The moment renowned businesswoman Jo Malone bought a headband and brooch from my handmade accessories range and complimented me on my work was truly life-affirming.
It came at just the right time, as my motivation was ebbing. Meeting her helped me to know for sure that I was on the right path. I was elated.
It made me feel like investing my last £50 in setting up a business on a whim was totally worth it.
I have always been creative. I loved making my own jewellery from as young as 10, when I’d go to Camden Market to buy beads and materials.
I went to university and spent some time in the corporate world, but I couldn’t live that way for long. So I found myself doing a postgraduate accessories design course at the London College of Fashion in 2002-2003 at the age of 27.
This led to opening a jewellery shop in London in 2009. We specialised in fashion-forward pieces crafted from semi-precious stones.
Sadly, I had to walk away from that business when I was nine months pregnant after a fall-out with my long-standing friend and business partner.
As a result, I was left with nothing. When you start a business, you fear failure and loss, and this was now my reality. But I realised that facing my fears can be powerful – the fear is often worse than the reality.
Thankfully, I was grateful to have my partner’s stable salary helping to support our family during this time.
And I had just become a mother – it was joyful and terrifying in equal measure. Holding my beautiful baby girl in my arms was the most life-affirming experience. She became the centre of my world, and yet I needed to find some way to keep a piece of myself as part of my new identity.
In the early days of motherhood, I had to tie my hair up but the only hair clips I could find were in standard black or brown. I wanted to feel like ‘me’ in my new life, not ‘boring old Mum’.
I knew I wanted to get back to work as a jewellery designer and instil a sense of identity again, but I wanted to be there for my daughter as much as possible too.
That’s when it hit me – I could design sparkly hair clips to make mums feel fabulous.
The idea of having my own business again felt flexible, so I set about fusing my jewellery design skills into creating my first mini collection.
Around the same time, it was my birthday and I actually received £50 as a present from my dad.
That’s when I decided to invest it straight into my business, QueenMee.
I only had enough for 12 hair clips – but it was a start.
Every clip was a precious resource. I spent hours making them absolutely perfect, with just the right amount of added sparkle.
I began to wear them out and about, then my mum-friends started noticing and loving them. They bought them up and word started spreading.
Beyond my network, I sold clips via local hairdressers’ and gift shops.
Not long after, I started selling on Etsy and Amazon. I introduced new designs, like hair ties that I braided by hand, asked for reviews, and things quickly took off online.
Safe to say, I had limited time as a parent. My lovely baby daughter required my full attention when she was awake, but she took long naps in the afternoon.
It wasn’t easy, though. I have felt like quitting when cash flow has been tight.
You’re working hard, and yet you don’t have disposable cash because you’re reinvesting it in your business. That can be so deflating.
But I kept going by visualising my long-term goals coming to fruition – like wanting to use my profits to cover my daughter’s nursery fees, or reaching six figures once lockdown restrictions were lifted.
Kind comments from customers helped too, and reminded me of why I was doing it – which was to help women feel fabulous.
Hiring my first assistant, Celine, in 2022 was one of my best decisions because she helps me send out orders and manage the website.
By this point, I had grown my sales so much that I could afford Celine, but I didn’t always have enough to pay myself. Then in 2023, Maddie joined our team part-time so she helps me sell at our pop-up shops and with our social media.
It has been an honour to have been featured in some amazing glossy magazines, as well as appeared numerous times on ITV’s This Morning. Even Gok Wan is a fan and has said my collection was amazing.
The interaction with Jo Malone was while running a pop-up shop in Peter Jones’ department store, Sloane Square. I was just so humbled.
Starting a business like this can be scary because we all have a natural fear of failure.
According to Experian, half of all new businesses fail within the first three years of opening. You can’t avoid these statistics. I know that I have sometimes thought about how I was going to get to the next hurdle, but you shouldn’t let the fear hold you back.
‘The biggest risk in life is not risking,’ according to Spanx founder, Sara Blakely. And Sara’s a billionaire now, after all.
If you want to set up your own business, your goal is to keep doubling your money by creating, and then reinvesting in your product.
There are so many possibilities. Don’t be a perfectionist, just take action, and you will learn as you go along.
If I was starting again, I would prioritise working on my mindset every day. It helps you make better decisions.
Today, I have two daughters now and they both like wearing my pieces. They love seeing the countries around the world where my designs are being sent to because it helps them to see that it is possible to follow your dreams.
I have a new mission alongside designing, which is to help other women (and mums in particular) start profitable businesses, so they can reach their full potential.
Sometimes it helps me to move forwards by looking back and seeing how far I have come. When a challenge feels insurmountable, I remind myself that I have managed to turn £50 into a six-figure business.
So if I can do that, I can make the next milestone. And you can too.
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2024-09-16T09:36:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd