We recently connected with Kayla Ezinga and have shared our conversation below.

Kayla, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Quality control is a challenge almost every entrepreneur has had to focus on when growing – any advice, stories or insight around how to best ensure quality is maintained as your business scales?

For the first year of my business, I only did permanent jewelry. Maintaining quality was super important to me from the very beginning. It was one of the reasons I felt like it took me so long to get the ball rolling after getting my LLC! With permanent jewelry, my goal is for my clients to have the chain on basically as long as physically possible for them. This meant that I needed to provide high-quality metal that could withstand everyday life, every day! Before I started, I didn’t really know what metals that could be. So, I did a TON of research. That’s where everything starts. I turned to support groups for my industry and the internet. As I selected and expanded my chain options, I knew I needed to keep the same quality as the first few chains I got, but how could I trust new suppliers? My answer was to try the chains on myself, my friends, and my family! There’s no better way to check the quality of a product than putting it through the wringer yourself.

On the boutique side of my business, I took a similar route for quality checking. I did lots of research, made some orders, and wore some of the clothes myself! I’m not expecting this to be a perfect solution for quality checking/control, but it is what works for me right now. My best advice is to do just that – find what works for you!

Kayla, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

If we haven’t met before, hi! My name is Kayla Ezinga. While I do have a full-time career in human resources, I am also the owner of Everlinked, a permanent jewelry company and boutique. I first heard about permanent jewelry on the internet and became obsessed. After a year of permanent jewelry, I expanded into a clothing boutique as well! The reason I love the idea of permanent jewelry so much is the ease it brings to your life. Waking up and already having an accessory on can make you feel so put together. I wanted to expand into clothing because I wanted to offer more ways to feel effortlessly put together. Everlinked is a kind of boho style that makes picking out your clothes easy. As a fairly new business, I am very proud to say that I have met every goal that I set for my first year in business.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me is absolutely word of mouth. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received a message that started with “Hi, I heard about you from _______.” Not only is it my best source for clients, it makes me the most proud of myself! To me, hearing that they were referred to me by a past client means that I provided a service that they enjoyed so much that they told their friends about it! I think word-of-mouth referrals, while they can be intimidating to try and get, are the most fulfilling to any business owner.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

One thing that I think has helped me maintain my reputation within my market is keeping my quality high. I only use supplies that come from extremely highly reputable suppliers. Most of the time, I even test them out myself before offering them to clients! I wear the chains and the clothes, wash them, tug on them, and basically see if I can ruin them doing normal activities. A satisfied client is my dream client. If I can do anything to help myself know that I will have a satisfied client after a transaction or interaction with my business, I will do it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://everlinked-boutique.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everlinked.boutique/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everlinked.boutique