Why Samantha Wills has no regrets about walking away from her $10m jewellery business | Alds

The designer has written a book, called Of Gold And Dust, documenting both the professional and personal highs and lows after starting the business on her kitchen table at 21. She turned over her first million by age 26.

The Bondi local admits she spent two years dealing with “inner turmoil” as her creative passion dived, but once she made the choice to close the business she knew it was the right one.

“As a creative person you are driven by inspiration and creative energy and I noticed that light in me started to fade. I had designed 12,000 pieces of jewellery and I had this creative block and I thought it will pass, but six months and a year later it was still getting dimmer and dimmer, so I had to come to terms that something was changing within me … and that I no longer wanted to do it,” she told news.com.au.

“It was hard for me to come to realise it, rather than come to terms with it. I decided to close the business instead of selling it as I wanted to keep my name and my heart wasn’t built in a way that I could hand the brand to another company and sit back and watch what they did with it.”

But her decision not to sell the business meant the Sydneysider walked away from a sweet $8 million payday.

“I know this sounds ridiculous but I didn’t even ask how much we could sell it for – it wasn’t even of interest to me. I don’t think that money was ever the driving factor as I think I would have quit when I was $80,000 in debt at the start. The money never motivated me in any way,” she said.

“On the day we closed, people were asking me what my reaction was and I was really calm because I had inner turmoil for two years and I had done the breaking up period and mourning already – it seemed the right decision and hand on my heart I have not had a regret since.”

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Her new memoir is a refreshingly honest account about juggling an all-consuming business. While it highlights the wins, it also documents some of the cringe-worthy mistakes she made along the way.

One example is when she completely shunned her signature bohemian style to create a clean, simplistic jewellery collection that she thought would help her break the high-end American department stores. But the move away from her characteristic designs, alienated her customer base and she had to work to win back their trust.

She also explores the huge feelings of anxiety and “impostor syndrome” she felt in the business world and how she questioned her success.

The book reveals the almost nomadic life she spent flying between Sydney and New York to manage the business – racking up more than 100 flights as she grew the business – but also how she fell apart after discovering her boyfriend of three years had cheated on her with eight different women.

“I think so often we are given this blueprint structure on ‘here’s how to build the business and brand’, but when you have a big break-up in life or are experiencing grief or trauma you can’t call in sick to the boss as you’re the boss in that instance,” she said. “I think we see this machine churning above water but the book shows what is required from an individual to run a business.”

Ms Wills admits that the book was originally contracted to be a business book, but being an entrepreneur and woman in business meant she naturally wanted to talk about the personal side of things too.

“When I was writing it the manuscript it was taking me on a teleportation, and with the timeline I was able to sit with myself at 21 when my hands were bleeding and when I was 30 sitting in despair. It was cathartic and it felt like a real privilege to be able to go to those times and have the hindsight,” she said.

“That’s not to say it wasn’t hard in the darker moments you read about but I’m not nervous about it being in world. I’m really calm about it. I’m shocked I feel really calm about it.”

In fact, the 39-year-old felt it was important to talk about the struggles, particularly as she was tired of being heralded as an “overnight success” when she had spent 12 years building the brand.

“We live in a day and age of perceived perfection, especially in the entrepreneurial world and with Instagram, but there is human element to the business and what it takes to be a creative founder,” she said.

She said problems occur if you don’t see a business going through similar struggles.

“If someone has overnight success and you’ve been working at it for five years you ask what you’re doing wrong,” she said.

“When the reality is comparing isn’t right as the Instagram post or headline is a mirage in a desert – there’s no context or truth to it. If there has been anyone that has been a technical overnight success then I struggle to find someone who has gone on and had long-term success.”

Since closing the jewellery brand she has been working on the Samantha Wills Foundation, which aims to empower creative entrepreneurs with their business.

While she is open to the idea of starting another business, she said she would never go back into jewellery designing.

“I think for me my passion was never really jewellery, it was a creative outlet, and jewellery I could do at the dining table,” she said. “But with designing 12,000 pieces of jewellery, the commercial machine was made, so there was little room for creativity. I was designing 25 collections a year, including 10 pieces under a $100 and other specs, and it becomes a logistics company.

“It was a creative fashion brand but really it is a logistics brand. I don’t want to do that again – the warehousing and importing – I have no interest in doing that. But I miss the creative front and I would definitely design again but in a different way.”

Her advice for other business owners is to make mistakes when you’re small, don’t over-exert yourself to the point of burnout and celebrate the wins.

“When Taylor Swift or Beyonce wears it, it’s a success, but as an entrepreneur you keep chasing things even once you get there and you don’t celebrate successes and then you’re on to next thing,” she said.

“As a young entrepreneur that is exhausting as you’re constantly chasing on a hamster wheel if that’s how it’s approached all the time.”