Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in jewelry but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ashkan Asgari, owner of Misfit Diamonds, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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

We are a diamond and gemstone wholesale start-up based out of Vancouver, working b2b within the jewelry industry. We’re working to build a wholesale to a retail ecosystem with our clients downstream and leveraging our combined buying power to work upstream in the supply chain to command greater transparency in our sourcing and to help raise the standards for what ethical sourcing in our industry looks like.

Tell us about yourself

I grew up in the jewelry industry. My father third a generation goldsmith, and so I was exposed to the trade from a young age. I started Misfit two and a half years ago with the vision of what I believe a diamond wholesale company could and should be. It’s an immense privilege to make a living selling shiny rocks, and I believe that privilege comes with an onus to give back to our industry and our communities to leave them better than when we found them.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Launching our collection of Canadian-origin diamonds last year was a dream come true moment for me. Tracked from mine to polish with documentation for each step along the way, the collection is the blueprint for what we want our sourcing to look like at Misfit.

Growing Misfit and my team from a concept in the Fall of 2019 to four offices across North America and a team of 14 and counting in two and a half years is a pretty wonderful feeling.

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

It’s all-consuming. It’s been difficult to find work-life balance amidst the many needs and demands of a growing start-up, and the sense of fatigue and burn-out at times can be overwhelming.

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

  1. Write down your vision and pin your goals up as navigation points upon your horizon. Having goals in mind will help you keep your eye on the prize, aid in keeping you on track, and lift you up when you feel defeated.
  2. Empower the people around you. It’s difficult to achieve something of magnitude alone. Find good people, elevate them, and in turn, they will help elevate you.
  3. Lean into failures and mistakes, they are the most enriching and valuable experiences you can have, and they will help you create the Blue Print for your success.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.misfitdiamonds.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misfitdiamonds/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashkan-asgari-9b851426/

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.