We were lucky to catch up with Jan Taylor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Being in your own business is always a risk. Leaving a secure job to follow your crazy dream is a risk, but so worthwhile. When you take that risk, you must be prepared to commit. In my case, I was young and naive and not really thinking about the future or goals, but I followed that dream and it paid off. I think it takes a special person to quit their job and start their own business. The risk is scary, but if you commit it can become an amazing life.
I am semi-retired now. I still love what I do, so when you love what you do, it is never work. I manage to go to France every year for a month, I paint, travel and make pottery which I sell in local galleries. Life is good. Were their struggles – absolutely. But that is life, nothing good comes easy.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

First of all, I was not fortunate to go to college. My parents were financially having a hard time paying for my older brother’s college to keep him out of the draft during the Vietnam war. So, after high school, I went to work. A couple years later married (I don’t recommend getting married so early).
During that time in my life, I always loved long earrings and started making some with beads and brass wire. My friends saw and wanted a pair. That Christmas season we went door to door with racks of earrings, I would hold up a rack and ask, “do you want to buy?”. To my surprise, people were receptive, kind and some did buy.
This inspired me to make more and improve the designs and the outlet. We started doing art and craft shows and putting racks of earrings on consignment in gift shops. We also set up a small table in a jeans store in the mall during the Christmas season. That turned into a small kiosk in the mall and then a standalone jewelry store.

Next Chapter:
We had the jewelry store for over 22 years in the same town. During that time, we always had a German Shepherd dog in the store and when our original passed away, we decided to find a purebred, so we went to some dog shows. Noticing the jewelers there, I thought I could make better representations and sell for less. So, I began sculpting little GSD’s and casting in gold. I wasn’t trained in sculpting or put much thought into it, I just did it. We went to our first German Shepherd National Specialty dog show in Dallas the next year and were overwhelmed by our reception. We almost sold out. I came back from that show very inspired and started sculpting other breeds and perfecting my German Shepherd dog designs. After about 5 years, we sold the jewelry store and put full time efforts into 14K9, the dog breed jewelry line. This became the online store of 14K9.com

At present, I have more than 100 dog breeds in production, over 2,000 molds. I design and make solid gold dogs with diamond collars, enhanced with precious gems, pendants, bracelets, earrings, rings all for people that love their dogs. Even though I am semi-retired, I still love making fine gold and silver jewelry for my clients. After all, if you love what you do it’s never work.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Anthony Robbins. Awaken the Giant Within or Unlimited Power

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My mantra is put in the work, and you will get through it. Whenever finances got tight, I would work extra hard and miraculously someone would place a big order or buy that special piece. This has happened to me many times through the years. I believe that if you work hard and work smart, you will get through the hard times.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.14K9.com
• Other: https://etsy.com/shop/JasmineAndThistle

Image Credits

none, they are all mine