Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marlis Rosetti. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Marlis, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?
Our company started over 10 years ago and a lot has changed. There was not much social media, and building a website was a luxury. If I was starting over now, I would invest in a website much earlier, connect with other entrepreneurs, and utilize more of the social media platforms. Additionally, I would collaborate and partner with influencers who can truly connect with our brand. Having a clear vision from the start is very important, even if you have to adjust and make changes along the way without losing your essence.
Marlis, 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?
Our story began years ago while in High School, I was intrigued by gemstones, metals, and casting and so I took a jewelry-making class and loved it. In college, I took a few more classes to learn about newer jewelry-making and metal melting techniques, but the business didn’t launch until a few years later. After doing some traveling through Europe, I fell in love with the different cultures and different styles of jewelry, and so I began making beaded pieces ranging from bracelets, earrings, and chunky necklaces which were in style back in the early 2000. During all this time, I’ve always had a full-time job in the healthcare industry and making jewelry would always feel therapeutic and my clients were mainly my co-workers. Jewelry styles evolved and our styles have changed throughout the years and Miluk Collections came to life after a few years. The name Miluk (mee-look) came from our two golden retrievers, Miko and Lukas, at the time we were struggling with infertility a journey of over 10years and so it felt appropriate to name it after our four-legged kids. Miluk (mee-look) may also mean my look in Spanish, so the name fits perfectly representing my Latino heritage. Our first physical store opened many years later, in UTC La Jolla after all the renovations we finally opened our doors in a beautiful kiosk right in the middle of the renovated mall. We would take turns my mom would cover the mornings and my husband and I would cover the evening after our full time jobs until closing. After a year of long days and nights we hired our first official employee to help with the weekends and some evenings. Business was great. I’ve always had an entrepreneur mindset and have always loved selling however, we were still dealing with infertility and the treatments made it very difficult and stressful managing it all. After our last failed IVF and after almost three years at UTC, we closed our doors. We were in need of a break both physically, mentally, and emotionally.
A few years went by, I took an amazing job opportunity and after our long infertility journey we were blessed with our beautiful healthy twin girls. However, there was always a desire to bring back Miluk and after a couple of years, I decided to bring Miluk Collections back to life! So here we are, we launched our website a few years ago and are just really putting our entire hearts out to our small business.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Having a demanding full time job in well-being and owning a business can be challenging alone. However, when you add something so personal and emotional such as infertility, well let’s just say that puts everything on a different level. Our infertility journey lasted about 10 years. While we were trying to grow our small business, we were also dealing with countless treatments, surgeries, medication, and multiple failed in-vitro procedures. Aside from an emotional investment, these treatments are also very costly. In spite of our personal journey, we opened our doors to our store in the beautiful UTC mall and it was exactly what we needed at the time to put our minds elsewhere.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Our line has evolved over the years, and there was a time in which I was creating everything from drawings to production. During that short time the investment was not paying off and were no longer profitable. Therefore, I began traveling to different trade-shows in search for different providers of gemstones and even looking for someone who could add our brand to our pieces. Ultimately that was the best decision, we partnered with a wonderful workshop who understands our vision and produces high-quality pieces that are also affordable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Milukcollections.com
- Instagram: Milukcollections
- Facebook: Miluk Collections