Hello, stranger-friends! It’s been too long. The Business Spotlight has not been abandoned, just been stepped away from momentarily; luckily, I have returned and am (maybe against my better judgment) stepping in front of the spotlight for a moment.
So far, you know me as the frazzled floral consultant, Pizza Queen, coffee connoisseur, and gift shop dweller – the one that grabs the behind-the-scenes of business. Well, on top of everything listed above (plus girlfriend-ship, friendship, and cat mom-ship) I also have a jewelry business, Geminii Moon Jewelry, which has been in existence since Halloween 2016.
How does she do it all, you ask? In a very messy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of way, to be honest.
I’ve been making jewelry since the good ‘ole summer camp days – lanyards and hemp bracelets for everyone forever – I was truly the Oprah of craft jewelry. In middle and high school, I would accessorize with cheap, “fashion” jewelry which would constantly break. Instead of being devastated over how many hours I had to spend at TJ Maxx to replace it, I taught myself how to fix it. I would continue to visit discount stores and find things I liked, but felt I had better ideas that you wouldn’t see coming or going on other people.
In college, I would gift or sell my jewels to friends, many of them commenting that I should try to broaden my clientele, and they felt confident my pieces would be both well and widely accepted. But, with any project or daunting start-up for a college or fresh out of college student, with what time and money am I supposed to launch this business from?
Finally, in October 2016, I grew tired of one of my dear friends nagging me to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. I am so grateful she wouldn’t stop pushing me because I was making excuses. I was terrified of failure and judgment, but I was committed to the effort.
I debuted my Etsy store on Halloween in hopes of creating a small theme of “mysticism” around my products. By the end of the day, 13 of my friends had bought something from my store. Their effort to support and encourage me still brings tears of gratitude and overwhelming joy to my eyes – when starting a business, you really find out who your real friends are.
The first lesson I have learned in business is you can’t do it alone, no matter how #girlboss you are. Creating is and should be a community and the ultimate goal: to create something meaningful. There’s a meme that floats around the Internet that talks about the Creative Process and it goes like this:
- This is going to be awesome!
- This is hard.
- This is terrible.
- I am terrible.
- Wait a minute, this isn’t too bad.
- This is awesome! I am awesome!
And that is 1000% what happens in reality, but with exceptionally long spans of time camping out in number three and four. The moment my Etsy store launched, my brain was screaming, “What have you done?!” I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but really the question just changes. “What if no one buys? What if something breaks and it discredits everything I’ve ever done? What if I get terrible reviews? What if the post office loses ever single package? “ It could happen, and BOY have they tried, let me tell you.
BUT that first taste of success is the sweetest, and once you taste it, it is addicting. It gives you the strength to keep taking steps. Just like a toddler, you have to learn how to walk before you’re able to run to the pizza, and the patience is such a hard hurdle to hop over. Sometimes it looks a lot more like falling into the hurdle or grabbing it and smashing it into the ground a couple of times when nothing is going according to plan.
The second lesson I have learned is you cannot force people to buy, you cannot force them to show up to your events, to like your social media. Running any sort of business is a huge exercise in faith, in both people and yourself. Every creation feels like you’re sending your child to be adopted to a new home, to be neglected, or to be torn apart by blood-thirsty vultures.
The absolute hardest part behind the building of a successful business, even beyond having patience, is the mental and emotional stress and the perseverance through it. On all of my personal social media accounts, I am very open about my struggle with depression and maintaining a positive mental health.
I have found a small outlet in Astrology (I know most of you find it crocky, but it has proved fun, addicting, and helpful to even the most skeptical) – hence the name Geminii Moon – which is my moon sign, representative of my emotional/mental life. All of my jewelry is made from natural stones and metals, all of which have healing or positive properties. Whether or not you believe in the transference of energy, I do strongly believe you can train your brain to focus on better things through reality or placebos.
Thirdly, in this almost yearlong adventure, through successes and failures, I have learned the beauty in allowing yourself to be messy, to not do everything perfectly, to not beat yourself up or feel guilty when you can’t give the time and effort that you want to your dreams. It’s perfectly normal to feel discouraged or fearful, but you cannot let either get the best of you. Don’t compare your current status to others, meet yourself where you are. In both business and life, you have got to allow room for grace. It’s quite an inspiring thing to see yourself grow as your art does.
There’s this saying (that is super annoying to me because it’s horribly pessimistic), “You’re unique! Just like everybody else.” I believe that no two people are exactly the same – we’re messy, unpredictable, insanely strong, and capable of miraculous things – which is what makes us all so insanely interesting and beautiful, even when we just feel insane and not interesting or beautiful.
I try to make my jewelry as such. No two pieces are the same, so you are the only person in the world that will be in current ownership of your bracelet or earrings or necklace, just like you’re the only incredible person that will ever be you. And I think that’s something of which everyone gets to be proud.
No matter where you go from here, if you’ve ever read my other contributions before, or if we never meet again, I am grateful for this little corner of web space we’ve shared together. If you are interested in your own unique piece of jewelry, use code GVL360 for 30% off your Etsy order, the shop link is below.
Buy your Geminii Moon Jewelry Here!
I will be doing many pop up shops between now and Christmas, so follow me on social media to see where I’ll be, I’d love to meet you in person! The next scheduled pop up is TODAY Saturday, September 30 for the Downtown Inman Harvest Day Fall Festival. I’ll be hanging out all day either in or in front of Pink the Beauty Boutique with some other awesome vendors.
Many blessings and thanks until we meet again. May the odds ever be in your favor, and if they aren’t, don’t worry, there’s a crystal for that.
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