Meet Lindsey Leigh Hohlt | Founder & Creative Director at Lindsey Leigh Jewelry

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindsey Leigh Hohlt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsey Leigh, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
One of my favorite quotes is “The biggest risk in life is not Risking” by Sara Blakely of Spanx. When I tossed around the idea of starting Lindsey Leigh Jewelry, I was tossing around putting my pride and livelihood on the line for everyone to judge! For the first few months I was in a dark place wondering if this risk was worth it, until one day it was! Had I not taken that risk to go off on my own I would be stuck in the same cycle I was for years that I resented. That risk allowed me to better the jewelry industry in Houston and the ability to better provide for my customers! People always think because you have your own company that you have a flexible schedule, which is incorrect if you are wanting to grow it and better it daily! You have to give it your everything. So many choices I make for LLJ are a risk, but being a small business means that there will be a lot of “trial and error” until we figure out what works! Risks, courage, and grit are what got LLJ off the ground!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I love my story, I am proud of my story and that is one important factor that sets me apart from others! Everything that we do at Lindsey Leigh Jewelry is genuine and heartfelt with a lot of our soul put into the work. Lindsey Leigh Jewelry started off on a diamond trade, no really. It is common in the diamond industry to “borrow” diamonds until you sell them, which is how LLJ sold its first few stones. LLJ is solely funded and founded by me from one diamond trade! I didn’t have financial help or a bank backing me. I had confidence in myself to convince dealers to trust me and they did. It was a ripple effect from there!

Hard work and a lot of dedication got me where I am today professionally, and it wasn’t easy. The challenges I faced in the beginning were some that most would not be able to overcome, but I had the determination and confidence in myself that I would succeed. Being a predominantly male dominated industry, there were a lot of men that were watching and waiting for me to fail! If I didn’t believe in myself and everything I was working towards, I would have crumbled before them. The biggest lesson is to focus on yourself and block the negativity out, as soon as negativity enters your vision then it becomes skewed!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would pick her up from the airport and go straight to Lake Conroe! We would spend the day relaxing on the dock, playing games in the yard, or taking the boat out for a cruise. We would eat at Pappas on the Lake, where we would play sand volleyball and have margaritas under the sun! The itinerary would consist of a day in Old Montgomery County where we would antique shop or even go strawberry picking. If we had a wild hair, we might go to the wineries! That is the perfect weekend!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Individual success rarely stems from one source without inspiration or influence from someone or something that has impacted your life! An entrepreneurial spirit runs through my family, as my grandfather started Carroll’s Furniture over 50 years ago and my father owned and operated a residential construction company. I grew up watching and working alongside them as a child and witnessing first hand the hustle. In addition to these men from my family, I have been fortunate to live in a time where there is an incredible amount of female entrepreneurial examples to look up to and mentor yourself after. A few that I have watched closely and studied are Kendra Scott, Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble, Sarah Blakely of Spanx, and many more! Another important thing is to read! Read books about business and finances, and even confidence. One of my favorites is “Shut Up and Listen” by Tilman Fertitta. He is straight to the point, no nonsense, and sets it to you straight on how to set yourself up for success. Lastly, the most important person is my husband, John. If I didn’t have him encouraging me and pushing me and also doing the accounting side of the business, I would still be sitting at the other place of business that I resented. There are many hard days being an entrepreneur and it is extremely important to have someone or a team to lift you up during those times, and that is John for me! If you don’t have the foundation of people, the knowledge to do it, or the confidence in yourself, it will be hard to succeed!

Website: https://lindseyleighjewelry.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houstondiamondgirl/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lindsey-leigh-jewelry

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lindseyleighjewelry

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/lindseyleighjewelry/

Image Credits
Cody Bess, Dana Fernandez