Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in jewelry but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Setareh Bateni, founder of One Thing Lockets, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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

Inspired by a documentary, One Thing lockets sets out to use jewelry as a way of getting people's messages of empowerment and encouragement out in the world so we can see how valuable and connected we all are. We ask people all over the world, "What is ONE THING you bring to this world?" and put their answers in tiny lockets for you to find! So, each locket comes with a little message from someone else in the world, connecting you to the value in them! Your package will also have water-resistant blank paper so that you can write a message as well. You can write and wear the ONE THING that inspires/empowers/heals you and keep that reminder close in your locket. Or, you can gift a message of empowerment in the locket to help someone else. Each locket comes in a handmade glass test tube, a message in a bottle!

Customers have used the lockets as sentimental gifts (to teachers, bride's maids, female colleagues) and as mental health aids, wearing a message that gets them through difficult times.

In October 2019, I opened a flagship shop for One Thing Lockets in Vancouver, Canada! My goal is to bring attention to the people isolated all over the world while helping people know that they are both loved and not alone through Lockets. We donate 10% of all sales to Postpartum Depression help.

Tell us about yourself

I have a Masters's Degree in Philosophy and started making jewelry. While watching a documentary called Living On One Dollar, I was inspired to help show people how our innate similarities connect us and empower us as humans. I hoped that realizing this would allow people to live more fulfilled lives, free from feeling alone and isolated. Since I have skills in jewelry making, I found an opening in the market for lockets. Lockets had faded over the past years, but there was a re-surging need to wear and carry personalized and sentimental jewelry. Sure enough, with a little time and research, I set out to use lockets as a way to connect people and help #FightIsolation.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Opening my own shop and witnessing people interact with our brand as intended. You can do all the research in the world and know exactly what to expect from your customers, but when they actually interact with your brand before your eyes, there is a sense of HOPE that overwhelms you that is like watching your child take its first steps. You can't always remember the awards you win or the top sales days, but you'll never forget the face of someone who interacted with your brand in a meaningful way.

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

Time. You will never have enough of it, and or you'll feel guilty if you do. Time doesn't work as we know it when you're a business owner. You are either always working or sitting around, unhappy, because you're not. Learning when to stop fully is not about skill. It's about emotional intelligence and having faith the business will be there when you return. Time is also no longer measured in years but in milestones and goals reached.

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

  1. Never act on a feeling alone. Back it up with repeated and repeatable research.
  2. Remember that a 'taste' of your old lifestyle can easily convince you to quit. Building a business is hard and having a desk job is always easier. Don't give up, take a break, and then assess if you still want to be in your business or not.
  3. Don't forget you'll never be perfectly 'happy' with how you perform, and that's OK. The unhappiness can always drive you to do better. But build a sense of being proud instead. For every struggle, know it wouldn't exist unless you had gotten far enough to experience the struggle.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://onethinglockets.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onethinglockets
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onethinglockets/

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.