Wendy San of fin. by wendy: Crafting bespoke jewellery

Wendy founded fin. by wendy., a business that crafts bespoke gold-filled fine jewellery, specifically earrings and necklaces. Each piece is handmade with care by Wendy and only crafted on a ‘made to order’ basis.

Why did you start your own business?

This began as a COVID hobby and a means of creative exploration beyond my day job as a design consultant. It quickly transformed into a business when I realised I could offer bespoke pieces at a more affordable price point.

The lessons I have learned along the way of what it takes to start a business, the ups and downs of being a one-woman team and picking up new skills was an added bonus.

What are your top 3 frustrations with managing money for your business and what would a better future look like?

• As this business is only about three months old, there is a lot I am yet to learn about the management of the financials of my business.

As someone who had relatively limited financial literacy, finding the right pieces of information that I could trust was difficult. Having a one stop shop with information tailored to the Australian small business market would be ideal.

• The second frustration would be managing reinvestments into the business. On a surface level, it’s easy to assume that most of profits gained would be spent on equipment and materials but how much of this should be allocated to marketing, for example. It’s more difficult to make these choices when you have a small budget to work from.
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• Lastly, it would be trying to manage everything as a one-person team. You are your own CFO, CIO, CEO, COO – all the C-suite roles are yours to be played. Wearing all these hats result in conflicting perspectives of what feels ‘right’ to do and prioritise from a financial perspective.

Imagining a better future involves having access to the right information that will act as a guiding light for all my financial frustrations, I think it’s important to remember that you are not meant to know everything and owning a business has its peaks and troughs.

Being your own boss is an everchanging experience and a better future will only come with a growth mindset.

Thank you Wendy for taking the time to share your story with our community. Your jewellery range looks amazing and we wish you all the best for the future success of fin. by wendy!

Interested in purchasing Wendy’s products? You can find them here.