Today we’d like to introduce you to Gail Isbell.
Gail, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Chicago. I married young and had a son, then became a single mother, I had to have a good job with a steady income to give my son a stable life. I worked in data entry, accounting, finance. Then I discovered an interest in computers and started teaching myself how they worked. I didn’t go to college because I felt that would take too much time away from my son since I had to work full time.
I started the company in my family room in our house in Wonder Lake, IL in 2002. I had just completed a contract job as a network consultant and I was unemployed. My son was off on his own so I decided that I could take a risk and start an internet business instead of getting another regular job.
I had very little cash and plenty of bills, but luckily, I was able to build my own web site and with a credit card that had a $300 credit limit, I got started. At that time, there were about three web sites selling body jewelry, and the theme of those sites was dark with black backgrounds and they were not very fun or cheerful to visit. I decided to be different and build a web site that was bright, happy and fun to shop in. I chose a white background with bright pink and orange flowers, and product clear detailed product photos and had lots of info describing the items. I started buying small quantities of jewelry and luckily, we start growing slowly. 15 years later, we are still in business selling body jewelry. Now my son, Jeff Gorski has taken over the web design and marketing and we run BodySparkle as a family business. The marketplace has changed very much since I first started. Instead of three body jewelry web sites, there are thousands. We are competing against our wholesale suppliers, online marketplaces, body jewelry manufacturers from overseas, home businesses as well as other retail web sites, all selling body jewelry to retail customers directly. It has become a greater challenge to sell body jewelry these days, but we feel that because we have unique designs, high quality products and consider customer service to be one of the most important aspects of our business that we will continue to be successful.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Cash flow was a big problem in the beginning. I had no startup cash, so I purchased jewelry in small quantities to put on the web site and as I made more money, I purchased more inventory. I was placing small orders several times a week. As the order volume grew, I outgrew the family room and garage and had to move the business out of the house. That was really scary. More bills! I could no longer do everything myself so I started hiring employees. Then I had to worry about making enough money to cover payroll every week. That was stressful. But my son, parents and my boyfriend were so supportive and packed orders so many nights when I was overloaded and had to get the them out.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the BodySparkle Body Jewelry story. Tell us more about the business.
BodySparkle sells body piercing jewelry, fashion jewelry and wedding jewelry online. We specialize in hard to find sizes and gauges and design and assemble many of jewelry pieces ourselves in Wauconda so we have a unique product line. I don’t like to be like everyone else. I don’t see the point in that. We try to watch trends and put own twist on them.
I am very proud of the fact that people seem to enjoy shopping on our web site and they are usually not disappointed in our products. We only sell quality products. We test all pieces and if customers start reporting an issue with an item, we discontinue it immediately. We list all our policies in a straight forward fashion so everyone knows what to expect and include our physical address, email address and phone number on all our web pages. We want our customers to know that we are real people, interested in giving them what they are looking for, unique, quality jewelry at a fair price. I think people appreciate that.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Part of me believes in luck. I feel I have always been a pretty lucky person. I feel lucky to have such a great family, boyfriend and good health. But luck can only take you so far. I believe that hard work, persistence and the ability to face challenges and solve problems contributes more to success in business and your personal life than luck. There were many nights and weekends that I had to work on the web site while my friends were out at concerts or partying, but sacrificing my social life for a few years paid off in the long run.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1000 N. Rand Rd., Ste. 102 Wauconda, IL 60084
- Website: http://www.Body-Jewelry-Shop.com/
- Phone: 847-526-9902
- Email: info@BodySparkle.com
- Instagram: http://ink361.com/app/users/ig-261022484/bodysparkle/photos
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bodysparkle/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bodysparkle?lang=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bodysparkle-wauconda
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