For Greater Manchester resident Orit Adiri-Niemogha, Diamonds are proving to be a profitable best friend, as she has grown her business and increased turnover by 63% in the last year with help from The Women’sOrganisation’s Business Growth programme.
Having put her passion for sparkle into developing her business H & D Diamonds back in 2011, Orit was ready to take her business to the next level.
Orit arrived in England in the late 1990’s coming to London to study for an MBA degree.  It was there her relationship with diamonds blossomed as she found work in Hatton Garden, London’s diamond quarter. Orit reflected back on her journey.
“I worked in the diamond quarter in London for nearly eight years. In my first year, my role was to travel around the midlands area and sell loose diamonds to jewellers. Interacting with jewellers I realised very quickly how little did most of them know about diamonds.”
  
Having met the other love of her life, her husband, Orit decided for her family it was time to move on from the bustle of London and find better quality of life up north.  From there “it was only a natural progression to set up my own business and offer my expertise as a diamond grader to the public” she said.
Orit went on to set up H &D Diamonds Ltd., naming the business after the first letters of her children’s names, Havana and Dakota who she calls her “true diamonds”.
When Orit moved to the North West from London, she knew it could be a gamble setting up a business where no one knew her background and expertise, and she would have to build her networks almost from scratch.  The country was in the middle of a recession so it wasn’t going to be easy.  But setting up her online store, keeping overheads low, Orit was pleasantly surprised by the positive response to her hard work.
“A few years down the line I am now being approached by customers as well as suppliers. I have a circle of clientele that not only use me as their personal jeweller but also recommend me to their friends. There are times where I get to business events and meet people I never saw before who seem to know that I am ‘the diamond lady’ just by recognising me from my online visibility.”
Orit contacted The Women’s Organisation upon hearing about their Venture Accelerator Programme offering bespoke business growth support to local women. 
She told us “I received tremendous support from Mike Marsden, my business coach.  He supported me to find leads, to look at business collaborations, told me about free services available through the local university and other local training providers as well as linking me in to specialist social media support.  Put simply he offered suggestions of business growth in areas I did not operate much before and regular guidance when venturing into new direction.”
Since receiving help to grow her business Orit has not only seen an increase in her turnover, but she is now on her way to securing her first premises and is looking to recruit additional ‘H & D Ladies’ to help her promote the brand and work with customers.
Explaining the H & D Diamonds brand Orit told us “Although the shop is online, it is our aim to also give a face and a direct contact to the consumer. Each area of the UK will have a ‘H&D Lady’ assigned as a contact person, so you are assured of a personal service.  What makes us different is that not only do we offer bespoke services through a Bond Street jeweller, at the moment we are also the only suppliers in the UK of an Italian jewellery line that will be sold only in a handful of shops in the UK”.
Organisation and Social Media have proven essential to Orit’s business, and she credits her social profile for helping build her business presence online.  Reflecting on her success Orit told us that the key has been “persistence to my target and strong urge to learn from everyone I come in contact with.  I have also developed the ability to review and act upon trends in the market and positive attitude. I’ve learnt along the way not to mourn the adversities as they usually happen for a reason. They either teach you a lesson or pave the way to take your business to a better deserved place.”

To find out more about the bespoke service offered by H & D Diamonds Ltd. visit www.handddiamonds.co.uk.  Orit’s company can also be found on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter where you can follow @HandDDiamonds.

If you are a woman in Greater Manchester who has a business that is ready to grow, why not contact Venture Accelerator Programme Manager Mike Marsden via MikeMarsden@thewo.org.uk to find out more about how The Women’s Organisation can support you.