What could be better than working alongside your loved one every day? "My husband and I make a good business team because our skills are so complementary," says small business owner Lori Cranson.

Lori and her husband, Steve, own Dalo Jewels (www.dalojewels.com). The company creates and sells one-of-a-kind handcrafted gemstone jewelry.

Serving professional women between the ages of 25 and 65, the company uses textile techniques in metal, precious metal clay and traditional cold joining techniques to create fabulous pieces.

"We also do a lot of custom work for brides and their wedding parties," comments Lori.

Dalo Jewels also sells its pieces at craft shows including the popular One of a Kind Show in Toronto, The Huronia Festival of the Arts, at home parties, galleries, charity events and through its website.

To make it easier to buy the raw materials used in her production process, Lori obtained an RBC Royal Bank* Visa Business Platinum Avion** card. "We get our materials at trade shows held primarily in the United States," she explains. "At those shows, we load up on things like gemstones, silver wire by the spool and fresh water pearls."

Buying such a wide assortment of high-end materials at each jewelry trade show typically generates a number of vendor charges to her Visa card. "Such a flurry of account activity triggered an alert at Royal Bank, and they called me to ensure it was me making the purchases from so many foreign suppliers all on one day," recalls Lori. "It was nice to know Visa was looking out for me in that way."

"Now, I notify Royal Bank when we're heading out on our buying trips and they keep a file of the dates we're away so international charges on our card don't raise red flags," explains Lori.

To help fuel online sales through her company's website, Lori also applied to become a Visa merchant three years ago. "By accepting Visa payments from our customers, we've actually tripled our sales," she exclaims. "It was one of our best business decisions, and today 75 percent of our sales are processed with Visa cards."

While her business continues to grow, Lori pledges to keep making most of her company's jewelry herself. "Steve manages our website and the administration side of our business so I can focus on production," she comments. "I'm happiest making the jewelry because I love doing it so much."

* RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada.
** Registered trademark of Royal Bank of Canada.