AtHomeWithLorraineKelly2016 - 102

▲ CAREERS

Bespoke jewellery
'It dawned on me my business
was staring me in the face'
SUSIE JONES, 39, WORKED AS A LAWYER BEFORE
DECIDING TO SET UP HER OWN BESPOKE JEWELLERY
BUSINESS. SHE LIVES WITH HER PARTNER, TRISTAN, 50,
AND HAS ONE CHILD, BARNABY, FOUR
'From graduation, I worked as
a lawyer for a top London ﬁrm.
On paper it was a prestigious
job but the reality was different.
It was stressful, there was no
work-life balance and the dayto-day work was repetitive. It
was a "carrot stick" culture,
which wasn't for me. I wanted
to do something I enjoyed but
not give my whole life over to it.

'When I became a mum I knew
I couldn't go back or I wouldn't
see my child, but I didn't have
an alternative plan. I realised
I wanted to work for myself.
'The jewellery idea came
about because I wanted to
buy an heirloom piece to mark
the occasion of Barnaby's birth
and I could not ﬁnd anything in
the shops. I designed my own

celebration pendant made from
solid gold and, having worked
in the jewellery business before
I became a lawyer, I had the
contacts to have it made by a
goldsmith. Everyone loved it
and it gradually dawned on me
that my business was staring
me in the face.
'I spent over a year ﬁnding
the right team to make the
pendant to a high standard,
and then all initial sales were
by word of mouth. People
see it and straightaway get why
it's so special.'

FAITH IN MYSELF
'I'm a bit of a control freak,
so I love being my own
boss, doing my own
thing, meeting
customers
and being
able to
discuss

their designs; it's so much more
fun than negotiating contracts.
But I've had to learn a different
way of thinking and develop
faith in my own ability, having
been so used to having a team
of people to bounce ideas off.
'The best part is that my
customers have chosen my
pendant to celebrate an
important occasion in their lives
- that's such a lovely feeling
and really moving to me.
'If you want to start your
own business, spend some time
every day working on your
dream, even if it's just half an
hour. It's amazing what you can
achieve in such a short space of
time. It's the best thing
I've done - and the
hardest- but it's
all worth it.'
www.
mildred
jones.co.uk

Have you got an idea for
a business but don't know
where to start? Natasha
Stanley, head coach at
Careershifters (www.
careershifters.org) has
some top advice:
IF YOU'RE NOT HAPPY
AT WORK, YOU KNOW.
Maybe you 'fell into' your
job and now, years later,
can't understand how you
are still surrounded by
people you can't relate to,
doing work you don't feel
connected with.
TO HELP YOU FIGURE
OUT what you'd love
to get paid for, create a
group of people around
you who can support
the journey. The most
powerful accelerator
in a career change is
a supportive network.
ACTION PLAN. You
can spend years trying
to ﬁgure it out, but if
your ideal career was
in your head, you'd have
found it by now. Try new

102 | AUGUST 2016

things and reach out to
people who inspire you
and already work in the
industry that interests you.
NOT CHANGING
DIRECTION IS USUALLY
A QUESTION OF FEAR.
You've spent years
building your career and it
pays your bills. It's closely
tied to your identity and
it can be the 'better the
devil you know' when it
comes to career change.
HOW TO START? What's
the lowest-risk way you
could test out your ideas
in the real world? How
could you turn your plan
into a quick project to test
alongside your day job?
THE RIGHT DECISION?
If you set out to make
a career change based
on money or a shorter
commute, you're treading
dangerous ground. But to
challenge and discover
yourself? It's scary, but
I can't think of anyone
who came out worse off.

"

I LOVE BEING MY
OWN BOSS - IT'S SO
MUCH MORE FUN THAN
NEGOTIATING CONTRACTS

WORDS: GEORGINA MARIC

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