We were lucky to catch up with Leah Yard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Leah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

This is such an important topic. The way entrepreneurship is shown online is very glamorous, and that couldn’t be further from reality! There are so many times I think about what it would be like to have a “regular job” again. When I started questioning my choice of starting a business it was in 2020. Everything felt impossible, and I started to assume I would have to close Leah Yard Designs.

There were a few things that kept me going. The first was this feeling of “what if?”. I couldn’t shake the pure curiosity I had about knowing what was to come in my jewellery career. If I quit it all, I felt like I knew what would happen, but building a business is so layered, every day is different and you never know when the next win (or loss) is coming. It’s terrifying, but also one of the most thrilling journeys you can take.

The other thought that has kept me going when we’re in a challenging season is this: I know I am not alone in this feeling. Even though online it looks like everyone is thriving, it’s often a different story behind the scenes. We’ve all seen businesses close that we thought were wildly successful. If you can find people on a similar path as you, who are willing to be vulnerable about their experience, it’s very comforting. Building a business is hard, and if it wasn’t, more people would do it. I remind myself that I chose this life, and no one is forcing me to stick to it. It’s up to me to see it through as long as I want to, and there’s something powerful in that reframe.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Leah Yard Designs is a demi-fine jewelry brand in Vancouver, Canada. What makes the brand different is my personal journey into the fashion industry. From living on a lighthouse island as a child, to dropping out of high school and working entry-level jobs for over a decade, to accidentally becoming an entrepreneur, my story is far from glamorous. But it is this “unglamorous” story that makes LYD unique.

Because of my unusual journey, I always struggled to fit in. I was the weird island kid with uncut hair who didn’t know who the Spice Girls were or how to cross a street. I always joke that I am the least likely person to have ended up in the fashion industry.

Now, when I look back, I can connect the dots. I always found comfort in being creative. And fashion played an important role for me. Even at a young age I saw the power it had to transform how you feel, and the influence it has on how we are perceived in the world. This is the core of LYD. I design versatile jewelry that celebrates the wearer’s unique point of view. My goal is to make you feel your most elevated when you put on your LYD jewelry.

Being a “misfit” in an industry that values prestige and glamour hasn’t been easy and I’ve often felt like an impostor. But because of this, I now proudly share my story on the Voted Least Likely Podcast in hopes that it inspires someone else. As cliché as it sounds: If I can do it, so can someone else.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I often say that entrepreneurship is Personal Development 101. I am a completely different person than I would have been had I not started my jewellery brand. This has been the most surprising thing about business to me. You have to face all of your inadequacies, and be very honest with yourself. A couple of major behaviours I have to unlearn were around community and money.

I was raised in very isolating environments. Self-sufficiency was a major value growing up, and while I am grateful for this in many ways, I didn’t realize the impact it would have on my ability to build community. The idea of “going at it alone” is seen as honourable, but the truth is: no one gets anywhere alone. I had to learn how to ask for help, and how to accept help. I still struggle with this. There is always a part of me that feels like I should be able to do it alone, it’s something I am constantly working on. What has helped me in this area is surrounding myself with other entrepreneurs who are comfortable asking for help. Just watching other’s ask and receive support normalizes it. I also remind myself that I love to help others when I can, it feels great to be able to lift someone up, so don’t assume your ask is a burden.

The other lessons I had to unlearn were around money. We all have money stories that have been ingrained in us. I didn’t realize how deep my beliefs around money were until I started a business. Growing up, money was seen as something very difficult to make, and so it should be saved and spent only on necessities. When I started my business I thought I was “good with money” because I rarely spent it. I didn’t realize that I had zero understanding about it! These beliefs also trickled down into pricing. At the beginning of building my jewellery brand I was wildly undercharging for my pieces. I was scared to ask for more money because in my family jewellery would been considered a “frivolous purchase”. I really struggled to remove my own beliefs when selling. Something that helped me was someone saying “you are not your customer”. We put all our own thoughts and experiences into interactions and it’s easy to make assumptions about other people’s views on money. It’s now been over 10 years since I started my brand and I can tell you that everyone has a different point of view on money and value. Make sure you price your products and services appropriately, and the right people will find you.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience is crucial in business. But I will say this, resilience isn’t what I thought it was. For years I thought I lacked resiliency because I took the fails, rejection, and losses in business really hard. I would be devastated when something didn’t work out, or if I was turned down for an opportunity. But what I have learned is that it isn’t how hard you take things, it’s how quickly and how often you get back up. I hope this encourages someone, because it’s something I wish I knew years ago. You build resilience by being willing to keep going. It’s less about getting pushed down, and more about getting back up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://leahyarddesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahyarddesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leahyarddesigns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-yard-a95924339/
• Other: I am also the host of the Voted Least Likely Podcast, a show dedicated to demystifying what it means to be successful.

  Podcast Website: https://www.leahyard.com/
  On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/voted-least-likely/id1633840121
  On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1oMAWuZlNQm8rVvdhlLwIh?si=26b1556d36a44a28