We were lucky to catch up with Lori Steenhoek recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lori, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

Scaling my business up has been all about word-of-mouth. For my first few years, I focused on creating REALLY happy customers, and then I would ask them to share with a friend if they liked their custom jewelry designs that I created for them. So many people these days rely on recommendations and references from friends and family that they trust. Think about it: when someone you care about and believe in says to you: “Hey, you HAVE to try this thing…” It’s enough to pique your curiosity and lead you to try it, or look it up, or do it. This kind of scenario has been a key to new business for me.

Lori, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I design and create modern/minimal/architectural jewelry in sterling silver and gold. I work with a combination of handmade and 3D-printed design technology to fabricate pieces from “everyday to statement” and everything in between.

Before this, I started another small business creating 3D-renderings for real estate and marketing. It’s funny how similar my work in architecture and jewelry making really are. I follow a lot of the same process. Before, I spent a lot of time creating 3D models of buildings. It’s that line of work that made me start experimenting with 3D models for jewelry. It was my creative outlet for my own designs at first, and when I realized how much I loved it, I wanted to spend more time making jewelry.

My jewelry is clean, simple, and both nature + geometric-inspired. I think it appeals to people looking for quality designs and crisp lines. I work with high-quality materials that last. My designs are easy to gift and fully customizable.

Finally, I love working supporting other small businesses. I truly believe that the best designs you can purchase are those made by independent artists.

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is probably not the first thing that small businesses that sell a product think of (most people immediately go to TikTok or Instagram for marketing) but Twitter has been a really great place for me to build my audience. I follow and respond to a lot of hyper-local accounts in the DC-area where I live. It might just be comments about the weather or sports or anything else local at first. But I also like to share info about my upcoming in-person markets, or new design releases, or sales. I include links to my website and coupon codes for followers. It’s a way of mixing my personal with my business to create an online persona that doesn’t feel like a total sales pitch. But it’s a place for people to know me in a way that includes all sides of who I am.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell directly through my website, which is powered by Shopify. The pros are that it allows me to create a clean, easy online shopping experience with low monthly fees. I like that I have full control over the whole shopping experience, from purchase to checkout to shipping. Cons – watch out for plugin costs that can add up. Sometimes you will find that you need a functionality in a shopping cart that doesn’t come with Shopify upfront. Do your research to see if you are buying the shopping cart experience that you need for your product.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lovelorimichelle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelorimichelle/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-steenhoek-1897104/
• Twitter: @lovelorim

Image Credits
Erin Lassahn Photo – https://erinlassahn.com