Key Takeaways:
• Ketterman’s is celebrating its 75th anniversary, evolving from a variety store opened in 1951 into a full-service family jewelry business.
• The business is transitioning into its fourth generation, with younger family members exploring various roles and opportunities within the company.
• Key factors in the business’s longevity include flexibility, diverse skill sets among family members, and a focus on serving generations of customer families.
As Richlyn “Richi” Ketterman talked about the 75-year history of her family’s jewelry business, its possible future sat right beside her.
Richi was painting her 10-year-old daughter’s nails during a conversation with Southern Jewelry News for its Pearls of Wisdom podcast. Her daughter already says she wants to work at Ketterman’s someday.
Richi’s 16-year-old son has begun working at the Leesburg, Virginia, store, although he has not decided whether the family business will become his career. About 10 other grandchildren are still mostly too young to know what paths they will follow.
That uncertainty doesn’t seem particularly out of place in the Ketterman family. After all, Richi wasn’t always certain Ketterman’s would becom...