can feel because I do know what he. He used to talk to me. And, uh, we, we have, we have good like, uh, confidence between us. So it’s a very funny, uh, relationship because even if I don’t see my clients, I’ve got very good, uh, relationship with them because of the, the number of females we can exchange for the project.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: And that’s very interesting because if, if their friends in the future want something similar, They will, they will praise, you know, pray They will recommend and praise your services because they’ll say, you know, I had such a great experience. Cause, you know, uh, and they’ll tell all the great things about you.

You know, you’re so responsive when you take care of, you know, uh, every need that they have. And so hopefully it, it helps drive from word of mouth, uh, business also. It helps a 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: lot. It helps a lot. In fact, when you, when you see the comments on My Trust Peanut account about the business, it’s very funny. Um, Add some clients writing, like, uh, one page comments.

Uh, it’s not every company has had so much comments like this so long from the clients. And, uh, the funny thing is how much they’re talking about, uh, trust and confidence and, uh, human relationship. I mean, at the end it’s just, it’s a business with jewelry, but, uh, it’s just a commodity because really the people are looking for a solution, what they need, uh, a custom major way on the.

And this is, I can see clearly it, it, it was not planned also, uh, it was not my plan, but I can see that for what’s important for the clients is to find someone able to do the stuff and to give the service they need. So I, I feel very important for me to be able to still talking to the clients, answering to the emails.

And, um, and giving them the answers. They’re, uh, looking for very, very quickly. In fact, because, uh, uh, I do answer with the clients in, uh, like less than 24 hours. So every time I speak to a big company and they, they come to me after 2048 or 72 hours, I’m like, how can I make business? Because it’s not the way to deal with the clients.

I do deal with my clients in, uh, from five minutes to 12 hours and if there’s a, a trouble, it’ll be 24. So the clients are looking for someone that is, uh, is in a good position to help them and wants to want to 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: help them. So you, in your business, you are, you are the only person, um, doing all these things.

Like you’re, you’re answering every single email and everything. So you don’t have, uh, do you have any team members who are working with you or you’re kinda like the one one man operation? That’s true. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: So I’m making everything, uh, right now, so I’m, uh, very busy and I’m very tired of that. So right now I’m hiring someone.

And, uh, I’m gonna have an assistant to manage, uh, more stuff. In fact, gonna manage, um, uh, like technical stuff and logistic stuff to give me some more time to deal with the clients. And while we are going to grow in Mexico, this, this, uh, person is gonna handle every single, relative to the clients. Uh, uh, my biggest concern right now to get help, uh, with me is, uh, I need someone able to manage, uh, 200 a lot of things.

Uh, so underling a lot of things with the languages is too difficult, uh, for me to find. Uh, so I’m gonna find someone able to help me on the Mexican market and after that I will be looking for someone to be able to help me on the, uh, relationships in, uh, in every language. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So you’re not running any, um, ads or any, you know, like Google ad or Facebook ad.

You’re not, uh, your, your primary thing right now is really seo. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: No, uh, I’ve been, I’ve been trying, uh, I’ve done some stuff. Uh, I’ve been paying, uh, publications for SEO purpose, uh, in French, uh, several times with no results. I’ve just, uh, I was working with a marketing agency like a few months ago, uh, or about Instagram marketing with no results, uh, also with Facebook marketing with no results.

And, um, maybe I could find someone able to do it. But, uh, I, I’m used to see results in my, uh, s e o in up to six to eight months. Uh, so if I’m paying someone for six months in, uh, for Instagram marketing or Facebook marketing with no. Uh, it’s, it’s not a good deal for me and, um, I don’t have time to learn and to under this kind of, uh, project right now because what I do in a SEO is very effective.

I, i know it very well, so I’m just, mm. I think the, the most, uh, uh, intelligent manager to under my time right now is just to focus on what I know because I, I can have an idea of the results of my. And after that, uh, in few months or years, I will be able to manage some, uh, some, uh, resource to maybe another kind of marketing.

But right now, I mean, SEOs, there’s such a huge market open to me. Uh, uh, I just want to focus on that, um, 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: in terms of your fulfillment and shipping, because you are shipping, uh, out, uh, an expensive it. Yeah. Can you share a little bit of like, do you ensure every time, every package that you ship, like just in case everything gets lost or stolen or something like that, can you share a little bit on how do you ship your items?

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Yeah. Well, uh, I’ve got, uh, a cheap way, uh, I use, uh, clients can choose between, uh, uh, like, uh, com, uh, common, uh, common shipping, uh, like, uh, Mexican post office and a UPS service. So I’ve got choice depending on the, on the cost, uh, the client can choose and up to a certain price. I just tell them to use UPS and, uh, I’ve got my own insurance.

To be able to, to deliver the goods. Uh, on time. On time, on time. It always, uh, fast with up, but I mean to, to deliver the good in case of problems, I got my own insurance, okay? For all that is, uh, the Mexican post office, there’s no insurance. So my clients, they do know if they choose it, there’s no insurance.

If they want the insurance, they have to show u. Okay. And this is always tracked. So I mean, while I’m tracking the products, I’m always able to look at them. And honestly, in 10 years, um, uh, I think I’ve lost one package. I’m not, I think I’ve lost one with cheap, uh, cheap way of cheaping. Uh, and this is only one, only one time something happened.

So, I mean, in 10 years it’s, it’s. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Oh yeah. I mean, one package in 10 years. Yeah. Nothing. That’s, that’s really great. Um, so when you look at your business in the future, like five years down the road now I, I, I know you’re, you know, you said that now you’re focusing on the US market and the Mexican market.

Like where do you see yourself, your business in like five years or so, like 10 years? Do you, do, do you want to continue it being like, uh, just focusing on custom jewelry or do you want to create more of like jewelry lines? That people can just go on your website shop? Good question. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Well, um, I, I’ve already seen like, uh, two years ago, uh, that the, the custom jewelry is too much work for me, uh, because I’ve got many things to manage.

So I already started to make more common, uh, jewelry, uh, common. Already made jewelry design that I, uh, I hope to be different from the others, but I do, uh, grow this line of products, uh, because it’s easier for me to, to sell a design that’s already known for me and, uh, to make them, uh, one or two pieces with, with other jewelry.

I know the design because acoustic design is always a lot of rock before the sale. During the sale and, and after sale usually, no. But it’s a lot of rock and this work is on me. So if I’m growing with custom jewelry, I’m just, uh, I have no way to get out, uh, to have a life in this business. So I’m already doing that right now.

I want, uh, in five years I want to have a staff, because right now everything is onder, so, I’m already hiring an assistant right now. I hope to have like two or three assistants with me, uh, in few years, uh, to be able to manage the marketing and to clients without, uh, me, because right now I’m the, how do you call it?

I’m the, I’m the, I’m the weak. Uh, I’m the week, uh, weak link. Yeah. And the weak link of the business. I mean, so I, I’m trying to do. Um, and this is my main focus and I, I’m already looking for, uh, a, a young guy to, to teach jewelry because I already tried to get some other guys to work in the team to make the jewelry.

But I have problem here in Mexico when the guys, they have already 35, 40 years. They’re difficult to, um, to teach the way I want them to work. So we gonna have someone this year to come work with us, a young guy so my guys can teach him how to work like we are used to work. And, uh, so we should come from three to five people with me, uh, by the end of 2023.

And I hope after that to be able to grow the, the administrative staff and marketing staff that to, to help me on. On, on the unlinking, the clients and the marketing, uh, task. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So looking back, you know, at a certain point in your life you made the decision to, to go in this direction, and you said, I think previously you said, you know, it was, uh, you know, uh, if it was a mistake, you know, better, better to make it than, than, you know, later on.

Um, Looking back, like, do you think that you’ve made the, the right decision? Like, I mean, your life could have been very different if you were in France and you were just doing your, you know, engineering thing in aerospace industry or something. Are you satisfied with your life now? Yeah. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Yeah. Um, well, you know, it has been difficult, uh, when I started, uh, uh, uh, uh, Had no way to go back in France.

When I arrived in Mexico after one or two years, there had no money at all. I had no business, I had no, I had no business experience to sell me, uh, for another project after that because I was failing when I started. So it was quite depressive. I mean, uh, I arrived in Mexico in, uh, July, 2012, and my wife got pregnant in November.

And I, no, no business and, uh, no friends, no family, no relatives. It was, uh, it was difficult. And, uh, it has been a big, big challenge. And, uh, maybe because I no way to, uh, no way to go back to France or to do anything else. I was just focusing on, uh, on, uh, uh, going for a while. I think maybe this helped me a lot, uh, because, you know, everybody makes, uh, mistake.

But you need time to learn from your mistakes and to solve the problem. So in in my situation, uh, this, the only thing I’ve done is to fail, to learn and to, to make it better. And, uh, right now, no, no, I’m very happy to be here because, uh, the place where we are living is very, very nice. Uh, and, um, I’m, I’m making more money a year, uh, than when I was working in.

And the cost of life is, uh, half what it was in France. And I’m, I’m just thinking of growing more. I, I think I can grow my business 10 times. It just, I don’t do it because, uh, I don’t have the employees and, uh, I don’t have the right mindset. So I try to change my mindset to get more employees to help me grow.

And, uh, I’m, I’m just happy because it’s funny to, to learn how to grow business. I. I try to follow people online, uh, coach, uh, marketing experts to always try to grow them. Most of them are in the US Huh? And North America. And, um, it’s, it’s a cha. It’s challenging, but it’s very funny. So I’m, I’m really happy to, to imagine this choice and, uh, to feel, I don’t, depends on, uh, economic situation or the government.

I mean, I just feeling in power of, uh, my own destiny. And, uh, it’s not about money, just about feelings that, uh, I deal with my life. I think you, you understand what I mean? It’s, uh, you, you are in charge of your life and, uh, you know that if there’s a problem or trouble, uh, I will love to find a solution.

And, uh, that’s it. Definitely. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: I mean, no, I, I think, uh, Every entrepreneur. Um, to me it sounds like you were an entrepreneur by heart, even, even before starting your business. No, before now, no. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: I learned to, I learned to, but, uh, I was not thinking like this because I know, I know. Example, I know, uh, no way to, uh, uh, I, I know where to see the things like this because I knew no entrepreneurs in.

And, uh, so I, I had nowhere to sing like this. And, uh, that’s when I tried to do it in Mexico. I started to met, uh, to meet those entrepreneurs in Mexico and to deal with my, uh, with my problems. And, uh, I, I mean, when, uh, when you’re an entrepreneur, you read a book from O Entrepreneurs and we say, okay, I understand this guy because, uh, I, I’ve been living the same situation, or I was thinking something similar from Zhan, him and.

It’s very funny. I mean, uh, every, every entrepreneur in each country, they, they do have the same, uh, uh, mindset, uh, to make it succeed. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah, I think, uh, uh, you know, the difference between a person, so some people are, I think, naturally more entrepreneurial than others, right? So some people are more entrepreneurial.

They are always looking for new ideas or to sell something. And I think for every entrepreneur there’s. They want like the biggest value, I think for entrepreneurial freedom, right? Yes. Which I think you’ve discovered. And for anyone who’s not a naturally an entrepreneurial person, because they, they, they don’t think in an entrepreneurial way.

You know, they kind of, you know, they get into the job like a nine to five job kind of route, and then they’re kind, they’re so always dependent on that job and, you know, the weekly salary, biweekly salary or whatever they’re getting. In a way they, they, they kind of forego their freedom. To me, it almost seems like you are coming from, you know, a non-entrepreneurial, um, background.

But because you had to go through this process of learning and, you know, creating your own business, now you realize how, you know, the, the, the, the value of having control of your own over your own life and freedom. Even though you have to work, you know, probably 10 times harder than like, you know, if you were working just in like a regular job or something, right?

So, yeah. Uh, yeah, 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: I mean, freedom is relative because I, I’ve been working a lot in my, on my business much more than being an employees. As for, for, for a lot of entrepreneurs. I started, uh, the online business idea because of the book of Team Ferry Four hours work week, and I’ve never been working for the week.

But I mean, it’s the same for everybody I think. The difference, the main difference. I do really enjoy working on my business. This is a difference. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s became an obsession. It’s, it became an passion. Uh, right now I’m due looking for someone to help me to have some more free time. For me, but I hope to be able to sing better, uh, and in, in spite of making, uh, lower use stuff.

And, um, and, uh, what the firm and the liberty is, is, uh, I can, uh, handle the money of the business the way I want. I can start, uh, new business idea. So right now what I’m doing is I, I importing some, uh, good, uh, jewelry tools from the China. For my business and to resell them. So I’m just starting this year to do that.

I’m, I’m, I’m, I’m expecting the shipment this week or next week. And this is another business idea that’s very easy for me right now to wonder because I can buy, I can import and I can resell. And, uh, in the future, I hope I will be able to start a, a gemstone business online in Mexico because there’s no business, such a, such a business in Mexico.

And this is my line or so because I need your rem. So the freedom is there to be able to, uh, to, to, to set up new ideas, uh, to partnership with other entrepreneurs and, uh, to make, uh, my own ideas grow and, uh, and giving birth to, uh, uh, like, uh, more cash flow, more employees and at the well, it’s fun to do it.

It’s fun to do it. Uh, so why not do doing it? 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Definitely For sure. So now we’re going to move on to our rapid fire segment, and in this segment I’m gonna ask you a few questions and you have to answer them maybe in one or two words or a sentence or so. Yeah. Ok. So the first, the first question is, uh, one book recommendation.

Do you have any recommendation? 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Yeah. Uh, from my, uh, owner, it’ll be to, to to know the market you are, you are focusing on. Uh, it was the biggest mistake I made. And, uh, know your market. Uh, I think it’s even more important than, uh, the competition is to know the market. I mean the, the, the clients you have and the values they have.

Uh, it’s uh, first most important step. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Um, was there any book that you read. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Okay. Uh, yeah, I told you I read the first work quick, but I think everybody, uh, read it. Um, I, I, I read a book that’s very, very interesting. Uh, I, I’m trying to implement right now. It’s a book for, uh, the one page, a marketing plan from, uh, Alan Diva.

It’s an Australian guy. Now. I, I read it like last year. And I read it like twice. And, um, the concept he about business, uh, and it’s, it’s very interesting and, uh, uh, I do really want to implement this stuff. I’m just lacking time to do it. But, uh, I, I want to, to make it happen because, uh, if. It’s brilliant.

Uh, the guy didn’t even tell nothing, uh, but the way he present it and the way he he makes, uh, he make it easy to understand and to implement is, uh, is really, uh, phenomenal. And the funny thing is I really, uh, really heard about his book. I, I discovered his book by chance. So I think it’s really, um, very interesting book because you, you can, you can draw a map of your business from day.

And, uh, and you, you know, if it’s gonna work or not. So the one Patch Marketing Plan is a, is a really good book. Awesome. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Um, a business or productivity tool or software that you would recommend or a productivity tool? Well, 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: uh, I don’t, uh, I use, um, the main tool I use in my case, uh, keyword research tools, uh, because I’m working on online, uh, for marketing.

So I’ve got two tools. I use right now. And, uh, this is the biggest, uh, where I get more leverage, uh, to get results in my business. Back then, uh, when I started aeo I was using like 5, 6, 7 different tools and I got lost using so much tools. Right now I just use, uh, two, uh, keywords, research tools, and with that I.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Which, which ones are good, 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: if you don’t mind me. Okay. The, the first one is called, uh, s c o, uh, S cockpit, S cockpit. It’s, uh, it’s from a company called, uh, Swiss Marketing. So it’s, uh, uh, they’ve got several tools. I just choose the keyword search tools, and the other one is, uh, is cheaper. It’s called, uh, key search.

Uh, it’s a price, I think, and, um, I find a good combination on, on checking on both, uh, on both tools, uh, about the volume market, the value of, uh, PPP C for H keyword. And, uh, to give me more keywords, ideas, and, uh, for the work I do right now on my, uh, online marketing, it’s, uh, it is the only tool I use. It’s very, very efficient.

When I do really, I try to make, uh, back links and I’m working on that. Uh, I pay like, uh, arch Service Majestic, s u, or. For few months because it’s quite expensive for me to pay all year long because I don’t use them so much. I use them for one month and after from that I get the data, I can make the job.

So I use those tools to get deeper into the, the market and on my website. But, uh, the, the tools I use all year long, they are keyword research too. Okay. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay. Uh, a startup or business. In e-commerce, retail or technology that you think is currently doing great things? So another business that is doing great things, you think?

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Uh, business. I feel, uh, doing a great stuff. Yeah. Oh, I have no idea. I’m sorry. No. Ah, I’ve got, see I’ve got one guy. Yeah. It’s, uh, it is a sign. It’s, uh, SEO marketing. It’s called, uh, Brian Dean. Uh, the funny thing is he started his business online, uh, of, uh, SEO marketing business, like one year after me, uh, about the same as me.

And this guy had a, uh, uh, a marketing growth, uh, insane. And, uh, I, I’ve been paying, uh, um, he’s my teacher. My teacher, uh, I’ve been paying the course from him. And, uh, I, I already thought that, uh, the value provided on his blog and uh, on the course he sell are very valuable. And, uh, also I’m very impressed the way he, he do make the sales and the way he makes the business.

Very, very interesting. This, this is, uh, this is typically an American idea because I’ll never see thought as a French to have this kind of business idea. I think it’s brilliant and, uh, it’s, uh, I’m very interesting. Each time this guy is, um, is publishing content. Uh, doing some stuff online is, uh, the time I, uh, I follow a lot.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So Brian Dean, I think his website is called Backlinko, right? Backlink com. Yeah. Yeah. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: Backlinko, yeah. Yeah, he’s very well known because he, he’s quite famous. But, uh, I, I’ve, I’ve discovered this guy back in 2013 or 14 when he was just starting, and I, I, I was already saying that it was very, very f the content he was providing.

And, uh, since then I, I’ve seen him, uh, like exploring and, uh, well, it’s, uh, it’s. 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Last question. Uh, best business advice that you ever received or you would give to other entrepreneurs? The best advice, business advice? Yeah. Oh, uh, 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: well, I think best advice is, uh, even when you fail, you are an entrepreneur because, uh, when I started, I, I lasted like 18 months to.

To realize I was an entrepreneur while I was failing because I was seeing me as a failure and not an entrepreneur. And I think what they don’t tell you when you start is, uh, you, you have the right to fail. You’re gonna be failing. And since there’s so many difference, uh, between an entrepreneur and an employee is an employee is, it will never risk his himself to fail.

When an entrepreneur is gonna. Like, uh, 80% of the time is gonna fail in some way. And, uh, after that he’s gonna learn and gonna make it happen. I think this is the main difference and, uh, it’s very important for your, uh, your pride, uh, to, to see you. Uh, even if you’re failing, you’re an entrepreneur. If, I think when you are feeling your entrepreneur, because it is the only way to, to, to, to be an entrepreneur is to have success, is not being an 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: entrepreneur.

That definitely. That’s, that’s great advice. Well, Nicholas, those were all the questions that I had. Uh, thank you so much for your time today for joining me, uh, today from Mexico. Um, and yeah, really appreciate you sharing your very unique and interesting story and, and all the hard work that you put your business.

You’re welcome. 

Nicolas Tranchant of Vivalatina Jewelry: For your question, please to answer. Awesome. Thank you 

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: so much again.