Karen Frederick, a mom of two, built a $1 million jewelry business from home. All about Kole Jax Designs

Kole Jax Designs is the creative brainchild of Karen Frederick. While managing an infant and a toddler, she wanted to create something that she could build while at home looking after her sons: Grayson KOLE and Tucker JAX.

Karen’s idea was to monetize her passion for jewelry and her desire to create. She ordered raw materials and learnt how to cut and shape glass beads from YouTube tutorials. Shortly afterward, she began taking custom orders on her Etsy shop.

Kole Jax Designs was founded in January 2012.

The Facebook Push

After her Etsy shop trial, Karen brought her business to Facebook. She continuously posted her designs and offered giveaways on her social media business page.

Karen quickly got 10k followers with the help of Facebook promotions.

Karen recalls understanding social media marketing as key to business growth. The release of Meta’s Business Manager platform in 2014 helped her run campaigns. Meta Pro later assisted her in navigating ad strategies.

It hardly took Kole Jax Designs a year to yield consistent revenue. In three years, her business reached six-figure annual revenue. She reached a seven-figure revenue for the first time by 2018.

Karen Frederick credits Meta ads for the growth of her business. She told Entrepreneur magazine that with the help of Meta, she did not have to spend numerous hours decoding marketing patterns but could focus on other parts of the business.

'Kole Jax Designs' Revenue

Kole Jax Designs has seen impressive growth in recent years. Karen's business makes about $1 million in a year today.

Here are some topline statistics that she shared with The Entrepreneur Magazine:

• 70% year-over-year (YoY) sales growth from July 2023 to July 2024
• 665% YoY growth on Facebook and Instagram
• 302% year-to-date (YTD) growth on FB and IG
• 129% increase in orders YoY

What Karen enjoys the most about her business is that she gets to play with her creative side, which she has believed in since she was a little girl. Karen’s big steps also inspire her sons to learn and cultivate business ethics. Karen told Entrepreneur magazine that her sons were the reason why she chose to build Kole Jax Designs.

“Just start, don’t overthink.”

Karen believes that there is no perfect time to kickstart your entrepreneurial venture. If need be, reinvest earnings in the business and stay buckled up for changes as well as failures.

Karen has been running her company for almost 13 years now and she insists on seeing failures as opportunities to learn and pave the way for innovation and growth.

"Invest in yourself - and when, not if, the going gets tough, remember why you started."

FAQs

1. What inspired Karen Frederick to start Kole Jax Designs?
   Karen Frederick was inspired to start Kole Jax Designs to monetize her passion for jewelry while managing her responsibilities at home with her two young sons, Grayson KOLE and Tucker JAX.
2. How did Karen Frederick grow her business on social media?
   Karen Frederick grew her business through effective social media marketing, particularly on Facebook, where she posted her designs, offered giveaways, and utilized promotions to quickly gain 10,000 followers.
3. What are the revenue milestones achieved by Kole Jax Designs?
   Kole Jax Designs achieved six-figure annual revenue within three years of its launch and reached seven-figure revenue for the first time in 2018, with a consistent year-over-year sales growth of 70% from July 2023 to July 2024.