Just over two years ago, I set out on a mission to overcome the challenges of manufacturing jewellery with brass, which naturally tarnishes over time. This journey led to the transformation of our brand, introducing micron-plated, thick luxury 14k gold jewellery—ensuring each piece we create has the longevity it deserves.
No small task, but I set to it with a few little tricks up my sleeve and a lot of determination. I knew that with the jewellery upgrading, our branding would also need a welcomed refresh and so a few months later our new look came alive.
Reflecting on this process over the last few weeks and having time plating some new pieces for 2025 I found myself thinking about the biggest lessons I’ve learnt throughout this process, so decided document these thoughts here to encourage entrepreneurs, enlighten our customers and remind myself of the huge accomplishment achieved!
So here we go - FIVE things I’ve learnt which I hope inspire you in what you’re working towards in life...
1.Set backs are normal & a part of growth as a pioneer
Within any business structure , workplace or in general life we’re always likely to meet setbacks along the way. I’ve faced many throughout the last decade as an entrepreneur both with Voice and personally. And I’ve learnt to look out for the triggers that may cause these bumps in the road, but also accept and lean into the growth season a diversion on our map can lead to! With the Voice rebrand I had a very detailed timeframe I was working towards and of course, this was squeezed, pushed and pulled in all directions. Factors including, funding, lack of education, health crisis, general questioning of the purpose of the change, all contributed at different times to journey.
But one of the biggest things to learn as a budding entrepreneur is to have grace for the learning, grace for yourself, mistakes happen and only make you stronger and more conclusive in your WHY!
2. Education is key
I took on a huge task, with literally ZERO understanding of what I was doing. It can’t be that hard right? Let’s turn things gold?
The saying is true, knowledge is power. I went in blind, unaware of how much I’d need to learn which then EMPOWERED me to succeed.
Science was far from my strong suit at school, in fact I’m pretty sure I failed and then scratched a D in my GCSE retakes. Not once did I realise my grand gold adventure would require scientific understanding and a whole lot of Maths. So the learning began, with HUGE help from my husband & and friend and her dad, who basically gave me a chemistry and physics crash course.
But now I’ve added this whole new skill to my belt. This understanding which has enabled me to get the job done. It wasn’t easy, but I got there. So don’t give up if education is your lacking factor.. which leads me onto perseverance ..
3. Perseverance
As the rebrand took shape, new designs were coming in from Uganda and I was learning how to gold plate in our new home studio, my personal world was falling apart a little more each day and I had no idea.
My health was deteriorating and I became acutely aware something was wrong and it was happening fast. I’d managed to get the brand into position, we were 2 weeks from launching, heading to entrepreneur award event and smiling through the evening, letting the strangers on the table know what I did, but inside I knew it was all about to collapse. I was under investigations at the hospital, I was hoping maybe it was just stress causing my symptoms and that actually I was burning out, needed a break. But it was far from it.
If you’ve ever been through a diagnosis, waiting for results is the worst. But I persevered in the waiting, kept my eyes fixed on getting the rebrand into position, managed to launch with a week or so to spare, got a load of Christmas orders out, and then all of a sudden my world stopped. Finally having answers felt like i could breathe again, but the reality was not what any of us wanted, one journey of perseverance swiftly led to another, surgery, fertility treatment, chemotherapy was the next battle. And another story for a different blog.
But the key takeaway here, is perseverance, a weapon we all have deep down and sometimes there are seasons to run with it and others we must stop and heal.
4. Grants do exist!!
Yes they actually do! But some are hidden away and hard to find details about. But none of our gold plating venture would have been possible without a grant we received from SWEF - all southwest creatives / biz owners check this one out! We were awarded a sum of money which made the gold plating dream happen, we researched the best machine to plate the most effectively and that got us started.
I know first hand how hard it is to start something from nothing. That was us 7-8 years ago. And still within that time there have been seasons of lack and little to no sales and we’re fighting to keep going - to be honest, post my health crisis we’re back in one now and evaluating our next steps. But all that to say, research what’s there, because they do exist and you may find the perfect one for you!
5. Help will enrich you and set you up for further success.
Finally asking for help & receive help- for those of us who try to do it all solo 🙋🏻♀️
A learning curve that will enrich you for further success. The help I had for this gold plating venture was invaluable, we wouldn’t have got here without certain individuals and a lot of determination to move Voice into the luxury quality we wanted it to be.
So say yes if it’s being offered and if you need it, ask! There’s always someone with knowledge and experience a few steps ahead.
I’ve always vowed to make sure I’m a business owner who gives a helping hand to those in the same field as us. I’d always rather give a leg up to another brand or company needing advice than hide away and only focus on my own excelling.