We recently connected with LINDA WANG and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, LINDA thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

I had an unused business account on Instagram that was dedicated to a new side hobby of eyelash extensions. I never continued training but switched over to learning how to do permanent jewelry and started posting practice photos with friends and family and I quickly grew a following from there. My inbox was full with questions on when and where I would be offering the service and I was floored by the amount of people interested!

I opened the weekend before Christmas and my schedule was full back to back. My first set of clients was a mother and daughter celebrating a birthday. I loved the bond that they were creating and being part of their day. I see them on Instagram from time to time and love seeing them rock their bracelets in their day to day life.

Here we are almost a year later creating beautiful pieces for clients that fit their lifestyle and whenever they see it they’re reminded of the time spent with a loved one or simply treating themselves because jewelry is like dessert; there’s always room for more!

LINDA, 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?

I’m Linda, born and raised in sunny LA. With over 10 years in hospitality, management, and customer service, I wanted to start working for myself and provide a meaningful service that people would enjoy daily.

I offer custom fit jewelry without a clasp. Most people like to get bracelets by themselves or to match with a loved one. Most bracelets are too small, too big, or made with cheaper quality metals. I offer sterling silver and 14k gold filled in yellow and rose gold and measure to size to give you the perfect fit. I use a micro welding machine to bring the ends together so that it’ll create a seamless look. These are meant to keep up with your lifestyle so you don’t have to worry about the chains tarnishing or remembering where you last put your jewelry pieces when you took them off!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I made sure to have high quality videos and photos on my Instagram profile and clearly stating what I offer in my bio. I don’t know anything about photography or videography but I made sure to have natural lighting and nothing in the background to distract from the jewelry.

Then I looked into my own interests like yoga, fitness, and supporting local businesses such as coffee shops, small cafes, and followed them! I followed them and would repost something I liked from their page and they would repost me back! So their followers would follow me and send my posts to their friends and they’d follow me back too!

My profile grid is full of reels and photos from clients I made pieces for and I make sure to post a few each week. I keep my stories a little more fun and personal by doing behind-the-scenes, asking questions, advice, doing polls, and showing what I do day to day to connect with others and build a relationship! I’ve had many great recommendations from my followers and always share. I like to help others by reposting as well; I’ve had a follower asking if they knew anyone that wanted kittens. I reposted for them and was able to connect them with other followers and the kittens were all adopted!

Don’t always try to sell yourself on your social media, let other people see that you’re human and not just looking for their money!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In hospitality and customer service, you learn that “the customer is always right” also known as people pleasing. Going above and beyond is part of who I am and love making an experience better but I have to unlearn when to stop.

I’ve had requests for certain chains and I don’t shop online so I have to go out to the suppliers and search for their requests. Once I find it, I purchase it, take it back with me to test the quality of the chains, and once I know that it’s a high quality chain and I can sell it, I get back to the requester and tell them about it only to be left on read and blocked because they don’t want it anymore. It’s a lot of backwards bending for people who don’t see your value. I can’t do that for every potential client just so I can potentially make a sale. I have the knowledge and experience. If they don’t see that, then they’re not the clientele I’m looking for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/linkedbylinda
• Instagram: @linkedbylinda
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/linked-by-linda-el-monte