Yahoo Finance 
Solopreneur founder of Tailored Jewel went from being in debt to earning 7-figure revenue
Ethon Low, the ex-solopreneur founder of bespoke jewellery brand Tailored Jewel, recalls the trials and tribulations of launching a traditional business online.
SINGAPORE — A diamond ring, to Malaysian entrepreneur Ethon Low, is a "necessary luxury". Yet, the 37-year-old's journey of building his custom jewellery business was far from luxurious.
Low founded Tailored Jewel, a bespoke jewellery brand that specialises in custom engagement rings and wedding bands, in 2012. The company was one of the first online-only jewellery retailers in the region back when e-commerce was in its infancy, and it has since expanded to include physical retail outlets in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Now averaging approximately 200 orders per month and a "seven-figure USD dollar sum" in annual revenue, the jewellery brand aspires to establish itself as a strong regional player.
For a long time, Low ran the business by himself like a "solopreneur" as he didn't have much capital when he first started. Low shares with Yahoo Finance Singapore how he went beyond significant challenges to establish his business.
The call to entrepreneurship
For as long as he could remember, Low said, he has wanted to be an entrepreneur.
Low started out in events management before switching to corporate marketing roles. To nurse his ambitions, Low would take pay cuts of up to 30 per cent with each job switch as he was adamant to learn the specific skills needed in each position.
Tailored Jewel was conceptualised while Low was still working full-time in one of these roles. A chance encounter with an experienced jewellery wholesaler became the spark that ignited the Tailored Jewel journey.
"The challenge for me was, how to start a business with (almost) zero capital? Traditionally, it was open a shop and finance it with all kinds of jewellery, and people would come and buy, right? That's how things worked," said Low, who added that he had no parental support and just six month's worth of savings when he launched Tailored Jewel.
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Because his full-time job as a marketer required him to work overtime on most days, Low said that he had limited time to work on starting his own venture. "I woke up at 4am every day because I only had that time to do research online and write my business proposal. I knew I was young, and I had the passion and energy," said Low.
Low hit upon the idea of starting a business entirely online. It was unheard of in the jewellery industry at the time. To keep costs low, Low decided to go fully digital. He also took on various tasks himself, such as designing a sales kit. He was feeling positive about his prospects.
However, new ideas often take time to be accepted – Low faced ample resistance from the get-go. He shared his idea with the wholesaler, who told him that no one would buy jewellery by looking at pictures.
While Low's radical idea did not convince the wholesaler, he was willing to fulfil the company's first orders.
The e-commerce wave
Low's next challenge was to find ways to sell and market jewellery online. It was difficult as the market was only just beginning to warm up to online shopping.
To overcome the negative public perception and lack of trust toward online purchases, Low refined his business model and adopted a make-to-order (MTO) strategy – an item is produced only when a customer confirms an order and the business keeps no stock of the product. This too was a foreign concept at the time.
The strategy eventually proved effective, but still, the journey was far from smooth. On the sales front, Low was able to prospect new customers and seal deals through a 50-50 payment scheme, where a customer would put down 50 per cent downpayment for an engagement ring while the remaining half would be paid once the product is delivered to the satisfaction of the customer – or they could have their money back. According to Low, this was a popular strategy with e-commerce merchants at the time.
You don't need the perfect environment to start a business. You need to have a very willing and humble approach to how you do business.Ethon Low, founder, Tailored Jewel
While this strategy successfully addressed customers' lack of trust from buying online, it soon became an issue for the fledgling company. To finance a customer's order and kickstart the production process, Low would have to fork out half of the cost himself and would then use the earnings to finance the next order and so on. It didn't help that the production duration for customised jewellery at the time took around two months to complete. As more sales trickled in, this became a cash flow problem for the company.
"I owed a lot of money in the first two years of business. I utilised all my credit cards, and borrowed money from my mum and friends," said Low, who added that he had debts to the tune of about RM100,000 (S$28,500) in the first few years of the business.
To add to his woes, Low said that he struggled to find a reliable manufacturer in Malaysia. Not many were willing to pursue the make-to-order business given its small quantity, and he also had issues with the consistency of the jewellery's quality.
Fortunately, a Hong Kong manufacturer who was introduced by Low's wholesaler friend decided to support him. Till today, Tailored Jewel continues to manufacture its rings in Hong Kong.
Going omnichannel
In 2018, after running the business solo for six years, Low said that he found himself exhausted and burnt out from working seven days a week. He desired to run his business in a more sustainable way while still expanding.
Low then hit upon the omnichannel concept, a business strategy used by retailers to provide a seamless shopping experience across all platforms – mobile, online, or offline.
It was a pivotal moment for Low. "My customers' concerns were about not being able to feel the product and not knowing where to go to service their jewellery. So, I took a risk again and opened my first retail outlet," said Low. He wanted to experiment and test the omnichannel theory in a lower-tier suburban mall in Malaysia with 188 sq ft of space before moving to a much bigger, 1,800 sq feet shop later. At the same time, Low began hiring staff to man the shops. Presently, Tailored Jewel is a team of 13.
Humility is a must
Looking back on his journey, Low's advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is that "you don't need the perfect environment to start a business".
"You need to have a very willing and humble approach to how you do business. You can always start small… you will learn. Use what you've learned to do something better, but never forget the customers who followed you. Always remember where you came from," said Low.
"Humility is a must. See if you can find people who genuinely cares for you and be willing to receive consistent feedback from them. These people don't have a motive and just want to see you grow, so they will remind you from time to time if you are swaying away from the path."
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