42 min
53. Samantha Wills, Samantha Wills Jewellery // How a 21-year-old founder with $80,000 debt started a multi-million dollar cult-followed brand The Make It Happen Show
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- Entrepreneurship
What would you do if you started to lose the creativity and passion you had for your business? Would you close it down? And what if that business was a multi-million dollar cult-followed brand loved by the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Eva Mendes?
Samantha Wills started her now-renowned brand Samantha Wills Jewellery when she was just 21. And through many hard-earned lessons ($80,000 credit card debt and nearly losing the company!), her brand started to rise and soon was turning over $10 million annually, stocked in 80 countries, and had a growing team. Named Break Out Star by The New York Times, from the outside, Samantha had attained massive success most could only dream of.
Then she shut the business down. In this episode of The Make It Happen Show, explore with us the biggest lessons from her memoir "Of Gold & Dust" where we see an incredibly different perspective of business. From how Samantha made it past her years of being an inexperienced sole trader, to the many times imposter syndrome showed up, to why and how she shut her highly profitable business down - there was nothing off limits in this conversation. This is how you stay authentic and true to self no matter what stage of business you are in. Check it out now.
Timestamps:
2:29 - Why Samantha Wills decided to close her business in its peak
5:58 - Why hobbies are essential for creative entrepreneurs
6:52 - How an entrepreneur can continue to foster their creativity
8:37 - The story behind why Samantha made up a 'fake employee' during her startup days
12:40 - Samantha shares her transition to having a business partner and how she was saved from one of the worst business decisions she could've made
15:58 - How a creative and analytical business partner can work together
20:24 - How hiring the right people benefited Samantha's creative journey as an entrepreneur
21:11 - How to effectively engage your community
24:56 - How Samantha Wills expanded from a local brand to being featured in Hollywood films
28:48 - Samantha's biggest lessons introducing her brand in the United States
31:37 - Why Samantha felt like 15 years was long enough for her company
35:33 - What Samantha Wills is working on moving forward
39:09 - The one legacy Samantha wants to leave
40:27 - How to stop imposter syndrome
What would you do if you started to lose the creativity and passion you had for your business? Would you close it down? And what if that business was a multi-million dollar cult-followed brand loved by the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Eva Mendes?
Samantha Wills started her now-renowned brand Samantha Wills Jewellery when she was just 21. And through many hard-earned lessons ($80,000 credit card debt and nearly losing the company!), her brand started to rise and soon was turning over $10 million annually, stocked in 80 countries, and had a growing team. Named Break Out Star by The New York Times, from the outside, Samantha had attained massive success most could only dream of.
Then she shut the business down. In this episode of The Make It Happen Show, explore with us the biggest lessons from her memoir "Of Gold & Dust" where we see an incredibly different perspective of business. From how Samantha made it past her years of being an inexperienced sole trader, to the many times imposter syndrome showed up, to why and how she shut her highly profitable business down - there was nothing off limits in this conversation. This is how you stay authentic and true to self no matter what stage of business you are in. Check it out now.
Timestamps:
2:29 - Why Samantha Wills decided to close her business in its peak
5:58 - Why hobbies are essential for creative entrepreneurs
6:52 - How an entrepreneur can continue to foster their creativity
8:37 - The story behind why Samantha made up a 'fake employee' during her startup days
12:40 - Samantha shares her transition to having a business partner and how she was saved from one of the worst business decisions she could've made
15:58 - How a creative and analytical business partner can work together
20:24 - How hiring the right people benefited Samantha's creative journey as an entrepreneur
21:11 - How to effectively engage your community
24:56 - How Samantha Wills expanded from a local brand to being featured in Hollywood films
28:48 - Samantha's biggest lessons introducing her brand in the United States
31:37 - Why Samantha felt like 15 years was long enough for her company
35:33 - What Samantha Wills is working on moving forward
39:09 - The one legacy Samantha wants to leave
40:27 - How to stop imposter syndrome
42 min