Her Jewelry Business Brought Her Family Out of Poverty: How This Designer Scaled to 6-Figures in Only 5 Years

From barely scraping by to supporting her family full-time, this designer grew her jewelry side-hustle to a 6-figure business in only 5 years.

Quay Flom has always loved jewelry, but various metal allergies prevented her from wearing most mainstream pieces. So, she did what only a true creative visionary would do: she started making her own.

She came to realize her natural talent for the craft when people kept stopping her to ask, “OMG, where did you get that?” 

The requests for custom pieces came pouring in from friends and family, and eventually they urged her to start her own business.

Just like that, Quay Ann Designs was born.

Quay dedicated herself to her jewelry business as a source of side income for her family. But year after year, her sales stagnated.

No matter what she did, she couldn’t get her sales to budge. She was stuck in a cycle of stagnation.

As the sole breadwinner for her family of four, it was incredibly frustrating to pour so much time and energy into something for so little payoff.

Quay was stuck in a rut. She knew something had to change, but she didn’t know what.

She and her husband were preparing to adopt three of their grandchildren who, due to unfortunate circumstances, were stuck in the foster care system.

Then, right at the worst possible moment, Quay was laid off from her job.

When challenging life circumstances caused Quay’s fight-or-flight instincts to kick in, she chose to fight.

It’s this part of Quay’s story that makes her such an inspiring member of the Flourish & Thrive Community.

Her family found themselves in the worst-case-scenario. With three extra mouths to feed, every day was a struggle to make ends meet.

But Quay is tough, and she knew her jewelry business could be a ticket to a better future for her and her family.

So, she started looking for ways to grow her business.

Flourish & Thrive Academy kept coming up in Quay’s search for answers. 

Without any extra funds to invest in a coaching program, she took advantage of all the free resources she could; signing up for the email list, binging the podcast, and engaging with the community.

Quay knew that successful designers have to invest in their businesses. Once she had learned everything she could, she made the calculated decision to enroll in one of our bootcamps.

Her dedication and resilience stood out immediately, and she fit right in with the community. When an opportunity for a Laying the Foundation scholarship came up, she applied right away.

Laying the Foundation was exactly what Quay needed to get her business out of a rut – a self-paced online course that teaches designers how to build a profitable jewelry business.

She flew through the program, implementing everything that she could. This was her opportunity to build a business that could really support her family.

THROUGH LAYING THE FOUNDATION, QUAY WAS ABLE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE BIGGEST HURDLES IN HER JEWELRY BUSINESS …

• When Quay first when through the pricing portion of the program, it brought her to tears. All these years, she had been severely underpricing her work. She hadn’t known how much her jewelry was actually worth.

• Learning about her dream client completely changed the way she spoke about her business. This gave her a newfound confidence, and she began attracting the kinds of customers who were right for her brand.

• Quay began meeting weekly with her accountability partners, a practice she still does to this day. They celebrate each other’s accomplishments and keep each other motivated to keep reaching for their goals.

• Her business had started as a side hustle, but now she was finally learning to implement strategies in her marketing, time management, and planning that led to tremendous results for her business.

But wait, it gets even better.

If you’ve been a part of the Thrive Tribe for awhile, you might recognize Quay. Shortly after she joined LTF, she applied for a position within our company. That was five years ago, and she’s been a crucial part of our team ever since.

It’s a bittersweet moment for me, because in the last five years, Quay’s business has grown so much that she’s leaving her position with Flourish & Thrive Academy to focus on her jewelry full-time, and even purchase an art gallery!

Although it’s sad to see her go, stories like Quay’s are the reason I got into coaching in the first place.

FIVE YEAR’S AGO, QUAY’S FAMILY WAS ON THE BRINK OF POVERTY. NOW, SHE’S RUNNING A 6-FIGURE JEWELRY BUSINESS.

• Quay doubled her sales in just the first year alone – even though she sold less jewelry. That’s the power of pricing right!

• With the structure and strategies she gained from LTF, Quay has since scaled her business to the 6-figure mark.

• Consignment became a huge source of revenue for her, and she recently had the opportunity to purchase the gallery she sells in. Her humble side hustle is now a full-time business.

Quay credits much of her success to the lifetime access Laying the Foundation students get. She goes through the course again every year, implementing new strategies and pushing her business to the next level.

Looking back on where she started, it’s hard to believe how much has changed in only five years!

Quay’s final piece of advice to jewelry designers looking to grow a profitable business: “Invest in yourself and in your business, whether it’s $100 or $1 million. Whatever you can afford, make it happen.”

Laying the Foundation is a 12-week online program designed by jewelry designers, for jewelry designers.

Growing a business can be stressful, lonely, and exhausting when you don’t have a clear path ahead. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Book a free Strategy Audit and one of our expert coaches will sit down with you to discuss your biggest hurdles in business and recommend the best resources for your unique situation.
You’re in the process of writing your inspiring success story, just like Quay’s. I hope Flourish & Thrive Academy can be a part of it.