Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in jewelry but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Konstantina Mahlia, owner, and president of Mahlia Collection, located in Tucson, AZ, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am an award-winning jewelry designer and one of a very select few globally, catering to a small group within the one percent. My pieces are all one of a kind and inscribed with my signature. So I sit on fine art and fine jewelry cusp, and my customers are collectors.

Tell us about yourself

When I began in 2005, the jewelry I wanted wasn't in the market. I wanted very special, collectible pieces that would seamlessly transition from day to evening and reflect a woman's taste and style, not her husband's or boyfriend's wealth and social caste. So they were very much a statement of social liberation, especially as I was told that that type of man wouldn't understand my work or buy it. And they wouldn't because it didn't show off their power and success in a blingy way. Well, the news is, I never needed that customer. My client is a woman, or man, buying jewelry for themselves, not as a gift. And they are fiercely loyal to my work.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

To stay true to my aesthetic, I have a look to this day that is inimitably my own. To survive when others with far more experience, connections, and clout have not. To know who my client is, what they want, and deliver on that every time.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Staying in control of the machine, adapting to the one hundred thousand curve balls that keep coming, and dealing with rampant sexism in a male-dominated industry.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Have enough capital to start and a cushion behind that. Be strategic in what your brand is about your story of origin, your brand values, and your brand aesthetic. Without those, you have nothing. Know your market and how you want to penetrate it.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Believe in yourself because you are number one, two, and three. Everyone else has to believe in you to follow, and that strong sense of purpose and direction will bring in your team.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://mahliacollection.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/konstantina.mahlia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mahliacollection/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/boldlyfeminine
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/konstantinamahlia/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.