The Buzz | Alex Tempany from Alex Tempany Jewellery

Sometimes you choose your business and sometimes your business chooses you.

This has never been more true than for my next guest Alex Tempany

As Alex travelled the world as a young woman, she naturally collected trinkets and treasures that caught her eye.

The universe…. and maybe Richard Branson… would eventually reveal why, as Alex took the leap and left her corporate job to start the incredible….

Alex Tempany Jewellery.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Sometimes you choose your business, and sometimes your business chooses you.
This has never been more true than for my next guest,
Alex Timpani.
As Alex travelled the world as a young woman, she
naturally collected trinkets and treasures that caught her eye. The universe.
And maybe Richard Branson would eventually reveal why, as Alex

(00:26):
took the leap and left her corporate job to start
the incredible Alex Timpani jewellery. Please welcome Alex to the bus.
Well, to say that I'm excited to share this next
business journey would be an understatement. I feel like the
business journey of Alex tm jewellery will tick all the

(00:48):
boxes for an inspirational motivational business journey. Um, Alex left
her full time job in corporate to pursue her passion
full time. I love that her brand is a testament
to taking on hard challenges, and
her company was created to empower others to find bravery
and to live a bolder, more fulfilling life.

(01:10):
Really does tick all our boxes, it's music to our
ears here at the buzz. So hang on to your seats, folks.
This is going to be a goodie welcome, Alex Tampon.
Thank you, Karen. Alex, I read as a kid, you
were often found fossicking around your dad's garage, finding and
fixing things. Now finding things you know you you mentioned,

(01:30):
felt like discovering old stories. Uncovering their mystery, and fixing
them was about
what they could become and where they could go. It's
a really beautiful story because obviously it's a big part
of where you are today in your in your company.
But I wanna go back to your career in the
marketing world because even though it wasn't such a tactile experience,

(01:51):
working on brand and strategy, insights and
yeah, innovations for corporate also plays heavily into that storytelling
and uncovering, You know, the mystery as in the brand journey. So, um,
it felt really lovely. Um, synergy there, but finishing up
in high school heading to uni Was that where you

(02:12):
saw yourself, or was it less planned and more organic?

Speaker 2 (02:17):
It was way less planned than that. Um, my top
three preferences coming out of school were
I think the number one was actually creative advertising in hindsight.
Hilarious because I have a bone of creative advertising in
my body. Now I actually know what it is. Uh,
the second one I had down was diet and nutrition OK,

Speaker 1 (02:40):
real different.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
And the third one I had down just for shits
and giggles was actually, um, a
bachelor of business in marketing like, Oh, I, I love
the business side of fashion and creativity. And you know
how to make money from from what really excites people. Yes. Yes.

(03:02):
And I put that down because it had quite a
high mark and I was like, Yeah, whatever. I'll just
give it a crack And
number three was where I ended up. OK, so yeah,
it it was quite organic and and quite just a
finger in the wind.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah, right. And so you did your course And were
you thinking during that time were you feeling some kind
of alignment with, you know, going into the marketing brand
marketing world? Or, you know, like, how How are you feeling?
Given that it was just a finger in the

Speaker 2 (03:30):
wind? Yeah, I was really happy with the direction that
I chose. I loved the business side of it, you know,
numbers and sort of more. The scientific side is is
definitely where my strengths are, OK, And the creativity side
is not so much on the humanities, like sitting down
and drawing. It's, um it's more actually creating stuff with

(03:54):
my hands. And
that's a bit more mathematical in itself, as opposed to
the other side of it. So, yes, I definitely found
where I was meant to be, and and the business
side of fashion was always my dream. I was, you know,
forever reading. Um, you know, the fashion pages of the
a FR. And, um, how people ended up where they did. And,

(04:17):
you know,
the big luxury brands, you

Speaker 1 (04:20):
know, getting really inspired by those stories in fashion. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you started in fashion marketing when you got out
of uni?

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah. So we did year in, um, in in our course. So, uh,
the third year was actually practical. Um, which was unreal.
So I did that in a small fashion business and
worked there for a few years. Uh, not all of
it being quite so positive. Um,
it wasn't a job that ended in in the kindest

(04:51):
way And I I definitely worked out that the devil
came up a lot of the time, and I hotfooted
out of there and said
this industry is not for me. Yeah,

Speaker 1 (05:03):
right. So it didn't take

Speaker 2 (05:04):
you long? No, it didn't take me long. I was
I was in and out within a couple of years,
and then we ended up moving to London. So, um,
you know, the the opportunity come that comes out of
a closing door is fascinating. So for a few months,
I was actually working on neighbours, as were

Speaker 1 (05:23):
you. Really?
My goodness. And so how did that come about?

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Uh, my ex boyfriend did a lot of modelling and
extras work. And so, you know, suddenly I found myself
jobless at the age of 20 or whatever I was and, um,
and joined up with his agent and hung out on
the neighbours for fun.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
And so was that something that you had a taste
of and thought? Oh, actually, you know, this could be
something as a career. Or were you just like Nah,
totally a filler?

Speaker 2 (05:55):
No, totally a fill it it was It was so
much fun. Um, but, you know, it was it was
sort of a random. Um, you know, it was a
random uni job. Like I'd gone home working in what
I thought was my career to a uni job. So
I went overseas on a six week holiday. And, um,
you know, I had no strings left to Melbourne. I,

(06:18):
um I wasn't in a full time job, and I
ended up staying over there for four

Speaker 1 (06:22):
years. OK, Amazing. And then where? So what were you
working in during that

Speaker 2 (06:28):
time? So then I got back into the marketing side.
I got myself a real job.
I worked in media research. So it was consumer research
and understanding of how people consume media products and London
being the big, wild place. That it is, um, has

(06:49):
very specific jobs, and it was actually business to business media.
So at the time, um, it's now a gazillion years ago, but,
uh, it was mainly magazines and exhibitions. The, um, online
was wasn't such a thing in the middle. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. Yeah.
And I loved

Speaker 1 (07:08):
it. Yeah. Yeah. And what did you love about it?
What was it that really rang your bells?

Speaker 2 (07:13):
Understanding human behaviour. Yeah. OK, so, uh, understanding human behaviour,
what drives them to consumer product? And, you know, I
was working on magazines like ground engineering. I was working
on some of the biggest fashion shows in Europe and
understanding you know, how they helped people and how people
were consuming that information. How that translated to a commercial decision.

(07:37):
Ultimately fascinating. And so that was unreal. So I spent
four years with that company. They were, um
God, they were one of the best businesses I've ever
worked for. Um, my boss there was insanely supportive of me.
And yeah, and And I just had,
you know, professionally, such a good time in terms of

(07:59):
learning and being given the autonomy. I really thrived in
a business of that size. It was quite

Speaker 1 (08:05):
small. Yeah, right. And then what happens next

Speaker 2 (08:08):
and then? So
I'll fast forward through how and why I moved back
to Melbourne, But I did. And so, I. I had
two choices coming back to Melbourne being a much smaller
market than London. So either I stayed in media or
either I stayed in the sort of the consumer understanding side.
And that is where I moved to consumer

Speaker 1 (08:30):
consumer. And why? Why was that choice?

Speaker 2 (08:32):
Because that was all about the understanding people. Yeah, and yeah,
love it. Yeah, 100% so
I moved into the food and beverage space. It's, um
there are a lot of businesses here in Melbourne, so
I worked for an agency which serviced all those.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, right, OK. And were you loving it as much
as your role in London? Yes. OK,

Speaker 2 (08:56):
in a very different way. It was, um
I was travelling heaps, which I loved, you know, I
was in my late twenties. I was jumping on a plane.
I was, you know, had the ability to be creative. Um, ultimately,
I knew that
it was not the place that I aspired to be

(09:17):
day to day. It was great, but, you know, on
on a larger scale, not so much. OK, why
mainly the people, um, mainly the people that were in
that business and how I was being groomed and supported.
I knew I had potential, which wasn't being done. Yeah, Yeah,

Speaker 1 (09:36):
absolutely.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
In that business and one of my clients one night,
I'd been, um
I've been talking about tasty cheese for a few hours, and,
um and I went and had a chat to my
client after the, um, consumer groups, and he was like,
We've got some jobs going, OK? Do you want one? Yeah.
Hannah said I'll apply. Why not? Um

(09:59):
I actually kind of laughed in his face. I was like,
you know, like you can see me putting on a
seat like whatever. Um
but, you know, just to entertain us both, I'll give
it a crack. And then I woke up the next
morning and I thought,
this is actually really good for a lot of reasons,
but I'm happy,

Speaker 1 (10:18):
So Yeah. And what role was this?

Speaker 2 (10:21):
Um, that was in, uh,
a big food and beverage firm, which was consumer insights
and innovation. So it was essentially doing what I did,
but for the client rather than on the agency side.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yeah, OK, OK. And what did you love? So So
how long were you in that role?

Speaker 2 (10:40):
I stayed in that business for six

Speaker 1 (10:43):
years, so that's a decent chunk of time

Speaker 2 (10:46):
and moved into brand management whilst I was there. OK,
so which
it's, you know, it's it's a sideways step and and
that was a very, very common theme in my, um
in my early career is that I'm taking sideways steps
because I was more interested in the theory of what
I was doing. Um, rather than climbing any ladders. But,

(11:09):
you know, I, I have quite a low tolerance, which is, um,
to my detriment sometimes. But I've got a low tolerance
for bullshit and low tolerance for
the corporate world and the bureaucracy, either in a small
business or a large business. Um, so, you know, I
just turn my nose up and move sideways rather than
attempting to climb up and be groomed by

(11:30):
what the, um, grey haired men of both you wanted
to do?

Speaker 1 (11:33):
Yeah, right. Good on you. Good on you. I love that.
Now I see alongside, you know, your corporate roles. You
did some independent consulting in the sports and sports media space.
Where did that come from? So it

Speaker 2 (11:47):
evolved from actually an interview that I did. Um, I
did an unreal piece of work for a rather large
beer brand on trend forecasting and how
males were going to be changing over the next 10 years. And, um,
and I interviewed the CEO of a football club and

(12:10):
our 45 minute chat turned into 2.5 hours. Um, it
was just one of those amazing had a connection. And
a couple of weeks later, he's like, I'd love you
to do some wet for me, and, um, And again,
I kind of laughed and I'm like, I can't do that. Whatever. Um,

(12:34):
and I recommended someone else to do it, and
then he came back and he said, No, um, I'd
like you to do it. So then I was independently
consulting for at the time, the biggest football club in
Australia on my own. Oh,

Speaker 1 (12:54):
my goodness. And on the site and on the site. Yeah, right. OK,
so how did that go?

Speaker 2 (13:02):
I was like,
I loved it because
I was just so driven by work. Um, which, You know,
in retrospect, I would say that's probably a little bit unhealthy.
And I was I was a complete workaholic. Um, but
at the time, it was, um it was fantastic. I

(13:23):
was living the dream and a full time job that
I loved Consulting side, which was just growing. And, you know, um,
referrals just just made that gig grow quite quickly and
quite organic, I can

Speaker 1 (13:37):
imagine. And were you Did you think over that time
Oh, actually, I could leave the corporate life and and
get stuck into the consulting. So work for yourself at
that point

Speaker 2 (13:48):
because I learn so much every day, right? The corporate
world is, um, is an incredible training ground. They not
only offer you really conventional training like that, they will
give you, um, you know, skills development in, you know,
in marketing, consumer insights and innovation,

(14:08):
they also give you leadership development. You know, I went
I went on a three day leadership course when I
was I'd been at my first corporate gig for, like,
two months and, you know, for a business to invest
that amount of money mega like you don't get that.
And And I knew that. And I was also young, like,

(14:30):
you know, I. I wouldn't hire a 29 year old
to be consulting, you know, unless they had that really
true pedigree. So,
I, I wanted to stay employed in a business where
I was learning to, you know, to develop, grow and

Speaker 1 (14:50):
develop. Yeah. Good call. Good call. So,
um, at this stage, So, yeah, at this stage, did
you When were you creating jewellery? So I know you
tinkered a lot at home and and all the while
you're consulting and you got this full time job. Is
there space for creating jewellery at this stage in your life?

Speaker 2 (15:12):
So that came about my, um
after I moved back from London, I was You know,
I picked up all my my massive jewellery making boxes,
which I had not taken overseas. I was buying bits
and pieces as I was going, but I, I didn't
have my,
um my pliers and my drills and and and all
that stuff over there. So I got back home, and I, um,

(15:35):
found all that stuff, you know, the cupboard or under
my bed or whatever it was. And it would be

Speaker 1 (15:39):
like Christmas to be opening it all up again. Going. Oh,

Speaker 2 (15:42):
yes, because I have stuff that I collected. Um, coins
have been a massive part of my travel journey and,
you know, beads like I remember, um, buying a huge
pile of beads on.
What's that bridge in Prague? Charles Bridge. I think it is.
You know, I've got a little medallions I put in green.

(16:02):
So it was Yeah, I got home. And, um, and
got working with all those pieces that I collected over there,
and I was like, Just

Speaker 1 (16:10):
when you're collecting those pieces, are you thinking What are
you collecting them for? Are you thinking,
uh, at that point, this is I've I've just got
to have this. I don't necessarily know why. It's something
for my, you know, creative juices. Or are you thinking, um,
I'm going to, you know, build a brand and have
my own jewellery business one day, like, you know, where
is it? Just instinct that you're collecting these things along

(16:33):
the way.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was It was purely instinct. And,
um and the reason that I'm laughing so hard is
there was there was no magical plan. When I think
that I was buying things because I loved them and
I wanted you would wear on

Speaker 1 (16:48):
to them. Yeah. Amazing. OK, so you're back in Melbourne.
You opened up your your treasure box, and you're starting
to work again, creating these pieces just for you.

Speaker 2 (17:00):
Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Just for me, like, yeah.
God, I probably hadn't given anything away since, um, like
21st day. Right? And, you know, I'd make stuff for
my sister and my mom and stuff But yeah, it was,
um it was a genuine hobby, and I was telling
my aunt about it and
my aunt, who's she's got quite a strong personality. She's

(17:23):
an absolute, um, personal and professional for she's she's a
wonder woman, and I'm
she kind of scoffed at me. And there Why don't
you come and make real old jewellery? And I'm like,
What do you mean? And because she'd been doing gold
and silver smithing since she was a young girl, OK? And, um,
and as a hobby for her, she's very artistic alongside, uh,

(17:47):
being a doctor. And
I was like,
Cool, fine. It's, you know, again, um, someone just said
something to me and I. I just did it to
entertain themselves and entertain me a little bit. So I
was like, OK, so, um, I drove out.

Speaker 1 (18:03):
There must have been a little bit of excitement, though
there because you'd been hobby this for a long time
and you collected all these goodies and to have the
opportunity to go silversmith and and go to
there must have been a little bit of excitement there
rather than just sort of Yeah. All right.

Speaker 2 (18:18):
Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, for sure. Like I could have
done something that I I really didn't want to do. Um,
but there I guess there wasn't a road map. There
wasn't a plan. Um, I understand you to want to
formally take it up as a hobby. Yeah. So I
went along to this class, and, um,
that's an absolute cliche, but the rest is history. Like,

(18:39):
I was just in my happy space with a blow
torch and hammer and getting really dirty and, you know,
just loved it. So

Speaker 1 (18:50):
there was a real alignment when you stepped in there
and started working in that in that space. And was
it
is was it a whole new feeling of alignment or,
you know, like compared to when you're in that marketing
space and you're getting right into human behaviour and similar different, Like, where?

(19:10):
How does that alignment feel?

Speaker 2 (19:12):
It was different because it was really personal, and it
was also purely about joy and creativity. Um, you know,
I was already working a day job and a night job, Um,
absolutely working my ass off. And it was a place
where
I was literally taking time out to do something that

(19:33):
brought me so much gratification. And you have to concentrate.
You have to be mindful. You have to be in
the moment because otherwise you'll cut your finger off. You know,
my hands don't look too great these days, and that's OK.
I have accidentally set myself on fire a couple of times.
And that's
what happens if you're if you're not concentrating. Oh, my God. Yeah,

(19:57):
it was It was it was my happy place.

Speaker 1 (20:00):
OK, so how long from that sort of first introduction
before you start selling pieces
like here and there? Because II, I read that you
you had a couple of friends or people that would say, Oh,
I love that piece And you'd be like, Oh, ok.
And you, you you put it together for them. So, like,

(20:22):
how long from that class to when you start? You know,
having those exchanges?

Speaker 2 (20:27):
It was short. It was a couple of months.

Speaker 1 (20:29):
OK, Yeah,

Speaker 2 (20:31):
I, um
I just got stuck straight into making pieces I. I
didn't want to do the, you know, formal training modules
that you had to do when you you know, you're
sorting out wiggly lines and lines and, um you know,
make making the conventional key ring that most beginners do.
I just wanted to make stuff. Yeah, I I'd done

(20:53):
a three day course, And, um, and my teacher
bless her because she's now my jewellery mentor. Um, she's like, Yeah,
you've sort of already done a bit of that. I'm like, yes,
let's go. Off we go. So, um so I was
making full pieces from the early days and and very
soon after, um,
it literally just started selling off my body. So I

(21:14):
worked in marketing, Um, it there's a bunch of 2030
year old chicks who love fashion and love jewellery. And, um,
as exactly as you think it would be. And you go, Oh,
love your earrings. Where are they from? And I'm like, Oh,
I actually just made them last night, and I I'm
all excited, blah, bla bla bla, um, And then

(21:36):
they want them. And sometimes they'd literally be selling off
my body because someone's like, Oh, I've got a wedding
to Yeah, OK, fine. I'll take off my earrings and
I'll give them to you and I'll make myself another pair.
Do

Speaker 1 (21:46):
you remember your first sale in that way. Yeah,

Speaker 2 (21:50):
OK, what was it? Um it was a pair of
earrings which I launched with which were called Thea. And
they were all about, um, the sunset, which, um
which had huge personal meaning to me, the sunrise and
the sunset. Um, my father was a yachty. And so

(22:12):
the horizon and the sunset and sunrise beefing with him.
And so I've got really strong memories about that. And
I made these, um,
rather large beaten silver earrings, which were studs. So yeah,
they were They were quite a standout piece.

Speaker 1 (22:28):
Yeah. Beautiful. Amazing. Ok, so then when you realise Hey,
there's a bit of a market here. What was some
of your first steps to sort of establish yourself as
a business?

Speaker 2 (22:44):
Oh, so
I must say, there were a couple of years of
just selling stuff with business, you know? It was

Speaker 1 (22:56):
just a bit of earrings, a bit of cash. We're done.

Speaker 2 (22:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No,

Speaker 1 (23:06):
probably not. Because it was off the body. Right. There
you go. You're gross

Speaker 2 (23:13):
and I do have alcohol. So that's a whole another story.
But I would be alcohol starts with with me.

Speaker 1 (23:21):
OK, that makes me feel better for

Speaker 2 (23:23):
covid. Um,
so yeah, there there was no business. It was as
as you say, it was literally
cash and a piece of jewellery, Um, exchanging between two
pairs of

Speaker 1 (23:36):
hands. So were you thinking like, as you know, as
you were selling things like hot cakes? Were you thinking OK,
this could be a business here. Or were you still
just quite happy to cruise along?

Speaker 2 (23:51):
I knew it was a business in, um, in in
a really technical sense, however, I worked in massive brand marketing. Um, like,
I think of, um
I think of what I was doing when,
like when the jewellery sales really started taking off, I

(24:13):
was managing a wine brand that had a bottle sold
every 2.3 seconds. It was like the 15th biggest brand
in the world at the time that I was working
on it and and that was the level I was
accustomed to thinking there was, you know, I had global
teams and I had, you know, people who would manage packaging.

(24:34):
I had people who would manage pricing, um,

Speaker 1 (24:37):
which is that small business, which is small.

Speaker 2 (24:41):
And I you know, I would spend six months writing
the next year's business plan, and, you know, 30 or
40 people would input to that. And then I'd go
and implement a budget of 15 or $20 million to
to spend on a brand. And
then I'd look at a pair of earrings which, um,
I probably lost money on going if I actually thought

(25:05):
about my time. Um, the resources, you know, I did
things like a bookkeeper and insurance, and, you know, as
I as I said, it wasn't business, and so I
just scared myself out of it.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
Yeah, because you've had that such high level, you know,
experience and expectations. It was all and and it sounds
like you're really into, you know, data and that obviously
a huge part of your role. So it's almost like a,
um
What is it? Um, Analysis paralysis.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
100%. And I'm great at overthinking this. My husband actually
bought me a jumper a couple of years ago. Um,
with this picture of a chick on the front saying,
Hold on, let me overthink this. And I'm like, Oh,
I feel quite nippy Career out of

Speaker 1 (25:52):
that up to you? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and that
would be the other thing, because you'd be like, No, no,
I know what I'm doing. I've had build a very
successful career. This isn't ready to be a business,

Speaker 2 (26:04):
but it never would have been

Speaker 1 (26:05):
ready. No. Well, that's right.

Speaker 2 (26:08):
Yeah, it it never would have been ready. So
it, you know, I I inched forward with it. I
think around around that time, um,
when
When I started. You know, selling stuff in more in
more volume. And, you know, we got around the office, and, um,
I think I offered a prize in a, um in

(26:30):
a corporate raffle so suddenly. Um, you know, I was
on the back of the toilet doors and, you know,
it was in the back of the boys toilet doors.
So the guys at work were about it, and
I was like, Oh, OK, I should you know, I
am in marketing. I should look at myself a logo. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I got myself a logo. Yeah,

(26:53):
And then just just by pure chance, I got asked
to make some wedding rings at the same time. Uh,
so I made the female band the male band and
I also made cuff links. That's right for, um, for
all the brewers about. And I was like, OK, OK,

(27:13):
this year.
Yeah. Um,

Speaker 1 (27:16):
just hand these over after alcohol swipes. Packaging

Speaker 2 (27:25):
customer service here. I need to offer sales follow up. Um,
I need to talk about insurance pieces. You know, it
It was a real thing, and I needed to, um
I needed to give the the products and the experience
the sort of the context that they deserved. Ah,

(27:46):
and and that involved evolving it into a bit of
a business. So that's when I got more serious. And,
um and I got a very small website, and I
think it might have been one or two pages. And, uh,
how did I too, uh, obviously a P and all
those behind the scenes things.

Speaker 1 (28:07):
So were you thinking at that stage? Uh, you know,
were you getting excited by the growth and thinking this
could be a real business, or were you still thinking
I need to legitimise it all a bit, but it's
still a side

Speaker 2 (28:18):
hustle. Absolutely. Still a side hustle. You know, I, um
I had a lifestyle. I had a mortgage built around, uh,
a quite a decent salary. And, you know, I I'd
travel a few times a year. And

Speaker 1 (28:33):
so there was still too much on the grass Was
still way greener on the other side. Yeah,

Speaker 2 (28:39):
from, um, yeah, mainly, from a financial sense. Yeah, and
the know how as well. Like as you said, like I,
I was very good at operating as a cog in
a machine.
I did not know how to be that machine on
my own and how to build that machine from the
ground up. It's It's such a different kettle of fish.

(29:00):
So

Speaker 1 (29:00):
how long, then, before you got your a BN and
you had your big sales to stepping into it fully

Speaker 2 (29:08):
probably
two or three years I am.
So I never planned on doing it. I I scared
myself out of it by being quite literally, you know,
write writing the business plan in my head, I'd lie.
I'd lie there in bed at night, time going. How
do I make this into into something big and sustainable and, um,

(29:29):
and scalable and enough for me to have a full
time career with it? And,
you know, I I'd be selling hundreds of thousands of
pairs of earrings in my head, and I'm like, I
do that He had a bench with a hammer. Yeah,
you know, it's, um
no, no, no. Every time that yeah, that is big

(29:52):
and scary. And I don't know how I have I
have built myself an amazing career that
that involves a lot of different pieces around me to
support me, and I only know how to function. In
that sense, I can't. That's what I said to myself.

Speaker 1 (30:12):
That's a massive

Speaker 2 (30:13):
block. It was I had work through that, um,
you don't. So what happened was I think, um,
I was sitting at my desk one afternoon, and I
remember it was a Tuesday, and I got an email saying,
Would you like to apply to come and be on

(30:36):
a leadership retreat in the Caribbean and, um, Richard Branson's island?
And I was like,
you know, the old man would have gone, um
oh,
I'd never get into that, or I can't do that or,
you know, that's only for other people. And something in
me that day just said
nothing to lose. Yeah. So,

(30:58):
uh, you know, I
I wrote back that I wanted to apply, and I
got the application, and we just had a huge sales
conference at work. And ah, the the speaker that they
had at that sales conference was a guy,
uh, in a wheelchair. He had taught himself to walk
again after, um, he was in a cycling accident on

(31:19):
a freeway somewhere in New South Wales, and he was
told that he would never walk again. And he taught
himself to walk, and I love it.
His whilst he was in his recovery period, which was
years and years and years, his dad said to him, Right,
you've come this far. Now how far can you go?
And like, I've got tears in my arms just saying

(31:41):
that out loud. And
and that's what I was thinking of when I was
writing the application. Um, for this retreat going right. Alex,
you You know, you sat there saying I can't You
don't really know what direction you're going. You know, I'm
still quite happy moving sideways in in my roles. And, um,
I knew that the corporate ladder was not my ladder.

(32:01):
It was not something I was meant to climb up.
I didn't want my boss's job. I didn't want my
boss's boss's job. And I was like, but I don't
know where to go.
Um, you know, on paper, everything is right. Everything is
great and glossy. I've got a full time job. I've
got my side gig. I've got my family business, You know,
I've got the salary. I've got the lifestyle. Um, my

(32:22):
world's great. I'm really filled.
Um, but

Speaker 1 (32:26):
not really not If you're looking at those kind of opportunities,
then yeah, there's something more.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
So I was like, Oh, shit, man, If this guy
can teach himself to walk, I need to harden up and,
um and, you know, see how much farther I can
go because, you know, it should be easy what this
amazing man has done. So yeah, um, fast forward. 56 months.
And
I was flying off to greatest some island in the Caribbean,

(32:58):
which was actually on the other side of the world team. Um,
and it took, like, even on the fastest flights I
could get. It still took, like, four days to get
there or something. Um,
and it was just the most incredible experience. Like in

Speaker 1 (33:12):
a real pinch me moment as you were flying to
the Caribbean, though, right? It totally was

Speaker 2 (33:17):
like I was used to travelling, but I didn't usually
go to places quite so unconventional. Um, and

Speaker 1 (33:25):
knowing who you were gonna see at the other end.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
And there there was There was big names there, and
it was quite glossy in a lot of ways. And
the people who affected me the most were,
um no, the local women there were incredible, like the
the people who worked there, the people who you know,
serve as like that they were you know, they were

(33:49):
just incredible humans. And I learned so much from them
and then the the other What did you learn from them?
The concept of resilience and pushing through OK, because what
I'd come to realise is that I had become very
lazy in a lot of ways. And, you know, the

(34:12):
process of of ageing makes you colour within the lines.
And I had started colouring within the lines very much so.
And when I'm I'm talking about ageing, like at the time.
You know, I was what
I was mid thirties at this stage and and I
was like this, You know,

(34:32):
I've had the privilege of choice that's come about to
me through opportunities and and through financial comfort. And these
women don't have that. Yeah. What do they keep doing?
They keep pushing through. Yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Again. It's
like

(34:53):
the amazing guy, Um, who taught himself to walk? Yeah.
Alex Harden it. Ever.

Speaker 1 (34:59):
Yeah. What was the issue, though? Like when you keep saying,
you know, harden up and and and like, What? Was
it just that you didn't know where you were going?
Or was it that you really wanted to go into
this jewellery, but you couldn't make yourself go in there?
Like what? What was what was it that you needed
to harden up over,

Speaker 2 (35:18):
um,
where my career was going.

Speaker 1 (35:21):
So direction generally?

Speaker 2 (35:24):
Because I knew
that You know that for what was the most part
of my career, which was, um, which was, you know, marketing,
which is a is a massive T. Um, I didn't
know where I wanted to go in that space. And
then I had this teeny small business which, you know,

(35:46):
was
turning over a couple of 100 bucks a quarter like teeny,
teeny T, which was my happy place. And that was
my creative outlet. That's where I was really creating change
in hand is in people's flies in the air, not
riding 50 F, 50 page PowerPoint decks, a

Speaker 1 (36:05):
real internal battle,

Speaker 2 (36:07):
real internal battle. So, um,
you know, I, I didn't have a clear definition of
my problem when I was sitting there thinking about this.
I just knew that I was
not heading in the right. Yeah, you were

Speaker 1 (36:22):
on the right road.

Speaker 2 (36:23):
I I'd just taken the, um the David Bowie route,
which is I don't know where I'm going, but I
know it's gonna be Yeah, yeah, I like that. I
think that's fine. If you're David Bowie because, you know,
he was superhuman. So before his time and and, um
and you know, I'm I'm not David Bowie. I cheat

(36:43):
things out of hard work, Not through sheer natural, superhuman method.
And so I was living my David Bowie life without
David Bowie.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
I just goes to show you here, and

Speaker 2 (36:55):
I wasn't happy. Yeah, ultimately, I wasn't happy like I was.
You know, it was six weeks out from getting married
when I went on this. So, you know, life was
pretty damn exciting. Um, I was in my mid thirties.
I was marrying the guy of my dreams. Um, you know,
we were about to go on a honeymoon. We were

(37:17):
we were looking at, you know, buying a house together and,
you know, like
life was, you know, I. I had it. I had
it all, wasn't I just had this niggle that, um
I was a bit directionless in my professional

Speaker 1 (37:32):
life. Yeah. So what are you what else are you
getting out of that experience?

Speaker 2 (37:38):
I learned that there was
power in my wounds and and, God, that is a
dramatic statement. And, um,
it's like I realised that the hardships that I had
been through, like,
you know, and I want to talk about hardships. It's
everything from asshole bosses and and walking out of a

(38:00):
job to, um, you know, to family tragedy that I
thought had defined me. And it was something that I
needed to heal from, and probably one of the reasons
that I worked so bloody hard in my twenties when, um,
you know, most of my friends were, you know, had
great jobs. and great careers, but, um

(38:23):
but, you know, a little bit less identifying themselves through
their work.
I learned that,
you know, that was part of who I was and
that there was a lot that I could use from
those experiences because I'm looking at at at these women

(38:43):
who essentially live in a developed country and, you know,
talking to domestic violence, women, domestic violence, victims. And, you know,
some of them had ended up in jail, you know,
one of them had lost a limb like pretty damn
horrendous stuff. I'm like, these people are stronger than ever.
And here is me just,
you know,

(39:05):
working my way through through these things. And,
um, it was also conversations with my peers on that trip.
Women who would come from very, very different backgrounds. And,
you know, there there is one type of person who
you hang around when when you work in the jobs

(39:25):
that I do. And you know, we're all cut from
the same cloth. And, um
and I'm not belittling those relationships and those people because
I am one of them. And I've got some very,
very dear friends. But that lack of diversity from experiences
and personalities,
you know, only shows you one thing. And then I

(39:45):
was saying something different. And so yeah, I I sat
there I. I got a bravery that I'd never had before.

Speaker 1 (39:55):
Amazing. And was it something that you just kind of like?
Did it evolve over the time that you were there
and you came out, like, ready to go? Or were you?
Was it more conscious than

Speaker 2 (40:07):
that?
A. Me?
Yeah, it was. It was
O over the few days that we were there, Um,
it was how do I make this happen? How do
I make this happen? I need to be building my
own jewellery brand I. I meant to be building somebody
else's wine brand. Yeah,

Speaker 1 (40:25):
yeah, yeah. Sort of real realisation it. It

Speaker 2 (40:30):
Yeah, Yeah, it was a a conventional micro moment where
I just went. This is what I'm meant to be doing.
And the conversation I was having, like to an amazing
um
uh, she's a, um, corporate consultant, And I was talking
to her in the ocean. I was like, financially, I
don't know what I'm gonna do. Like, how do I
do this? And she's like, Well, you can do your

(40:51):
consulting on the side and work part time. And, you know,
getting that information to, um,
to having a
a chat with Richard Branson in the pool and, you know,
nervously asking him questions and say, Hey, what do you
think about these and
just, you know, we're having a chat about, You know,
we're actually talking about drawings on the website, you know,

(41:12):
quite a minute piece of the business. And and then, like,
what was the role of charity donations in my business? And,
you know, we had some, um, quite specific business chats.
So I was sort of gathering pieces of information, um,
you know, asking,
you know, asking the advice of others who had been
on that beaten path. Um, because the people in my

(41:34):
day to day world had not been on that. So
I had to go and find those answers and,
you know, it got to the end of it. And
I was like,
Yep, I need to do this. I need to quit
my job. So I was travelling home on my own. Um,
and I had quite a long stop over in Dallas airport.

(41:56):
I think it was like nine hours, and I was
sitting in the lounge and, um, there was a dog
at my feet, because in America, you can have dogs
in the airports. Um, and I was drinking some cheap
chardonnay and eating some wasabi peas, and
and I was like, Right, what's the business plan? And
and and, you know, this was not my six month, um,

(42:16):
50 page PowerPoint deck. This is literally on a piece
of scrap paper that I found in my bag. It
was like, This is what it looks like. And I'm here.
I am texting my soon to be husband going. I've
got 90.
And then how did that go down?
Yeah, yeah. Um,

(42:38):
and then also some people on the, um, on the retreat,
who who I was, you know, seeking help and advice

Speaker 1 (42:48):
from, Well, there would be good people to stay in contact.
So you've got some kind of accountability and touch point
in the real world, right?

Speaker 2 (42:57):
Yeah. So I came out with this plan, and, um,
and I got home, and I said to my my husband,
I'm going to quit my job, and I'm going to
make this happen and I don't know how, but, um,
I actually do know where I'm going. Now, I'm gonna

(43:17):
get there, but yeah, I know where I'm going.

Speaker 1 (43:21):
Gosh, how freeing is that

Speaker 2 (43:22):
moment? It was, Yeah, it was

Speaker 1 (43:25):
so good. And when you're talking to your husband, is
he on the same? Like, was he on the same
page at that point? Going? Yeah. Yeah. Go like, you know, that's,
um That can kind of make or break the moves
as well, if you, you know, significant other isn't necessarily
got your back.

Speaker 2 (43:42):
Yeah, he was
so supportive of me being me and doing me, like,
living up to my potential. Um, but he he is
in finance, and he also measures risk for a living.
And I was essentially doing the riskiest thing of all time. Um,
from a personal perspective. So, you know, he he had

(44:04):
some very clever and wise. Ok,

Speaker 1 (44:07):
ok, OK. Yeah.
Oh, my goodness. All right, So you've come back, you've
quit your job. You're gonna keep your consulting on the side. Yep, yep.
You're going head first into the into the jewellery business. What? Um,
you know, so bold. So brave and obviously coming up

(44:28):
you know, overcoming so much fear for the listener who's
looking at making that transition between corporate and, you know,
going to follow your joy and your passion and and
really be, you know, be the business that you that
you dream of. What? What are some words of advice,

Speaker 2 (44:48):
But make sure you
going to be financially OK, because that was always my
biggest fear. Um,
and look, I had savings that I had built up
which were going to fund the business and fund me
as well, you know, and, you know, paying myself.

(45:11):
And I also had a fallback plan. I knew that
I could walk back into, um, walk back into to
a job which, you know, wouldn't have been a dream
job or very satisfying. Or, you know, I could I
could take a low level job that would sustain my
mortgage and, you know, sustain my life. Um,

(45:33):
that that to me, was really important. It's, you know,
it's it's that age old question. What's the worst thing
that could happen? And you've got to make sure that
that that worst thing is OK, You know, you hear
about people mortgaging their houses and um, you know, buying
their parents superannuation to do these things. And you've got
to work out if that's an OK path for you,

(45:53):
For me, Um, for me, I wanted to be 100%
self reliant. I didn't I didn't want to rely on,
you know, my husband or
on my family. Or, you know, I. I had to
be able to do that on my own, because that's
what I had done. So yeah. Yeah,

Speaker 1 (46:10):
and having that financial plan?

Speaker 2 (46:12):
Yeah, and it's it's really boring. Um, and, you know,
that could mean working two jobs for a long time. Uh,
but you need to make sure that you are comfortable.
And on the other hand,
um, I'm also gonna almost contradict myself and say that
there is never a right time, because, you know, it
it took me quite an extreme, um, five day trip

(46:37):
to find the bravery to do that. And with without
going on that trip, I never would have done it
because I had all the reasons not to. Um and
it took something so extreme for me to have that
realisation for myself.
Um, which is not accessible?

Speaker 1 (46:52):
Yeah, I was gonna say. So what? So for the
listeners with that, necessarily, isn't, you know, accessible. What pills
of wisdom can you share from that time that made
you just, you know, take the leap?

Speaker 2 (47:05):
Ask the people who have been down that path because
there might be people who, you know, are more attuned to, um,
to taking risk into starting businesses. And, um, to building
things from scratch, Talk to them,
work out your how, um, how are you going to

(47:25):
do this? And why are you doing it as well?
Because you've got to be so, so driven. Um, because
on the 15th of every month, when you're used to
seeing a paycheck pour into your bank account, it doesn't.
You have to create it, and it comes in dribbles,
and you've got to fight for every little dribble that
comes into your bank account. And the opportunities don't present

(47:49):
themselves unless you put yourself out there. So find the
people who have done that work out how they did it,
and then go and

Speaker 1 (47:57):
do it. Yeah, absolutely. Great advice. Surround yourself with the
right people. Yeah, yeah.
Um, and often start up funds can be a hurdle, too. And,
you know, obviously, you know, leaving that full time, full
time job. You, you know, and and finance is a
is a key thing there for you making sure that
you had the savings there. Um, behind you.

(48:20):
Yeah. So, in the early days of being in the
business full time, what were your measures of success

Speaker 2 (48:27):
orders? Yeah, quite simply
So. Ensuring that, um, like, literally the orders are coming. And,
you know, we we're talking very small numbers as well,
You know,

Speaker 1 (48:42):
what would what would a measure of success have been, though,
Like if you or or maybe rephrasing it to be, like,
a goal. You know, Were there a certain amount of
pieces per month that you were hoping to that we
needed to secure? Like what? What was your goal?

Speaker 2 (48:57):
My goal was basically having a certain number of sales
per month, and that was a number I pulled out
of thin air. I have no idea how I was
gonna make that happen, but yes, it was. It was selling,
I think at the time, I think three or five
pieces per month. Uh, and my business has two streams,
so

(49:18):
one is the online ready to wear collection, which is,
you know, that is the type of stuff that the
business started with what was selling, that I would wear daily, Um, earrings,
earrings and Bangles being the main one
and rings as well. And the second side of the
business is the custom. So that's for the client who

(49:38):
wants to work one on one with myself and really
go through a journey to create a piece that is
made specifically for them and will not exist elsewhere. So
I had measures that I set for how many pieces
I wanted to sell off the website. And then how
many of the bespoke orders I wanted to do as well?

Speaker 1 (49:59):
Yeah, OK,
so having some clear goals where you, you know, measurables
and delivery. And how did you get the pieces like,
how did you market yourself?

Speaker 2 (50:10):
Um,
very ungracefully.

Speaker 1 (50:15):
That's always the way around the market is like,

Speaker 2 (50:19):
um you know it It was a couple of years
into the business that I realised that my brand strategy
and my marketing was pretty damn Yeah, OK, so there
are a couple of things behind that. I think, um
number one because it was my career and my area
of expertise, I just thought it would sort itself out.

(50:41):
Uh, and number two when you are your business and
you name your business after yourself. Yeah. How the hell
do you, Mark?

Speaker 1 (50:52):
And that didn't really occur to you until after you'd
set the business up. The

Speaker 2 (50:58):
value of hindsight on that particular topic was yeah.

Speaker 1 (51:02):
Yeah. So what did you do?

Speaker 2 (51:05):
Um, I paid people
who were better at it than I was. Uh, so
people
who were experienced in the small business area and in
digital marketing, um,
in additional marketing was another thing. When when I was
junior so I I never actually was hands on myself.

(51:28):
So I needed people who just knew how to do
the day to day stuff. And you know what, actually
is gonna shit the dial in a business like mine. Um,
I had to learn that, and I had to employ
people so definitely employing, employing the best that I could, um,
with the budget that I had at that time.
And And

Speaker 1 (51:49):
how did you find those people?

Speaker 2 (51:52):
Three networks. Yeah. I asked questions to everybody I knew
So you know, whether it was a structured network like
business chicks or, um, lady brains? I did some stuff
with years ago,
and then also friends with small businesses

Speaker 1 (52:09):
Really working in networks?

Speaker 2 (52:11):
Yeah. Yeah. Talking to people who?

Speaker 1 (52:15):
Mm mm. Yeah, absolutely. And so OK, so this was
in 2019. Yeah. You went for both fate into the
business and you were consulting still on the side. Yeah. Yeah.
At what point did you let that consulting go?
Have you

Speaker 2 (52:32):
about four months in OK.

Speaker 1 (52:35):
Oh, wow. Fantastic. And how did that come about?

Speaker 2 (52:38):
Um, it had to come about because I was I
had my foot in two camps and I couldn't do
both things. Well, um and so whilst it was my,
um
my
sort of safety net to no, you know, worst case scenario,

(52:59):
would I fall back on?
I couldn't do both. Well, so

Speaker 1 (53:05):
OK, well, that would have been pretty scary, given, you know,
your history and, you know, with with bravery and let
it go. What happened? How did you let it go?
Did you just decide one day or

Speaker 2 (53:19):
yeah. So I decided one day that consulting was where
I couldn't put any energy anymore. And it was because
I could not do two things with the justice that
I needed. And
and whilst I loved the consulting work, I knew ultimately
building the jewellery business was where I wanted to be,

(53:39):
and and I couldn't do it all. And I accepted
that I couldn't do it all. It was a very
huge pill for me to swallow and financially scary as well.
But you know, I, I had a very rough business plan.
When I seen business plan it, it was, you know,

(54:00):
not
not the business plan. I would recommend anyone, right? But
it was the one that I had, and it was
It was also, um, you know, sorting out personally. What?
You know what our financials look like? And And what
we could sustain.

Speaker 1 (54:16):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then decided we can do it. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (54:22):
So, 4.5 years later, here we are.

Speaker 1 (54:25):
Oh, my God. Now, obviously, jewellery is a form of art,
and we know art is hugely subjective, And I can
imagine you'd be really You know, you'd have to be
really committed to your to your vision, and
I can't imagine there would be a hell of a
lot of room for self doubt in that creative process.
Is that something you've had to to grapple with at
any stage? Yes.

Speaker 2 (54:47):
Yeah, Al always, Um, because creatively putting yourself out there
is it's quite a personal and vulnerable thing. 100%. Yeah.
Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. And you know, I,
I think, for any good brand. And I've al I've
always said this the whole way through my career. Whether I'm,
um
whether I'm working on milk or whether I'm talking about

(55:08):
a particular football player, the polarising ones are the best. Yeah. Yeah.
You've got to be ready to have people to dislike you. Um,
you know, personally creatively. Whatever. Um and because yeah, that
means you are You can't be all things to all people. And,
um and that's a tough thing to actually, it's, you know,

(55:29):
it's easy for those words to come out of my

Speaker 1 (55:31):
mouth. Absolutely. So how do you work through that in
the moment?

Speaker 2 (55:34):
Yeah, because I'm a born people pleaser. So in some,
it's it's not an easy thing to do. You just
got to back yourself.

Speaker 1 (55:44):
How do you back yourself

Speaker 2 (55:47):
blindly? Because it doesn't always come naturally to me.

Speaker 1 (55:52):
Well, that's it. So is it an affirmation? Is it
an action? Is it someone you speak to? What is
your strategy and backing yourself? Yeah.

Speaker 2 (55:59):
Great question. So
I do a couple of things. Um, no, I don't
drink green juice every morning. And, um, I don't have
a corny morning routine, but meditation is something which has
always been a massive part of my life. And that's
the only way I stay mentally strong. Um, 100%. It's,
um The Eastern path to mental health has definitely been

(56:22):
far better for me than the Western path that has. It's,
um
It's making sure I take time out as well. I'm not.
I'm not good at relaxing. Like, I think I'm relaxing
if I sit down and read a business book or
a podcast.
I didn't I didn't watch TV until I met my husband. Um,

(56:43):
I worked instead because I thought it was fun. Um,
so yeah, actually, doing stuff that's got nothing to do
with work. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (56:50):
Yeah. So I guess that, you know, because I can
also imagine that creative burnout would be quite relevant, too, right?
Because you're under the pump to fill these orders. The
work is handcrafted,
you know, it's completely immersive. You you're telling stories with
these pieces and and the fact that it's just you
and the business as well. I mean, you've got others,
you know, to support you, but you're also looking at,

(57:11):
you know, marketing and and the business overall business. There's
a lot of pressure on the creative juices. Um, so
I guess, you know, for the listener who is building
a business in the creative space, how do you look
after yourself? To ensure the creativity continues to flow and
the quality of output is maintained,

Speaker 2 (57:30):
You have to block out time for the creativity. And
it's not something I've ever done because of, um because
it was always like my happy place, and I worked
on it outside of hours, and then suddenly it was
my job. And I did spend all my time managing
staff and, you know,
um, proofing copy for a press release or, you know,

(57:52):
working with a lawyer or, you know, the the things
that it takes to to run a business and then
suddenly I was like, I don't know what product I'm
watching next. And I was like, Holy shit balls, You know,
that is that is what the business is. It, um
it's selling incredible jewellery. And if I'm not putting the
time into designing it, then I don't have a business.

(58:15):
So yeah,
you know, bluntly, I had to carve out time in
my diary to do that to the detriment of everything else.
An amazing piece of business advice that I've had recently is,
um
what is the one most important thing you need to
do next?
And the one thing,

(58:36):
the one thing and look it, how do

Speaker 1 (58:39):
you establish what's important? Yeah,

Speaker 2 (58:41):
exactly. Because And that is a challenge, because everything is important. Yes,
There's a matrix in corporate land that I, um that
we used to use,
you know, comes out of massive HR training. Uh, is
a matrix of importance versus urgency

Speaker 1 (58:59):
Eisen as it Eisen matrix. Yeah, I know what you're saying.

Speaker 2 (59:03):
Yeah. And, um So listeners just google it, um but yeah, importance, um,
importance and urgency.
But it's the urgent, important things which always get done
first because, you know, if you don't get to the
post office by four o'clock, the order doesn't go out.
Or if you don't reply to the lawyer, then you
don't have a contract for an employee or something like that.

(59:26):
But it's, um, for me, it's the stuff that doesn't
have that urgency attached to it, which is the most important,
which is the creative side of the business. But ultimately,
the most important role that I can play in my
own business is as the creative director. Yeah, no one
else can do that job 100% me. Everything else can

(59:49):
be outsourced. Um, you know, of course, that's easier said
than done. But if there's no creative director of a
jewellery business, you don't have a business. So I need
to sit down like, um,
I'm going away for a couple of days next week,
and it's just going to be me and a pen. Yeah,
nice drawing and time out. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
Yeah.
Earlier in the year, I was at a Gabby Bernstein event,
Melbourne Town Hall, and I was pleasantly surprised to see
a familiar face in a hot seat. Had you set
that intention, or did you just think What the hell?
There's an opportunity. I'm gonna put my hand up. I
just

Speaker 2 (01:00:27):
put my hand up. It was, um It was like
I got asked if I wanted to go up on stage. And, um,
I just said yes.

Speaker 1 (01:00:38):
Yeah. And your question, I think Was it around procrastination?

Speaker 2 (01:00:42):
It was It was around. How do you back yourself? Yeah,
I've mentioned it a couple of times. Um, if you
don't back yourself, no one else is going to and,
you know, G I It was How do you back
yourself when you you ultimately, um
you know, are are a real low? Because, you know,

(01:01:05):
the ups and downs are quite extreme. And that was
my question for Gabby. And very quickly the conversation turned
to procrastination. Yeah, OK, I think she she asked me
what I was. Um
you know, when you're not backing yourself, What are you doing?
I you know it It was something around that, and

(01:01:26):
I said, I'm procrastinating. I'm very good at procrastinating because
I will keep busy doing, um, those very urgent important things,
which or the the urgent, non important things which we
are all very good at. Whether that's cleaning out your inbox.
You know, paying the paying the bills or whatever um,
and her counsel to me was to

(01:01:49):
really deep dive into that procrastination and learn what you're
doing and why. And I know for me that any
procrastination is driven by fear. Yeah. Yeah, because it's, um
you are scared of what? You are scared of your potential. Yeah. So,
Yeah, that's, um So,

Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
what did you walk away with from that,

Speaker 2 (01:02:08):
uh, sit on that and really deep dive into what
you are scared of and why, uh and
that was January. So that was, um God, that was No,
it wasn't January. It was around April about six years ago. Yeah. Um,
since then, I've actually turned a very big corner in

(01:02:31):
in terms of, um,
you know, looking at myself in the mirror and going
What are you actually scared of?

Speaker 1 (01:02:36):
What were you scared of?

Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
Um, What what could be And how could I make
that happen? It's like it's a similar fear to what
I had before I started the business. I don't know
how I know where I want to go. But the fear,
the fear of the path of not knowing the path
to get there is scary, You know, at the stage
that I'm at with the business now it's, um,

(01:03:01):
the top line. Growth is really strong, and it hasn't
been consistent. But from a macro sense over over those
4.5 years, it's It's come in an incredible way. And
I've got, you know, very conventional measures of success, you know,
working on national week. And, um, you know, being in
some some great magazine titles, those really conventional measures, that

(01:03:24):
they don't appear by themselves. And it's like, What's the
next stage? And that's what I was scared of. So
I went, um, I went really deep to work that out. Um,
and it took it. It took a lot. A lot of, um,
tough love on my to to work that out. Um,

(01:03:48):
it's been
it's been a bumpy few months to come to that,
but the, um the results have been awesome. So good.
I'm embarking on the biggest investment that I've put into
the business so far. Oh,

Speaker 1 (01:04:04):
that sounds exciting. Can you

Speaker 2 (01:04:05):
share? Um, I can share a little bit of tea
with them.
One of the most incredible creative marketers I have ever
met in my life. I met her before I started
before I started the business and and we stayed in
contact Dublin a huge admiration for her as a human
being and and for the work that she does in her.

(01:04:29):
And
and so finally, we are working together on a new
strategy for for the next five years and as to
what the brand looks like and credible what the marketing
looks

Speaker 1 (01:04:39):
like. OK, so you've leant on the big guns you've
got in some real solid advice and strategy in play
for the longer term, for the longer term, it's gotta
make you feel good. That's got absolutely settled. All of
all of that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:56):
Yeah, 100% that it it does. And, um and you
know that that little of, um not being out of
market your own business, especially when it's, um, named after yourself.
That's that's why I need the big guns. So I've
gotten the big guns in for that, and the other
thing that I'm doing is the creative side. And, you know,

(01:05:17):
I had a long, hard look at myself and at
the business and at the numbers. And I'm like, What?
What do I want this business to be? Because
I didn't start this business to sell jewellery that you
could buy anywhere. You know, I, I don't want this
to be a Tiffany's. I don't want this to be
a labi. I don't want this to be a Michael Hill.

(01:05:37):
I want this to be something different, and my strengths
and my background are in brand and innovation and working
out how to do things differently. Because, you know, there's, um,
there's a thing in marketing theory called Blue Ocean Strategy.
It's not how to fight your competitors harder. It's how
to make them irrelevant. And, you know, I realised. And

(01:05:59):
I love that, you know, back when, um, back when
you were talking about seeing me up on stage,
asking that question, I was like, I'm I'm I'm fighting
in the Red Ocean. It's, um and I didn't start
this business to do that. I started this business to
create a blue ocean in the jewellery world that currently exist.

(01:06:22):
And I'm not doing that at the moment. Yeah,

Speaker 1 (01:06:25):
but you will be.

Speaker 2 (01:06:26):
But I will be

Speaker 1 (01:06:27):
Yeah, this is amazing. Alex,
um, I guess for the listener who started their own
business and might be struggling a little bit with motivation.
What pearls of wisdom would you share?

Speaker 2 (01:06:36):
Learn what makes you tick. So for me, um,
you know, we we talked about the goals that I
set being. How many pieces did I need to sell
per month? Um, you know what? What do I need
to do to To keep the bookkeeper happy and, um,
to keep the bank balance happy? You know, that's one.

(01:06:59):
And then you've got your other things, like, you know,
it's being in vogue or it's, you know, working in
Fashion Week or, um, those things and and their their
outcomes
that you get from the hard work. Then they're not goals. Uh,
they're also the thing that provides you a lot of
external validation because people talk about them and people get

(01:07:22):
very excited about them, and they are wonderful. And God
knows I love them and need them, and I'm really,
really proud of them.
But when it comes back to it and when you know,
when I had that profound moment earlier this year and
I was like, What the hell am I scared of.
And I was scared
that the business that I was building was not ultimately

(01:07:43):
what I wanted to be building. Um, you know, it
It looked great on paper, you know, sales wise financially. Um,
you know, the the sexy side of it. That was great.
And I'm like, You know, if I'm if I'm in
this spot in 10 years time, I'm not gonna be happy.
So I know that's what makes that's what makes me tick.

(01:08:04):
And that's what motivates me. And that's why I started
this business. And that's what it's gonna build into
is doing something really different. So how do I make
that happen? So it's it's, you know, if you are
the type of person who, um, you know your yardstick
might be turning over seven figures.

(01:08:24):
So how the hell do you make that happen? And
then how do you celebrate the little little wins? Like,
you know, if you look at your quarter results and
they're down, it's not a bad thing. It's just a thing.
How do you turn that around? And that's what your
focus should be for. For you know, if if it's
somebody who's an artist is it?
You know, Is it actually sitting down and doing the doing?

(01:08:46):
If you do the doing, you sit in front of
your easel for eight hours a day. That's time well
spent because that's how your business is going to grow.

Speaker 1 (01:08:56):
Yeah, love that. Love that.
Oh, Alex, You say that your range is handcrafted for
women who stand strong, smile big and forge their own paths.
You lead that tribe so beautifully. You are honest. You
are genuine your commitment to empowering others and leading with

(01:09:17):
so much bravery and so much boldness.
This is second to none. Thank you for allowing me
to discover your story and share it. I know. I know.
It will be an inspiration and motivation to many. I'm
excited to see where Alex Timpani jewellery is headed, and
I know a listeners will be too. Thank you, Alex.

Speaker 2 (01:09:40):
Thank you, Karen.

Speaker 1 (01:09:46):
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