We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nichole Aden. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nichole below.

Nichole, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

You have to be willing to take risks. I know, that sounds so scary, right? When I first started my business, I just had my second daughter, I was working full time as a district manager making a pretty decent income and selling my jewelry on the side. I was feeling so burnt out by everything I had on my plate. I knew I couldn’t continue working that way anymore and had to make a hard decision to keep my current job or pursue my business full time with no real security. So I took that risk and resigned from the company I worked for. In don’t regret that decision one bit. The second part of what impacts my success is being authentic and making meaningful relationships with not only my customers but with other business owners. So many opportunities have come my way from just being myself and making friends!

Nichole, 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?

My name is Nichole. I’m a mom of 2 and full time business owner. I hand make polymer clay jewelry that I sell locally, wholesale, commissioned and online. Like many people, I started this as a hobby during the pandemic and fell in love with the medium. My mission is to make everyone feel good, welcomed and beautiful. Alongside my pre-designed earrings I also offer many custom options as well. If you have an idea, let’s chat! We can make your perfect pair come to life! Most of the metals I use are gold plated brass and gold plated stainless steel that is hypoallergenic, nickel and lead free. Polymer clay is an extremely lightweight and durable material so it’s perfect for everyday wear and for statement pieces you plan to wear for extended periods of time.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I started out selling on a marketplace until I gained enough traction where the fees I paid on the marketplace were more then what I would pay for a monthly subscription for a my own site. The pros of running my own website has far outweighed the cons. I have the ability to customize my website to fit my brand and avoid a lot of the fees the marketplace was taking out of my revenue. The only challenge I face with running my own site vs the marketplace is that the marketplace already had shoppers on it. With my own site, I am responsible for the marketing work to get new customers to my site.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Working local markets has skyrocketed my business. There are so many people out there looking to support you as a local small business owner, you just have to get out there in front of them. Then through meeting those people, word of mouth has become an extremely powerful source for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.desertreignco.com
• Instagram: DesertReignCo
• Facebook: DesertReignCo
• Tik Tok: DesertReignCo