How This Jewelry Designer Transformed a Pricey Hobby Into A Thriving Business

Today we’re going to talk about a remarkable woman who started with a struggling business…

But with hard work, determination, and tons of support from a community of talented individuals in the jewelry-making industry, she turned her business into one that supports her lifestyle and continues to grow, every day! 

I love watching a gifted designer reach a place where they make a profit off their passion, enabling them to live the life they want while doing the work they absolutely love!

So let’s shine the spotlight on Andrea Li, a jewelry-making entrepreneur who started her business, Andrea Li Limited Collections, right in Denver, Colorado. 

It all started when Andrea began making jewelry for herself, interested in having custom-made pieces that spoke to her personal style. The jewelry was eye-catching, and people would offer to buy them right off her neck! Naturally, Andrea knew she had found her calling.

She started to make jewelry to sell, each piece as beautiful and unique as the last. But with no experience, her business endeavor quickly transformed into an expensive, unsustainable hobby. Sales were slow, profits were low, and she had no direction.

In 2015, her business took a major hit that Andrea struggled to recover from, putting her on edge and forcing her into action. She had to make a giant pivot to save her languishing business, or else it would mean lights out.

Andrea decided to start taking metalsmithing courses to expand her skill set. During one of her classes, she met a member of the Flourish & Thrive Academy community who was enrolled in the Mastermind Program. 

The two became close friends, and the student became privy to Andrea’s dilemma. 

That’s when Andrea learned about Flourish & Thrive Academy, and she was quick to jump online to find out if it was as good as her friend claimed.

She logged on and read up, but after some heavy research and much consideration, Andrea was still undecided. 

The financial investment was a big deal. She was still in the building stages of her business, trying to recover from a financial setback the year before, and she wondered if she could get the same experience just working hard and researching on her own. 

Andrea eventually realized that because her business was still in the early building block stages, it was actually the perfect time to join the Flourish & Thrive community and sign up for a program. 

She had made up her mind. A few clicks later, and Andrea was a member of Diamond Insiders.

With no time to spare, Andrea got busy and started making some much-needed changes, taking one program after another and educating herself on all that Flourish & Thrive Academy had to offer. 

Just 3 months after becoming a Diamond Insider, she made an official e-commerce website to market her jewelry. It helped. Slowly but surely, her sales picked up. But she still wasn’t where she wanted to be. 

Andrea knew what she needed to do next. Understanding the value Diamond Insiders had given her, she took the next step and joined Laying The Foundation without hesitation.

Teaming up with her coach, Andrea received a bunch of feedback on what she needed to do in order to set her business up for some solid success. 

Here’s what she did…

• Identified her dream client, getting clear on just who she wanted to market to 

• Created a lead-generating system to make those dream clients come to her

• Did daily Facebook lives, creating an online presence beyond her new e-commerce website  

• Instead of making individual pieces of jewelry, she started making cohesive collections  

The result? Andrea’s struggling, low-profit business bloomed with success.

Now, her business pays her a regular salary, supports her lifestyle, and lets her do what she absolutely loves. 

Her collections of unique, one-of-a-kind pieces, with a heavy focus on the beauty of gemstones, now sell out faster than she can make them. She also started a private label in November 2018 with 6 dream client stockist accounts before embarking on a formal buyer outreach campaign. 

And she even discovered a love of digital marketing, which she now uses as a tool to nurture the growth of Andrea Li Limited Collections.  

All in all, a huge transformation, compared to where she was just one year ago! Here’s what Andrea has to say about her experience:

“I have learned that you have to be willing to do the hard work. You have to commit yourself beyond what you think is even possible. You have to be prepared to fight for your passion. It took me a while to settle in but when it finally did, there’s been nothing but blinders on with a game plan to the finish line.

I recommend Laying the Foundation for designers that are ready to get serious about turning their hobbies into a real business or taking their existing business to the next level.”

With expert coaches from Flourish & Thrive Academy to back her up, as well as a super supportive community of fellow jewelry designers, Andrea went from dealing with a huge financial blow to her business to creating sold out, one-of-a-kind collections.

She has big things in store for 2019 and is working on releasing her next batch of limited collection jewelry. 

If you have your own jewelry business and are finally ready to get it off the ground and quit your 9-5, then join Laying The Foundation. Together, we’ll get your jewelry in the hands of your dream clients, just like Andrea did!