Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Gao.
Hi Katherine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Jewelry is something I remember loving ever since I was little. I loved playing with my mother’s treasure box, putting on her long pearl strands and wearing her sparkly brooch on my PJs. My family had no background in jewelry, so I never thought I’d become a jeweler growing up, but I started collecting jewelry as early as in high school. I loved the infinite possibilities, gemstone color combinations, and how different designs could complement each other, and my collection continued to grow! While my collection grew, I found my interest in jewelry grew as well! Soon after entering the corporate world, I knew that working in accounting was a stable career but it didn’t tap into my passions quite like I’d hoped.
One night, I was lying in bed, dreading another return to the grind and couldn’t stop thinking about figuring out a way to start my new career. While I scrolled on my phone, thoughts racing, I finally decided that an Instagram page would be a good place to start. At first, I just started a page just for fun and happy just trying all sorts of different looks. But the followers kept on subscribing and messaging asking for more and before long, people were approaching me wanting to buy from me. I never would have guessed three years ago that I would be designing and selling my own pieces and getting to flex my creative muscle with jewelry. It has been a thrill!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting a business is not easy! A lot of research had to be done and the worst part was having to do it while still carrying a full-time job. Luckily, my husband was there to help me out while we got things set up. We both worked full-time on weekends building the website and preparing to open up shop. The relief after the site launch was short-lived too because as soon as we were up and running, we were constantly trying to figure out how to expand and do better. At a certain point, when the workload of running my own company grew to be too much for me to handle while also working full time. I had to make the decision to fly on my own wings and while walking away from a stable corporate career was not easy, it was one of the best decisions I ever made!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Part of what I love about Jewelry is how it can be used to show individual tastes. Personally, my take on jewelry is very eclectic and I feel there’s different styles for different moods so I don’t want to confine myself to just one look. That’s what I’m trying to offer to everybody with KatMojo! I want to offer jewelry in many different styles and types so people in all walks of life from anywhere in the world can find some jewelry to make their look pop. We have tons of original pieces already and plenty more exciting ideas and concepts in the works!
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Not giving up – is probably the most important thing when owning your own business. Because there are some days that sales or social media engagement is not great. I remember when I hit my first growth platue on Instagram, I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I felt so down and didn’t want to get out of bed or even open Instagram on my phone. But I told myself to keep going, like life, not everyday is going to be a good day. So a those bad days, I just tell myself that this is only temporary and try to find the problem if there was one.
Contact Info:
- Email: Katmojojewelry@gmail.com
- Website: www.KatMojojewelry.com
- Instagram: @katmojojewelry
- Other: @katmojojewelry (tiktok and pintrest)
