Kendra Scott is passionate about jewelry design. She is passionate about her kids, too. Her passion has led her to be a proper mompreneur with “mom first” policy. Her achievement? She turns $500 startup into multi-million dollar business – while maintaining work-life balance many others can’t achieve.
Who is Ms. Scott and why you should learn from her?
Kendra Scott Design story
Kendra Scott is the CEO of Kendra Scott Design, a designer jewelry business. A multi-million dollar business today, it’s all from a humble start – from her spare bedroom, on bed rest while pregnant with her first son… and $500 from her bank account.
The $500 initial investment is for her to buy stones and make her own jewelry.
It’s typical really – many say “you’ll never make it”… perhaps for some good reasons, namely tough competition. But Ms. Scott proves naysayer wrong.
Initially, her brand and design is carried by local stores. Later on, her designs grabbed major department stores’ attention – Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, to name a few.
Today, Kendra Scott Design, headquartered in Austin, TX, employs 125 people across 7 boutiques in the US, with her jewelry designs are on display at 1000 boutiques worldwide.
Key success factors
Of course, love what you do is always crucial in determining whether your small business is a success or not. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Here’s the key success factor: She makes family the core value of her small business.
“Mom first”
Ms. Scott builds her company around her family, not the other way around. Furthermore, her “mom first” policy is also reflected in her employment policy: She encourages her employees to leave the office for their children’s dance recitals and soccer games.
Philanthropy
Philanthropy is also a key success factor. Ms. Scott is an active philanthropist, and she involves her staff on charities.
Work smart
When Ms. Scott is not with her children, you can definitely find her working. But she didn’t consider her work as “work” – because she loves making jewelries. She often works past midnight – after taking care of her family.
I can relate to that, as I am working at home and I work around the clock, arranging my work around my family. Yes, I also adopt family-first policy. I am happy and my productivity is top-notch (although I always want to be more productive.)
Encourage employees to work smart, too
Ms. Scott confirms that flexible working hours with family as the core works wonder in boosting productivity and job satisfaction. Her staffs are on their e-mail at midnight after they have put their kids to bed. Indeed, she adopts flexible working hours – which has earned her company to be one of the best places to work by the Austin Business Journal.
Watch a video profile and read more about Ms. Scott from CNBC Crowd Rules »
Photo credit: Kendra Scott Pinterest page
