“I’m still googling how to run a business”: How Nikki Kelly took her jewellery label to $2.5 million turnover

It’s been six years since Nikki Kelly set out to start her handcrafted personalised jewellery label, Kellective by Nikki, after being made redundant from her corporate job when she was 38 weeks pregnant.

With a newborn baby on her hip, Kelly decided she wanted to do something creative, so she started small by making keyrings in her garage and opening up her own Etsy store.

Today, Kellective by Nikki has gone from an Etsy garage business to a company with 13 employees, which includes Kelly and her husband, and a $2.5 million turnover.

And even though she is a product-based business, with an audience of more than 89,000 Instagram followers, Kelly says she is often approached to promote other brands.

Learning as she goes

Kelly says when she started Kellective by Nikki she had no business or jewellery-making experience.

“I started the business because of anxiety, I was made redundant with a new baby and the thought of finding a job without family support filled me with anxiety,” she said.

“I set out on this business adventure six years ago with no business experience, in fact, after failing high school business studies and having no jewellery-making experience and launching with a baby in tow, you’d imagine I was doomed to fail. But that’s not how the story ends!”

Kelly says she was proud of how far her family-owned business had come and advised those looking to start their own business with minimal funds to look for cheaper alternatives.

“I’m still googling how to run a business,” she admitted.

“I started the business with $1000 from our savings and six years on we’re a multimillion-dollar jewellery brand. We have zero debt or loans, and 13 incredible staff with a beautiful culture of kindness and a family vibe.

“When working with smaller budgets you need to be constantly reinvesting the profits in order to grow, so slow and steady wins the race.

“Look for ways to start cheaper, for instance, start with a smaller product offering and build on this. Do you need to have a stand-alone website or could you sell through Etsy? Facebook ads can be expensive so just start with the people already visiting your site.  

“Grow your email list as most email platforms offer very cheap rates, even free, for small lists. Facebook and Instagram profiles are free for organic reach so utilise this too. And upskill yourself in things like SEO and branding. There’s so much info on Youtube.” 

Building a brand

Kelly says her love for the dainty, delicate and simple inspired the pieces made by the Kellective by Nikki team.

“I thought it would be cool to make a necklace with my new bubs name on it. I had a few ideas to try then suddenly I had an Etsy store and people seemed to like what I was making,” she said. 

“I used strategies on Etsy which helped me form a following getting traffic and sales, currently I have over 500 5-star reviews on Esty.”

Some of Kellective by Nikki’s many bestsellers include the Cross My Heart oval pendant necklace, the Compass necklace and the Soren stacking pendant necklace.

As of 2022, Kelly says the Brisbane-based business has made more than 45,000 pieces of jewellery. 

“We are handmade — not machine-made — out of Brisbane and I’ve managed to grow the business while also having three more children,” she said.

“I work with a little team and together we hand make every piece that leaves our studio — from cutting our own bars and pendants to making rings and earrings.

“No two pieces (of jewellery) are the same, each piece is entirely unique. 

“In our six years, we’ve made more than 45,000 pieces and counting. We went from kitchen table to home studio and now our second commercial studio! I feel so incredibly blessed to have the job I do and touch so many people for special occasions. I feel like I’ve imagined my dream job and now I’m doing it.”

Kelly says there were many benefits of being a business that makes in Australia and sells direct to consumers.

“Being homemade allows us to have a closer relationship with our customers and cut out the middle person so we can deliver cheaper prices,” she said.

“We can pivot a lot quicker than offshore companies and we have very minimal wastage.

“My advice for people looking at starting their own homemade business is to try to think of a unique selling point, there are so many homemade businesses about now — which doesn’t mean there’s no room for yours, just that you need to have a point of difference.  

“I’d also be promoting the humanness of your brand. Something you have that bigger, non-homemade, businesses don’t, is your personality.

“Consumers want to know who they’re supporting more and more. They want to connect to brands differently. Small — especially handmade — businesses are in that perfect place to be able to share behind-the-scenes, processes and growth stories.”

With so many startups and small businesses taking off across Australia, Kelly says making real connections with customers as a business owner is essential. 

“At Kellective by Nikki, we send out a card with every order. The card says who has made that order, it has a photo of them and a couple of sentences about themselves. We get so much good feedback from that and it’s lovely,” she said. 

“People love that kind of connection. With all the modern technology these days, I feel that’s something that more companies should strive to do because there is something special in that.” 

While Kelly says she doesn’t have a big strategy mapped out, the return customer rate shows Kellective by Nikki are doing something right.   

“I love the intimacy and connection we have with the size of the company we are now. As a person, I love to share the great things our business does with more people. I love that we are friendly, genuine and approachable. We put our heart and soul into what we do,” she said.