Lexi Lombara, Co-founder of Colby Davis of Boston. colbydavisofboston.com
Tell us a little about yourself and your childhood.
I am the CEO and co-founder of Colby Davis of Boston. Along with my mother, Lia Davis Lombara and sister, Taylor Davis Lombara, we founded Colby Davis in 2014. Being 15 years old at the time, I had no business experience but knew that I wanted to be the leader of my own future. At this point in my life I knew that it was time to move forward to get a job but more importantly, find something that I was passionate about. When my mother revisited her passion for jewelry design around this time she invited myself and my sister to become business partners. My mother saw the potential and drive in myself to become the leading businesswoman she knew that I had dreamed of becoming. Over the past 5 years, I have taken on the role of managing the operations, accounting, web design, advertising, social media, marketing, and lifestyle photography for my company.
When did you decide you wanted to start your own company?
When my mother had triplets about two decades ago, she had to give up her career as a jewelry designer to raise myself, my brother and sister. In 2014, she began to rekindle her passion for design and fell in love with the art of glass enamel. I had always dreamed of opening my own business and jumped at this opportunity to work with my family to create jewelry that brings happiness and confidence into the lives of every woman who purchases a piece from Colby Davis. July of 2014 was the starting point to bring my dream to life and marked the turning point in finding fulfillment and passion in my work.
Was there a specific moment when you knew this was what you wanted to do?
At the start of Colby Davis there was no specific “ah ha” moment that solidified my passion for running my own company. To this day, I am constantly reminded of the positive impact that I am making on each person’s life who wears Colby Davis. At each trade show and retail boat show, my love for my own company is solidified through interacting with customers and fellow business owners who also fall in love with Colby Davis. When a customer tears up in our booth because one of our designs reminds them of a memory or loved one, I am reminded that this is all worth it.
What advise do you wish someone would have given you?
The time commitment will be far more than you can imagine. Throughout high school and college, I have constantly been working. Whether it be responding to emails and phone calls between classes or launching social media campaigns in lecture halls, I cannot think of a time when I was not balancing school work, social life, personal life and Colby Davis. Even at the retail and larger wholesale shows, I always multitask between selling to manage the operations behind the scenes. I am dedicated to my brand and will work until the job is done.
After you made the decisions, what steps did you take?
After we decided to move forward with the design concept of creating meaningful sterling silver, 18K and glass enamel jewelry that was all made in the United States, we started to grow our brand in the retail marketplace. We focused on direct to consumer sales through our website and participating at retail boat shows. Over the past few years, we have continued to grow our retail business as well as expanding the number of retailers who carry Colby Davis to about 100 across the United States.
What were the hardest hurdles?
Being in our fifth year in business, we have seen a rapid growth in the number of retailers who carry our line. In order to keep up with this major increase in customers, both online and in stores, we have had to organize and re-organize our supply chain management. There has been numerous 20 hour work days to ensure that every customer and business owner receives their order. As we continue to grow Colby Davis, we expect and intend to face these hurdles to build our brand nationwide.
How did you fund this project?
Colby Davis of Boston was self-funded and has consistently generated revenue from the start.
What advise do you wish someone would have given you?
The time commitment will be far more than you can imagine. Throughout high school and college, I have constantly been working. Whether it be responding to emails and phone calls between classes or launching social media campaigns in lecture halls, I cannot think of a time when I was not balancing school work, social life, personal life and Colby Davis. Even at the retail and larger wholesale shows, I always multitask between selling to manage the operations behind the scenes. I am dedicated to my brand and will work until the job is done.
Did you have a mentor?
No, only the incredible support from my mother who has shared my passion for Colby Davis. She has embodied the true strength, confidence and perseverance it takes to build our brand and make our dreams come to life.
At any point did you want to give up?
In a position of complete self-reliance, I have doubted myself numerous times. In addition to being 21 years old without work experience elsewhere, I have to hold myself accountable for every decision that I make. When I oftentimes doubt myself, I turn to my mother for advice.
What made you keep going?
My mother is the best reminder of why our work is so valuable. We create meaningful jewelry that is timeless and loved by women and men across the country. We both intend to grow Colby Davis to continue to spread confidence and happiness through jewelry that can be worn every single day.
How long did it take to become profitable? We founded Colby Davis of Boston in 2014 and have been thriving ever since.
What was the best thing you did to grow your business?
Consistently trusting my gut, talking everything through with my mother, surrounding ourselves with fellow business women and men who share our values and bringing on employees who believe in Colby Davis and our mission.
Do you feel it was more difficult because you are a women?
My personal experience of growing from a very young age to fill the role of CEO has been challenging but the most rewarding. Being a young business woman, I am and will always be underestimated and often times, not taken very seriously. That only fuels me to work harder, smarter and faster!
Do you think social media is important? I do think that social media platforms are necessary for any business to use to reach a customer base that would not have been reached through other marketing efforts. As I manage the social media for Colby Davis, I strive to create content that will show our customers a piece of myself, my family and my brand. I hope to inspire our customers with new ways to layer their Colby Davis pieces and to give them a behind the scenes look at our daily life in the office.
Was there any life lessons you learned along the way?
It takes a ton of courage to put yourself out there. One of my first tasks at 15 years old was to sell my product directly to the general public at boat shows. I had to learn how to speak eloquently, confidently and get the Colby Davis story across to the customer quickly before they moved onto the next booth. I am thankful to have started my journey with my company from selling face to face to customers as I now have the confidence to sell my product to anyone.
What is the happiest memory from this journey? Every face to face interaction that I’ve had with a customer who has fallen in love with one of our designs. When designing the front of each pendant to correlate with a meaningful saying on the reverse, we spend months curating each design with our customers in mind. It makes everything worth it to see our customer’s emotional reactions and to hear their positive words!
Where do you see your company in 5 years?
Our goal is to grow Colby Davis to be a jewelry brand recognized nation wide. In the next 5 years we intend to stay true to our mission of creating meaningful jewelry that is
made in the United States and can be loved by all generations. We have a lot of exciting new designs in the works for 2020!