Secret Academy Episode - Jason ArashebenBefore he was designing custom jewelry for celebrities, professional athletes and some of the world’s most elite list clientele, Jason Arasheben was broke and sinking in credit card debt as a sophomore at UCLA Law School. Faced with an immediate need to make money fast, he took a chance and spent his last $400 on wholesale silver trinkets from the LA Design District and began to sell them to girls around campus. By the time he was a senior, Jason’s trinket business had spread to six other college campuses and grown to employ multiple other college students working beneath him. With an exceptional ability to “connect the dots” faster than most, Jason realized that he was already making more money than most Harvard Law School grads and living in LA gave him access to very high net-worth people. A true entrepreneur at heart, he decided to forgo a career in law and take a life-changing risk to jump full force into the jewelry design business. Sneaking into every event and party he could just to get his foot in the door, Jason built strong relationships with everyone he met; from the valets to bodyguards, he was savvy enough to recognize the value of leveraging his connections in order to better position himself in the right settings to end up in front of the right people. When he finally landed former New York Knicks player Anthony Mason as his first client for a $40K custom bracelet without having any merchandise, design and nothing more than a good sales pitch and networking ability, Jason’s business took off and he spent the next twelve years working hard to scale his college venture into a worldwide jewelry empire. With four retail outlets and over 70 employees, Jason’s business is now raking in over $20 million a year. With a reputation for building strong relationships and designing some of the most unique custom jewelry on the market, he’s better known today as Jason of Beverly Hills, and has become one of the most sought after and successful jewelers in the industry.
- How Jason capitalized on his ability to connect the dots in business and in his relationships
- Networking with purpose and understanding the value of everyone you’re in front of
- How he landed former New York Knicks player Anthony Mason as his first client for a $40K custom bracelet without having any merchandise, design and nothing more than a good sales pitch
- How they were opening more stores when other more established jewelers were closing their doors permanently
- How he took everything from being outsourced to in-house within 4-5 years to dramatically increase his profit margins
- Why it’s so important to make sure your locations are in front of the EXACT clientele you want to attract
- Why he often took risks others weren’t willing to make that had little to no backing
- The importance of self-belief and how he has successfully bounced back from failures
- How circumstance changes strategy
- The benefits of serving a niche market and creating unique products
- How he motivates himself everyday to keep moving forward
