We recently connected with Lynne Intintoli and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lynne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

I’ve been in business for 15+ years. As many small business owners, I did it all and without any help – designing, creating, emails, marketing, customer service, wholesale outreach. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my second child that I had to take a step back and look at my business as a whole. For me to continue to grow, I needed help because I quickly discovered that I could no longer do it all. And you know what? Asking for help is HARD! This wasn’t an easy decision to come to because I thought of my business as my third child.

First, I needed a virtual assistant. I had heard terror stories for years about how VA’s don’t always work out. So, I asked for referrals from other small businesses that I know. We constantly communicate through email and phone calls but I also send her detailed videos of specific projects that I need done.

Next, I just decided to onboard a production assistant. I realized that my two hands could only make a certain amount of product. Again, I either sit with my production assistant and physically show her how to make something or I create detailed videos.

The videos have proven to be a life saver. You can only describe so much through words in written form. So much of my business is visual that the videos are necessary for step by step detail.

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?

Lynnique jewelry started when I was a child. I would sit for hours and just craft the time away. Hair bows, painted pottery, crocheting, jewelry – you name it, I was making it. As I got older, I started to make jewelry because I thought – why buy it when I can make it? That love of all things crafty transitioned to college life. Upon graduating, I was dealing with a health issue. I turned to jewelry as a way to cope with it and get through it. It was like I blinked and I was suddenly surrounded by bracelets and necklaces of all kinds. At that point, I hit a fork in the road – what do I do with all this jewelry? And without hesitation, the answer was simple – I need to start a business! So, in the early 2000’s with no clue what I was getting in to, Lynnique was born.

At one point, my life and career took a little detour. I went back to get my Master’s Degree and taught for 10 years. Even then, I knew something was missing. After my daughter was born, I looked at this new little nugget and knew in my heart that I just couldn’t leave her. Would I really leave my career and profession? Am I really going to put all this education aside – after earning a Master’s Degree and 6 (yes, six) teaching certificates? Yes, I did. So, I held my breath and jumped into Lynnique with two feet.

One day, I hope my daughters will be able to look at my accomplishments and be proud of me. They will be able to see that women can do hard things and we can build businesses from scratch.

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

When I first started my business, I was in my early 20’s and still living at home with my parents. Also, my mom always told me that I had to create different pieces for different price points because not everyone can afford it all. The problem with that is that I often felt bad charging my customers for my work. Often times, I drastically undercharged for my pieces. Several years ago, I realized that if I wanted my business to work, I can’t feel bad charging my worth. While I sometimes struggle with this, I know that I wouldn’t be successful if I was still stuck in this old mindset.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

In addition to having my own website (hosted by shopify), I also sell on etsy and faire. Things change and shift. In my opinion, it is very dangerous to have all of your eggs in one basket. While each independent platform has its own pros/cons, I find it essential to diversify and attract customers on multiple platforms.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lynnique.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lynniquejewelry
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/lynnique

Image Credits
Photos by Siobhan https://photosbysiobhan.com/