Brittany Guilford: From Student to Business Woman

Her Campus has always been about uplifting and empowering women, while always encouraging young collegiates to achieve their dreams and goals.  

One collegiate had a dream at the age of 17 and made it her reality. Brittany Guilford, a senior at Champlain College with a major in Social Work decided to start her very own jewelry business called “JeweledByB”. Guilford realized that a normal 9 to 5 job was not cutting it for her, being a freshman in college at the time. 

“I decided to start my own business because I was in college and I didn’t feel like I could develop and grow trying to work a 9 to 5. It wasn’t fitting for me. I wanted to do something that I could see myself doing for a while, something I would enjoy doing, and learning from, while of course making money,” she said. 

Many start-up businesses begin with major goals, Guilford, again at 17 (like most teenagers) didn’t have much to start off with. As time grew and so did her business she had two goals placed. 

“I honestly didn’t set any major goals. It was something that I just did because I am an over-thinker so I knew if I kept sitting on it I would never pursue it. However, within my first week, my two goals were to always provide quality over quantity and to provide the best service” stated Guilford.

Attending college and hand-making every piece of jewelry is very time consuming for Guilford, but she managed to do well in both school work, and business. Guilford maintained her work in order to keep her many clients satisfied. 

“It was and still is really hard doing both. College is a lot of work and so is running a business, especially because I hand make 90% of my items. However, at first, I would put my school work aside and focus solely on my business which of course wasn’t good. However,  I always felt like school was holding me back from putting my all into my business and honestly, I still do. Nonetheless, I have a passion for social work and it is my last year so now I dedicate time to solely focus on school work and vice versa for the business” said Guilford.

Now at the age of 21, like any other business Guilford has challenges as well. Recognizing that she is not a successful business woman yet, Guilford knows that it’s a challenge to be a young black American woman and student, in a game that always comes with competition and challenges.

“I don’t see myself as successful just yet. I still have a lot of work to do. I like to call myself a business woman still in progress. However, being a Black Woman alone is a challenge. Especially in business and being a college student in Burlington, Vermont . There are a bunch of stereotypes about Black businesses and customer service, pricing being too high, everyone doing the same thing etc” she said. 

But in the end Guilford always finds a way to overcome any new challenge or obstacle thrown at her. When facing obstacles she always remembers to do what’s hard, then life will be easy. One challenge for Guilford was ignoring the haters.

When discussing not getting the full support from others, Guilford stated she is the only one who can vision her business 100%. Understanding that it’s her job to make people see what she’s capable of. Even when she’s having a hard time, her family is what keeps her motivated. Guilfords family supports her very much, in a way she owes it to them to keep her mind focused on the positives. 

I asked Guilford, where would she see her business five years from now and what culture or value would your business practice? Guilford stated that she wishes her business to continue to grow in order for her to give back to those in need.

“I see myself having multiple stores with much more than jewelry in them while also using my degree to open up centers for children in high risk communities as well as foster homes for teenagers. I stand on growth and do whatever’s necessary to achieve it. I like to read a lot of uplifting information including success stories of others to motivate me to go harder.  So to sum it up the culture of JeweledbyB would definitely be an internal focus” Guilford stated.

One final thing Brittany Guilford had for me was some advice for the next generation of business women. 

“My advice would be to never give up, never make it easy on anyone , stand firm on what it is you believe in and what you want to do.  Even if it’s having a 9-5 or starting a business, do what it is that you want to do, not what people want you to do because your happiness comes first. Also, never forget to set the bar high and never lower it to any other standard. Always be the hustler, the well-wisher, and the go-getter” she said.

Talking with Brittany Guilford was very inspiring, she worked very hard to be where she is now. Going to school and growing a business is hard. You will have triumphs and some days you may feel defeated, but just like Guilford you have to continue to move forward and work to achieve every dream, goal, and accomplishment you wish for. 

If you’re interested in shopping with JeweledByB visit her website and Instagram listed below.

Website: www.jeweledbyb.com 

• businesswoman