Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in jewelry but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lizzy Klein, Founder of mazi + zo, located in New York, NY, USA.

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

mazi + zo designs and sells delicate fine jewelry that's handmade in NYC using sustainable solid 14k gold and .925 pure sterling silver. Our jewelry is popular with minimalists who love our thoughtful, clean design aesthetic and also "maxed out minimalists" (like me!) who like to pile it on because all of our pieces coordinate seamlessly. We also have a wildly popular line of licensed sorority jewelry for 18 sororities, and most of those customers are active collegiate sorority members and their parents, as well as some alumnae members.

Tell us about yourself

I've always loved fashion and design. I got my start in the industry as a PR intern for Marc Jacobs and then as a merchandiser at Guess Jeans (the height of cool in the early 90s!) I maintained my fashion habit when I transitioned to working on an early e-commerce venture at Time Warner, where they valued my styling experience, and I got in early on the dawning dot-com era. Since then, I've worked in the NYC startup world for over 25 years as a team member, founder, investor, and advisor.

In 2018, as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, I knew I wanted to dive back into the fashion world. As I scrolled through Instagram for inspiration, I noticed a ton of style influencers rocking expensive sorority hoodies, water bottles, and sunglasses, but not sorority jewelry. This was the a-ha moment: sorority jewelry fell into two categories: outdated styles or cheaply-made on-trend styles. Could I create a high-quality brand that respects today's smart and stylish sorority members? Turns out I could! And when we connected with our customers, we found they were drawn to our collection's easy cool vibe and wanted a more extensive collection in the same vein. At first, I was hesitant to move away from our niche sorority market, but I also realized that there was a much larger audience out there, so we expanded and haven't looked back! I'm motivated by the desire to build a company that's consistent with my values.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Creating a brand from scratch that's been featured in big media (Vogue Italia, HuffPost, Entertainment Weekly) has repeat customers and has contributed to causes I care about, including free and fair elections and reproductive rights.

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

Prioritizing and doing it all. I try to focus my time on projects and tasks that have the most impact on my business, but as a solo business owner, I also have to cover urgent, less directly impactful things like computer backups, renewing licenses, and daily shipping.

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

  1. Test and validate with the smallest effort possible before you go all in. There are a ton of inexpensive ways to see if your target customers are interested in what you’re doing, so try one that fits your product or service. You could start an Instagram feed, blog, or podcast and see if you can get traction. If you can’t get people to follow you for free, how will you acquire customers? You could run an inexpensive Google ad campaign that leads to a landing page where potential customers can give you feedback by voting on colors/styles/options or signing up for updates, or even pre-ordering. You get the idea.
  2. Talk to everyone. The more inputs, the better, especially from people who aren’t inclined to support you out of personal loyalty. Skeptics can identify potential roadblocks you haven’t yet considered and should account for. And lots of people who aren’t in your niche may have ideas about marketing or a relevant comparable business, product, or service.
  3. Consider your financial position. Can you afford to go without a salary for a while? It usually takes longer than you think for your business to generate enough revenue to pay yourself. If you and your family rely on your paycheck, you might need to start your business as a side hustle.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.maziandzo.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maziandzo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maziandzo/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzyklein/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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