It sounds easy enough: Start a business, focus on quality and community, and snap, your business will be a well-known success. But as anyone who’s been an entrepreneur can tell you, few survive even the first year. And most small, family-owned businesses use social media sparingly or not at all. So how has Williamsburg Jewelers—which opened barely a year before the pandemic shut the world down—become a local internet sensation?

Owner Michael Fagan has made smart strategic decisions both on Facebook and for his business as a whole. His social media approach, he said, was about engaging with the community… from shareable contests for a jewelry gift card or local gift basket, to posting two different bracelets and asking followers to comment on which they liked better.

“People want to be heard and express their needs; to be entertained and feel valued,” he said. “And they want to like the people they’re buying from. We feel people visit our store because of what we post. I’ll post a couple of sapphire rings, not because I expect to sell them, but to get the message out that we have beautiful colored gems.”

Fagan’s formula of daily posts and a mix of content have struck the right chord. With each share or like, two of Fagan’s daughters take the time to then invite that new person to like the page. As of this article, his company’s Facebook page has 17,850 followers and over 11,000 likes. Few businesses in Greater Williamsburg have that big a social media reach, especially for its size and age. But a rising tide lifts all boats, and Williamsburg Jewelers is always eager to share the wealth. In most contests and many Facebook posts, Fagan features other businesses around the upper York/Williamsburg community

“We try to post uplifting messages, urging people to shop local, promoting local businesses… even if you’re not in the market for jewelry, make sure to go to a locally owned small business,” he said. He describes Williamsburg Jewelers as “the anti-corporate jewelry store.”

And as someone who worked for corporate jewelry stores the first several decades of his career, Fagan knew he wanted something different for his own shop. For example, right off the bat, he wanted his store hours to meet the needs of both guests and staff. That means closing at 5 p.m. each day, and all day Sundays. It also means focusing on customization and customer service.

“When working for the corporate stores, I remember having to say ‘sorry’ to special requests or that we needed to forward problems to our headquarters. After more than 30 years of working mall hours, and having to tell people no for donations or giving false hope—I decided if this community was going to support me, I would support it.”

 Fagan left his corporate job in 2018 to start his own business. With a background in accounting and bookkeeping, he was undaunted by the paperwork process. But other aspects were new to him… such as choosing a name. Once he had secured property, Fagan reached out to his friend Jason Hill of Fine Signs and Graphics about signage—and mentioned his various ideas for naming the business. Then Fagan mentioned offhand that the name “Williamsburg Jewelers” was available because that longtime store had been closed nearly 7 years, since the owners’ retirement, and they had not retained rights to the name.

“He looked me in the eye and said, ‘If you don’t take that name, you’re a fool.’ Then he said the words that almost made me run inside to buy it: ‘If you don’t take that name, someone else is going to,’” he said. “So I took advantage of the opportunity. People used to come in and ask if we bought the store from Roy and Carol. They were wonderful people, but no, my store shares nothing with theirs but a name—which I’ve legally secured.”

Fagan said he chose York County because of its reputation for helping businesses, including favorable business taxes. He also found the various County entities and departments to be highly supportive, he said:

“The sheriff came by before we opened to see if we needed anything and said they would have officers drive by, and he gave me his personal cell number. When I had questions about permits and processes, people got things done and were knowledgeable and friendly. I’ve heard stories from other localities inside and outside the state, where the process was a nightmare.”

The store officially launched in January 2019, a timing Fagan carefully chose. It opened with a bang, he said, because he exercised restraint NOT to open the previous two months, during the chaos of holiday retail.

“It became a pretty genius move—I didn’t open too soon. I didn’t have a full staff yet and wouldn’t have been prepared. I didn’t want to disappoint my guests, who might never come back if I failed to meet their needs on their first visit. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression,” said Fagan.