An Aintree woman is celebrating six years in business after launching a jewellery brand with just five items.
Charlotte Donoghue, 31, created Say It With Diamonds in June of 2016 with five necklaces and has since seen her business become a multimillion-pound company.
Six years ago, social media and influencer marketing wasn't utilised the way it is today but Charlotte was determined to stand out from competitors, so took her five trial designs to Instagram and Facebook.
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Within hours, Say It With Diamonds had 10 orders for the brand's best selling initial necklaces that are still in high demand today.
Reinvesting into the business and stock, Charlotte continued to buy more and more luxury pieces which saw the brand continue to grow.
The businesswoman, from Aintree, said: “From the very beginning, we’ve focused on products of the highest quality. We’ve tried and tested different suppliers to get the best luxury jewellery possible. Going hand in hand with this, customer service has been at the forefront of our business and providing the best service is absolutely key for us.
“Like all businesses, at the start we had a few teething problems but it was our approach to those situations that really mattered. Our first complaint was about a full diamond initial necklace and we refunded the customer in full and recalled the others that had sold.
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"As we had hand delivered them, we visited each house to collect the necklaces and took it as a lesson learnt, always paying more for higher quality products. After all, you get what you pay for.
"We started as we meant to go on and this calibre of service is what would stand us in great stead to create a million pound company just two years later.
“We understand that our customers are purchasing special items or precious gifts and we’re here to make that experience memorable and the best it can possibly be.”
Having worked from home to kickstart the business, by January 2017, Charlotte and her small team found their first office, kitted out with leopard print walls, two desks and two winged high back black chairs.
Charlotte added: “It was our happy place and where we really focused on branching out into areas we wanted to focus on; bridal, engagement jewellery and rings. We were so fortunate to meet some lovely people that they fell right into our hands.”
Networking, influencer marketing and social media has been fundamental to Say It With Diamonds’ success and Charlotte continued to meet more people within the jewellery industry including talented jewellers, making regular trips to London to work on the brand’s awareness.
The amount of pieces the brand stocks has also grown substantially, with Charlotte and the team focusing on their bestsellers and customer favourites as well as constantly evolving with the aim of offering the best quality jewellery at competitive prices.
Say It With Diamonds marks six years in business in June and Charlotte is incredibly proud to have grown her team to 19 staff in house, as well as a huge team they outsource.
She added: "This year has been monumental for Say It With Diamonds. We’ve just had an incredible Christmas with our Liverpool ONE pop up, which we opened to manage the queues at our Metquarter store, being a huge success.
"Despite the pandemic we’ve also seen huge growth through our website. This success hasn’t been overnight and it’s been almost six years of nonstop hard work, determination and innovation and I can’t thank our amazing team enough for their dedication to helping to make Say It With Diamonds the business it is today."
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