Parents in Business featuring Gemz by Emz

Now that the children are back in school and we are kissing goodbye to that long summer holiday I am relaunching my Parents in Business series, and boy has the response been fantastic. I’ve had so many women, parents and businesses contact me who would love to be featured and I have really enjoyed reading your stories so far. I am genuinely excited about featuring you all in the run up to Christmas.

To kick start the series I am featuring Emma who created Gemz by Emz. Now there is a slight twist in the tale in that Emma isn’t a parent. However I thought that her story was well and truly worthy of a share, as Emma considers how she would run and manage her business with family commitments and childcare in the future. It’s great to be back with the series, so please all do have a read of Emma’s story below…

Tell me a little bit about you, your background, and your business?

Gemz By Emz are an award winning business based in Essex specialising in personalised jewellery and gifts engraved with photos, handwriting, text and even pregnancy scans.

After going through 17 jobs before my mid twenties (yes, really!) in a mixture of Retail, Insurance and Education and suffering from depression and bad anxiety, I needed a hobby to distract me from life which was when I started to make jewellery. Soon after making jewellery I started a Twitter page to share my creations and people actually wanted to buy my items! This was when I saw the potential of turning my hobby into a business which was really exciting because I had always dreamt of working for myself.

I targeted Celebrities online and shared my items with them and I gained quite the Celebrity following, with some even buying my items, this really helped with my online exposure and led to more sales. From there my business has just grown and grown with Celebrities such as Jacqueline Jossa, Eamonn Holmes, Charlie Hedges and Calum Best owning my products.

What were your motivations for setting up your business?

For me, I have always struggled working for other people and being told what to do and I have always been a leader and not a follower, this is why I ended up leaving every job I had after a short period of time. I don’t feel motivated helping to build another person’s dream whilst being on a limited income when I could be building my own dream and earning what I want to! Since starting my business I am full of so much motivation, drive, determination, positivity and passion! Owning a business has helped me to gain resilience and confidence and given me the freedom to work my own hours which is great for me because I love flexibility.

How do you balance the business around your family and childcare?

I do not currently have any children but if I did decide to have children then the business gives me the flexibility to choose my own hours. I also have a great family and support network around me if I ever did need help. I believe pushing my business before having a family has given me the bonus of being established enough to hire staff to help out when required if I ever did start a family.

Since setting up your business what has been your biggest success to date?

Oh gosh! There have been so many! I would say having my jewellery worn by Kate Ford in an episode of Coronation Street, Having my products purchased by Celebrities and winning the Theo Paphitis ‘Small Business Sunday’ award are definitely my my biggest successes to date.

What’s your top tip for anyone who is thinking about setting up their own business?

Ah I have many tips so I will share my top three with you.

Follow your passion – You have to be in love with what you are doing or it will not work, so ensure you start a business doing something you really enjoy and are passionate about.

Separate yourself from your business – So many Business Owners become emotionally involved in their business but you have to separate yourself from it. If someone challenges your pricing, your products or your service, you have to respond professionally as a business! Not as a human who has had their feelings hurt.

Focus – Don’t allow yourself to become distracted by noise, negative people and drama! Remember why you wanted to start this business as this will keep you motivated and keep you going through the hard times and focus all of your time and energy into growing your business. Learn learn learn as much as you can and network with other businesses!

Thank you so much Emma and Gemz by Emz for letting me interview you as part of my Parents in Business series! I wish you both the best of luck in the future.

You can find out more about Gemz by Emz by visiting the website, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels.

If you like what you’re reading and would love to be part of my Parents in Business series just drop me an email: thepramshedblog@gmail.com. Or have a nose at some of the other businesses I have featured in the series: LID Project, Parents in Biz, and Mojo Yard.

Claire x