Young diamond trader breaks glass ceilings on road to success
|Published
By Claudia Bompani
The diamond business isn’t for everyone. It’s notoriously difficult to break into, with established multi-generational businesses who eye newcomers with suspicion.
Despite a couple of decades of transformation, it remains largely male-dominated. And even once you’ve started paying your dues, getting access to a steady supply of gems remains a major barrier for many aspiring traders.
So, as a young woman to overcome the odds to establish my own successful diamond business remains the exception – especially when, I fell into the industry almost by accident.
Like many young South Africans, I lacked the financial means to study after finishing school. With few options open, I started working with my sister in the industry. But the bug didn’t bite immediately.
The diamond industry can be extremely cliquey. It’s usually restricted to references through family or close friends.
Trust is a commodity almost as rare as the diamonds themselves, considering the values at hand and the temptation that invariably accompanies the trade.
It took a surreal experience at a Hong Kong diamond fair a couple of years later for me to realise the industry was anything but boring.
I was running a stand at the event for a diamond dealer, and a potential client was looking for a five-carat stone.
I knew my boss had such a stone with him. The problem was he was in a bar on the other side of town. So I grabbed someone else’s meter taxi, tracked down my boss, retrieved the diamonds, and hurtled back to the venue. When I got stuck in traffic, I shoved the goods intomy pocket, and set off on foot. It was then, running down a Hong Kong street in high heels with a five-carat diamond in my pocket, that I realised this was the business for me.
That experience was like something out of a movie scene, as a group of diamond dealers huddled around a table, all jostling to sell their diamonds. That’s the business, though. The exposure the diamond industry brings you is almost raw and abrupt but also thrilling and exciting at the same time. That is what drew me to this industry.
As it happened, the client had changed her mind. She wanted a six carat instead. But I resigned the next day to start my own company, Irresistible Diamonds, which sells both polished and rough stones.
However, the heady thrill of Hong Kong quickly wore off, though. Success didn’t come overnight. It took a full year to get the necessary licenses and qualifications to be able to start trading and even longer to gain a foothold in the tightly guarded industry.
It took another year to get Irresistible Rough Diamonds into De Beers’ beneficiation programme, which was the turning point I needed to get her business operational.
For a start, it took my business skills to a different level. The programme includes intensive training and mentorship with small business incubator Raizcorp, which gave me invaluable skills around managing finances, pitching to investors and customers, and understanding one’s brand story and value proposition.
More importantly, the programme gives emerging traders an invaluable commodity, which is consistent access to rough diamonds.
As a small business, you bid for parcels of stones against massive established companies with professional planners and specialised equipment. The highest bidder wins, simple as that. Needless to say, it becomes difficult get access to rough, and you can’t get finance from someone else in the industry because they are participating in these channels themselves, nor from any banks due to the risk associated with the industry. So having access to rough gives us stability, boosts our turnover and allows us to manufacture polished products as well.
Today, a decade after starting her journey in the industry, I’m finally making headway in an industry that prizes trust and credibility above all else.
Advice for young entrepreneurs looking to join the world of diamonds?
– Build partnerships. Partnerships are crucial to be able to access certain equipment and a steady supply of stones.
– Don’t skip steps. Each step grows and develops you as a person.
– Pay close attention to people, engagements and interactions. Don’t just be a bystander: become an asset to others.
– Knowledge is power. No matter how long you have been in the industry, be open to learning something new every day. And educate yourself in the world of business.
– Keep your eyes open for opportunities. Sometimes the money is right in front of you.
However, you never stop learning in this business. I’ve fought so hard to get to where I am, and I can’t wait for the next step in my journey.
Claudia Bompani is the founder of Irresistible Rough Diamonds.
BUSINESS REPORT