Tech Trends and Digital Lifestyle Blog

7 QUESTIONS WITH GO-GETTER NICOLE SIOBAL MAKING JEWELRY SOCIAL WITH START-UP EN.JOYYE

3/3/2015

Read on to learn how ENTREPRENEUR Nicole siobal took her jewelry start-up en.joyye from an idea to beta!

Editors note: Go-Getter is a series spotlighting driven entrepreneurs who use technology and social media to follow their dreams and impact the world. Do you know of someone we should spotlight? Tweet me @SashaTalksTech Check back each Tuesday and Saturday for new content!

I've known Nicole Siobal for close to ten years. We met while we were both living and working in Washington, DC, and became fast friends volunteering together at a non-profit that helps wounded Veterans and diving head first into our biggest hopes and dreams.
What attracted me to Nicole was her passion, drive, and energy, so I was not at all surprised when I learned she'd left her 9-5 job to launch en.JOYYE, an exclusive social community exclusively for jewelry and watches carrying original creations as well as pieces from already established designers such as Electric Picks (who has been seen on many celebs like Sofia Vergara, Pharrell, Lenny Kravitz,

tell us about your start-up

en.JOYYE is a niche social community where jewelry lovers everywhere can enjoy discovering and shopping for the latest socially curated trends around the world, while bringing joy to others in need of joy (10 % of sales form The Joy Box automatically donated to the featured charity of your choice). en.JOYYE helps connect brands and designers directly with their fans. We also help non-profits increase awareness of their causes to our community.

"I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to work on my own thing doing what I love while also making a difference."
~ M. Nicole Siobal CEO & Founder En.JOYYE

en.JOYYE features four non-profits at the same time and rotate them throughout the year. This gives us a chance to help more than just one non-profit increase awareness and donations.

What is your biggest piece of advice to wanna be entrepreneurs?

Don't wait around for things to happen. If you have an idea, and truly believe in that idea, don't limit yourself with negative thoughts of every excuse in the book of why you can’t do it right then. Most entrepreneurs didn’t wake up one day and say, “I am ready!" they just went for it! Nothing great is ever achieved by
those waiting around for the "perfect" opportunity to come. Take a risk and dedicate yourself fully to making it happen.

What has been your biggest accomplishment to date in your entrepreneurial journey?

Learning how to let go of the fear of being judged and trying to be a perfectionist. I would have never made it to the BETA launch phase if I hadn't learned that lesson about myself. As a marketing and PR specialist, I understood early on that perception is crucial to a new product launch; your brand is everything. Therefore, avoiding any negative criticism or judgment has always been part of my nature. However, in business, and specifically in tech, perfection doesn't exist. Something is always expected to go wrong, and as an entrepreneur, you have to learn how to keep things moving and not worry about what others may think. You have to adjust to rapid change and know how to react quickly in an effective and efficient manner. Momentum is everything.

how do you use social media to market your brand?

Social media is a critical component of our business, after all, en.JOYYE is a social community of it's own, and our members are driven by the social curation and engagement of our community. At en.JOYYE, we put a lot of effort in creating content that allows us to tell our story and share with our supporters the many wonderful jewels that are being posted on our community and it also allows our followers and members to be reminded of our common interest and passion.

what's your go-to social media app? why?

I would have to say I’m more of a Facebook/Instagram kind-of-gal. For me, Facebook is more than just a marketing channel/social outlet; it’s a space where I can also stay in touch and keep up with my family and friends across the globe. Facebook to me, it’s more personal. On the other hand, Instagram is my go to pin board to seek inspiration and share my start up journey and bits and pieces of myself. I love the simplicity of the app and how quick and easy it is to use. Visual storytelling has become the way to go, and in the jewelry industry, a photo has a much bigger
impact. A picture sometimes means so much more than a status update filled with words, especially in our industry where consumers want to see and connect with the product.

When building your company did you quit your job to focus 100% on your
business or did you work on it part time?

Prior to starting en.JOYYE, I had already left my corporate job to open a boutique marketing and social media company. During the build out phase, I had another income coming in, but I was working on en.JOYYE full time as well. Let's just say that sleep was/is not my best friend. I'm a firm believer, that unless you've been able to secure enough seed funding to help you live comfortably, you should always finds ways to make extra income. Most of the time entrepreneurs make the mistake of solely depending on that seed funding, which eventually will run out. Always have a backup plan.

What is something most people don't know about you?

Nicole pictured here with her best friend Joy Drumheller who passed away after a battle with cancer in 2006. Joy inspired the name of Nicole's startup en.JOYYE

I dropped out of school my senior year of high school and moved out at my house at the ripe age of 17. I had to learn to become independent and work extra hard to achieve anything I wanted in life at a very young age. I worked every job possible, from telemarketer, to waitress, to retail.
I’ve always been pretty savvy and street smart, but education was always a big thing in my family. I always knew I was destined to do more, and that in order to do that I would have to go back to school. So at 22 I decided to face my fear of
failing, completed my GED and enrolled in the local community college. A year and a half later I got accepted to University of Maryland, College Park’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and graduated with a double major in Marketing and International Business and a minor in Spanish and Business Culture. It wasn’t an easy road, but truly rewarding in the end. Continuing my education not only gave me credibility, it opened a whole new world of opportunities for me.
As I sit here at my Grand Central office, sipping my coffee and trying to finish this interview, a feeling of nostalgia rushes through my body as I read and reflect. Never in my wildest years did I ever think I would be so fortunate to have the
opportunity to work on my own thing doing what I love while also making a difference in one of the best cities in the world. New York City may be the filled with opportunities, but it won’t work unless you do, just like with anything in life.

Nicole Siobal and Sasha Horne at Fashion for Paws in Washington, DC 2012

en.JOYYE is currently in BETA by invitation only, but for a limited amount of time you can gain access and save big!
Sasha Talks Tech readers can use the below promo code and receive a $10 credit towards any purchase at The Joy Box
Click here to request an invite to en.JOYYE and use promo code: ENJSTVIP to save.
Offer expires March 31 at 11:59 PM