October 15, 2024

Thrive Insider

Exclusive stories of successful entrepreneurs

Emily Ko founder of Australian fine jewellery label, SIT & WONDER

Who are you and what business did you start?

My name is Emily Ko and I’m the founder of Australian fine jewellery label, SIT & WONDER. I founded the business in October 2016.

What’s your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

SIT & WONDER was founded after a life changing career move, in which I embraced the sentiment: “If I never do this, I’ll always sit and wonder…” The label was created to meet the need for premium, yet accessible fine jewellery, in a market saturated by two extremes: fast fashion and unattainable luxury.

Each collection is responsibly crafted in small batches, and sold direct to the consumer via our online store which allows us to offer accessible fine jewellery at attainable price points.

Describe the process of launching the business.

The business was launched online and promoted through our communities on Facebook and Instagram initially. We then built up a customer base through, digital marketing, word of mouth and a rewards/referral program.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

Paid Facebook and Instagram ads were the most important way for us to grow sales revenue and attract new customers. We also have a successful Rewards program which helps us retain customers and promote loyalty. Through positive customer experience, reviews and word of mouth we’ve also been able to expand our customer base and attract new customers.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

We are doing really well, especially over the past 2 years. The silver lining with COVID and lockdowns is that people have been shopping online more and we’ve seen an increase in our sales as a result. In the near future we have plans to expand our range into a more premium 14k gold range. We also want to focus on growing our international customer base and improving our international shipping proposition.

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

I think I went into it pretty naïve but I’ve learnt a lot on the way. One thing I’ve learnt is that there’s no such thing as organic growth – I’ve listened to a lot of interviews in podcasts where successful business founders (that may have started their businesses 10 years ago) found early success with organic social growth. A lot of those experiences can no longer be applied in today’s landscape. If you want to grow, you have to pay for it and I think it’s a big hurdle for a lot of small business owners – especially if they don’t have external sources of funding.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

Website: Shopify Productivity: Trello, Outlook Inventory Management: Sortly Accounting: Xero Photo Editing: Photoshop and Lightroom Social scheduling: Tailwind

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

The only helpful online resources I know are jewellery specific, rather than business specific: Nancy LT Hamilton and Online Jewelry Academy.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

Every business needs to have a good website – even if they aren’t selling online. Make sure you take the time to learn about digital marketing, especially if your selling products online. Really good product images are very important if you sell a product like fashion or jewellery. Check out jeulia $45 off deals to find perfect jewelry options.

Where can we go to learn more?

www.sitandwonder.com.au and @sitandwonderjewellery on Instagram & Facebook