We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julie Martin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julie below.

Julie, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

My favorite quote on what it takes comes from Maya Angelou: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” I really like that because it’s a reminder to me that success starts within and radiates outwards. I think customers can really feel that come through in any business – I know I personally love products and services where the brand exudes the fact that people doing the work really love what they do! I’m obsessed with design, art, and creating fine custom jewelry pieces that delight people – they wear these pieces every day and it makes them happy. This is what it takes to be successful: start with yourself and it radiates to the customer.

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

I graduated with a B.A. in Applied Arts and Sciences with an emphasis in Jewelry and Metals. I continued my passion by apprenticing under two master jewelers for several years gaining the experience needed to create fine jewelry. Simultaneously, I started a fashion jewelry company with my pieces selling in hundreds of locations around the world. A decade later, I sold my fashion jewelry company, following my passion for creating one-of-a-kind custom engagement rings and fine jewelry. Scout Fine Jewelry is this next chapter. I have been creating custom engagement rings for the last 6 years and my designs are known for being special and luxurious.

At Scout Mandolin, we believe that your engagement ring should symbolize your unique story, distinctive style, and exceptional taste. Every design is an original with unexpected elements of surprise, set in the highest quality precious metals paired with the most stunning diamonds or gemstones. You will experience the excitement of co-designing an exclusive luxurious piece of fine jewelry that embodies your story, your emotions and is inspired by the one you love.
Every client will encounter the personalized, concierge service as part of our step-by-step Scout consultation process. It is truly an exhilarating process, full of emotions when your one-of-a-kind engagement ring arrives in the Scout box, complete with your GIA report card and a personal note from me, your designer. Every Scout design is a custom, modern, timeless masterpiece that communicates a unique life/love story. I just love, love, love this process. Every time is new!

I’m most proud of my family – my beautiful girls, my husband, and my pup – and proud I’m able to be a mom while also being an artist, designer, and business owner. It’s a struggle to balance oftentimes, but it’s worth it. I hope my girls see in me someone that works hard, produces beautiful pieces that people really love, and breaks down barriers to get it done!

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

My first business was a fashion jewelry company. I just loved it. I built it while attending San Diego State University and grew it after graduation. It was an all-consuming passion project that became my livelihood. It was a lot of hard work and a tremendous amount of blood, sweat and tears went into it. The decision to sell was not easy, but I knew I wanted to move to the world of fine, custom jewelry. The feeling a business I started from scratch and grew to a national and international presence was really something: on the one hand, I was so happy to have done it, and on the other hand, there was a feeling of loss. It must be what it’s like to watch your first child go away to college…

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for me has always been word of mouth or direct referrals. I love it when someone gets a recommendation from someone they know and trust because it generates an immediate sense of diving into the process. Fortunately, these referrals are able to be shared faster and to a broader audience via social media, but there is still something really special about an existing customer recommending you to a new one.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.scoutmandolin.com
• Instagram: @scoutfinejewelry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCOUTFINEJEWELRY
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scoutmandolin/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/scoutmandolin
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/scout-mandolin-san-diego-3
• Other: Pinterest: scoutmandolin

Image Credits
Scout Mandolin