Girls today I want to share with you the story of a girl boss who started her jewelry business following her passion .
Tania, the owner of Olive + Piper started her business in 2012 . She’s always dreamed her jewelry store so she started olive + piper with some savings, a handful of products and a background in sciences. Since she couldn’t find a job she focused on Olive+Piper.
” Things picked up – up, down and up again. Now, a couple of years later, we’re still kicking and sparkling more than ever “.
I interviewed Tania, the owner of Olive +Piper to go deeper and to understand how she started her own business so that her story can be an inspiration also for you 🙂
Tell us a bit about your company ( the design process, how and where do you produce them, your team )
Olive + piper is an online jewelry boutique for stylish, ambitious and playful women who love a little (or a lot of) sparkle! You can find us in select boutiques across Canada and the US as well. In the beginning, I carefully curated pieces depending on what I liked, whether it was overseas or in North America. Since then, I’ve introduced in-house designed pieces which are inspired by a lot of the daily things around me and my personal style. Any time I see something I like, I snap a photo and keep it for inspiration later. You never know what you can create from it! I currently work with 1 other person, and between us, we tackle everything that comes our way.
How was your starting period? How did you find your first clients?
The beginning was really exciting! I started olive + piper in late 2012. I had a job in the eCommerce industry and was really interested in building something from the ground up and seeing where I could take it. When we launched, our first customers learned about us through Instagram and also some influencers and bloggers we collaborated with. It’s so much easier nowadays for small businesses to market themselves for free with all the different social channels and platforms out there!
How did you handle pricing your services when you first launched your business?
I determined the pricing for each and every piece of jewelry based on my costs – importing it, shipping it out, and the product itself – and also the quality of the piece itself. You want to find a price that will give you healthy margin to continue operating, but also one that the shopper will love. We want to provide amazing style and quality at an affordable and guilt-free price.
What has the process been like marketing your business and getting your service out there to potential clients?
It’s never ending! It takes time to build up and once you get momentum, you have to continue looking for other opportunities to keep it going. We take advantage of all the free marketing channels out there – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogs etc. and also collaborate with complimentary brands and influencers. Most small businesses don’t have the ability to pay for continued advertising. It can get really expensive. With all the social media platforms out there, it gives small brands an opportunity to put themselves in front of an audience for little or at no cost. It’s so different to be a business owner now than it was 10 years ago.
What social media network do you find to be the most pivotal to your business?
We focus most of our time on Instagram and growing our following there. It’s great for us because our products are visual – it’s about design, color and styling – and instagram is the best way to show this off.
What has been the most rewarding experience since launching Olive + Piper
There have been so many rewarding (and humbling) experiences! The very first rewarding experience was telling people about olive + piper and have them say, “Oh! I’ve heard of it!” or “I follow you on Instagram!” and the best one – “I shop there!”
What’s your plan for the future?
We’re working on creating more of our own designs and partnering with retailers all across North America and even internationally. We want to continue building olive + piper into a brand that’s known and recognized for on-trend and stylish fashion jewelry.
What advice would you give female entrepreneurs who want to start a business?
Just go for it. The biggest obstacle is YOU. It’s so easy for everyone to make excuses about why they haven’t started yet – I don’t know enough about business, I don’t have time, I need to save money, I don’t know how to get a social following. Time isn’t going to stop for you, so just dive into it. You’re never going to be 100% ready. That’s just not how it works. But you need to put a step forward and do something about it. That’s what being an entrepreneur is. There are so many tools and resources out there to help you reach your customers and market your business for free. Google itself is a goldmind! You can learn anything and everything – and you will learn SO much about yourself. Every second you spend deciding on if you should start, someone else has made the decision to do it.
What do you think about? Leave a comment below
Photos from Christine Pienaar and Nadia Hung
