I Never Expected My Bedroom Business To Turn Over £2.5 Million
- Niki, 30, was unsure what she wanted to do with her life
- She began selling clothes and jewellery on eBay and Depop and realised she wanted to expand the venture further
- Starting out in her bedroom, she began making jewellery and marketing on Instagram
- Now NIKITA turns over half a million a year, with products selling on Amazon and Etsy
Many of us feel lost or unsure about what we want to do in life at some point. Having a focus or goal can help with moving forward, and that’s what Niki Mahon, 30, from Kent, did after graduating from University in 2015. Finding her passion took time, but now she is the proud owner of a thriving jewellery and homeware business, NIKITA, that turns over a whopping £500,000 a year by selling on Amazon, Etsy and an independent website.
Sharing her story with money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, Niki began: ‘I started my business in 2015 after completing a degree at University that I didn’t connect with. After graduating, I felt lost and unsure about what I wanted to do with my life. I got a full-time job in London working for a small tech company for some stability and experience.
‘In my spare time on evenings and weekends, I started selling unwanted clothes and jewellery on Depop and eBay. I noticed I felt a spark when I was packaging items and sending them to customers and wondered if there was a way I could do this and make a profit!
Once Niki had the idea to branch out and create her products, she got the ball rolling. ‘The first step was creating my logo so my brand could have an identity, and everything could unfold from there. I had some experience with graphic design and was confident creating my logo in Photoshop. Nowadays, Canva is an amazing website that makes designing so easy. I would highly recommend this for logo creation and all social media graphics, as you can save a lot of money on branding if you can do this yourself. Graphic design is a skill I think is invaluable if starting your own business. Learning to use Canva via Youtube would be a great way to become more confident.
‘I then created my first website, Nikita By Niki. I used a third-party e-commerce website provider Shopify - I still use it to this day. Then I continued to liaise with suppliers and invest in stock.
‘After I had the branding, website and products together, it was time to photograph everything. I did the product photography myself and organised a more editorial photo shoot with the jewellery styled to use across the new Nikita By Niki Instagram and website. At this point, I was ready to announce it to my small audience.
Although Niki worked hard to get her brand out to the public, the journey didn’t come without its challenges. ‘There have been SO many obstacles over the years. I would say one of the biggest obstacles when I first started was other businesses copying and pasting my website text and using my images (with me in them!) for their brand after seeing mine gain traction. I didn’t expect it early in my business, and I found it deflating after spending so much time branding myself. It was being taken by others so easily.
‘I added some protection on my website to prevent this going forwards. However, I have since accepted that people may take inspiration from my brand as the business grows. Therefore, it’s crucial for me that I am constantly evolving and updating my designs and content.
‘Other obstacles I have experienced have been supplier related, in that they have let me down with the quality of products, and it has cost me hundreds or thousands at a time. It’s disappointing when this happens, but I genuinely believe these things happen for a reason, so I can learn from them and find better people to work with.
‘Finding manufacturers that align with your vision and ethics is one of the hardest things in business, and there should be expected to be some trial and error along the way. I also learned that communication as the designer is key to ensuring others can truly understand your vision.
‘It has also been challenging dealing with customers who are not always very polite! It’s hard not to let your ego get in the way as you are so emotionally attached to your business, but I have found that kindness always helps. People often approach companies differently because they are not used to respectful, helpful and efficient customer service. However, as soon as I show I care and am keen to help, it often disarms the customer, and the conversation is far more pleasant. If in doubt, just be kind and speak to your customers in the same way you would like to be spoken to if you were in the same situation.
‘More recently, dealing with the shipping crisis during the pandemic was a huge obstacle in that product shipments were not only delayed but cost four times what they usually would. This knocked my company back regarding cash in the business in 2020 and was devastating. However, it was out of my control, and I pushed on as always!’
Niki overcame her fears of leaving full-time employment to focus on her business. ‘I left my full-time job in 2016. I went part-time first to test the waters and then decided it was all or nothing. I worked in a small business and loved my job. Often the narrative is that people are unhappy in their jobs or hate their bosses, and then they leave to start their businesses. However, it wasn’t that way for me at all. It wasn’t that I was unfulfilled or needed more, I just needed something that was MINE. I needed to prove to myself that I could build something from the ground up despite feeling lost after leaving university.
‘I felt I wanted to prove certain people in my life wrong. However, I did so gradually. I worked to a point where I had enough savings to start the brand, and when the sales were consistent, I dropped my hours to part-time first at my old job before leaving completely a year later.’
Niki keeps her passions at the forefront of her business growth. ‘I am passionate about the company as I love empowering other women, especially South-Asian women in business, as we are typically encouraged down a more ‘academic’ route as opposed to a creative one.
‘When I receive messages from customers inspired by my journey or products, it just warms my heart and makes all the challenges worth it. I never thought I’d be an inspiration to anyone, especially with how worthless I felt before I started NIKITA.
‘I’ve found that evolving and changing the brand has helped me stay in love with it. I rebranded the entire company in 2022 - it was originally Nikita by Niki, and now it's NIKITA. It feels so fresh and exciting again, similar to how it felt when I launched in 2015. I must always evolve and improve, so I keep the fire in my belly and jump out of bed in the morning, ready to innovate and design more jewellery. I never want to resent my business, no matter the challenges thrown my way!’
No business owner will experience linear growth, and Niki has had her fair share of financial obstacles. ‘As I mentioned, 2020-2022 have been the most challenging financial periods. With so much of our capital going into the Brexit and Covid-related shipping crises, as well as the work which has gone into our new rebrand and sustainability focus, there was a lot of pressure to ensure we have a great Christmas this year to ensure all of the effort this past year has been worth it! I am confident about our new branding and can’t wait to see how 2023 unfolds.’
Looking back on when the company began, Niki reflects on how social media advertising was easier seven years ago. ‘In 2015, it was a little easier to build an audience on our Instagram page than now as it was less saturated. I steadily gained followers by modelling the jewellery and sharing honest ups and downs of the entrepreneurial journey quite quickly after launching. I found that with the type of jewellery I sell, the traffic to the website became very seasonal, so there’d be massive surges around Christmas and then it would be relatively slower throughout the rest of the year. I’ve learned to use this trend to my advantage rather than battle against it.’
Niki shared her insights on how shoppers are making purchases at the moment. ‘People take longer in deciding whether to make a purchase. I’ve not seen a lot of impulse buying but more well-thought-out purchases. Also, our discounted items are going out quicker than ever, and I believe this is to do with the cost of living crisis - people are loving discounts at the moment, for sure.
‘As a business, at this time, I believe it’s crucial to ensure we do what we can to make the decision purchase easier for customers, such as offering free delivery, gift packaging, gifts, returns and so on. These small things help customers make up their minds when deciding whether or not to purchase with you.’
Whenever Niki designs new items, she reveals she follows one simple rule - instinct. ‘I think about jewellery or homeware I’ve tried to get hold of but have struggled to find in normal stores. I used to follow trends, but I want to focus on quality items of jewellery that can be treasured and last forever. The desire to stay ahead of the competition and keep that fire in my belly keeps me going. I try to always stay one step out of my comfort zone as I never want to get too comfortable.’
Niki has expanded the business a great deal since the early days. ‘I now have 3 full-time staff members, which feels crazy since I started this all on my own in my bedroom at my parent's house! We store many of our products at Amazon’s warehouse through a selling service called Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA), which I would highly recommend looking into if you are hoping to scale your product-based business.
‘We share an office and warehouse with another company in Kent, England, and we have an office space upstairs, our dispatch area, and a section in the warehouse dedicated to our homeware products.’
At first, Niki’s company profit was modest, but now she’s making six figures. ‘In the first year, I made between £15k and £20k. Now, the business is turning over half a million pounds a year, and I’m proud to say that it is organic growth without any outside investment.
‘I worked hard to make the business the success it is now. I don't believe there is any such thing as overnight success. This took me nearly 7 years of steady growth.’
Niki shared her advice for those looking to start their own business. ‘My advice would be to look beyond just selling via social media. I listed my products on Amazon in 2016, and the sales there have been consistent and almost like a backbone to my company. Adding your products to other platforms helps a great deal as people are already shopping on there. It’s easier than trying to get people to stop what they’re doing and shop on your website. You’ll see quicker and more consistent growth. I would highly recommend selling on Etsy and Amazon as they have been the most profitable for me thus far, and we have tried many platforms over the years!’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Niki is truly an inspiration to anyone who feels unsure about the kind of work they want to do. She proves that if you want to make something that feels truly yours and you’re willing to put the work in, you can succeed. All the best to her!’
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