Women in Business Q&A: Jill Johnson, Founder, Jilco Inc – HuffPost

Jill Johnson is a three-time cancer survivor with a lifelong passion for helping others through fine jewelry. She relied on her 27 years as a sought-after importer, manufacturer and wholesaler to the jewelry trade to design a beautiful, meaningful jewelry collection that could also empowerand unitea larger community. Johnsons Minneapolis-based fine jewelry company, Jilco Inc., has been giving back to organizations like the Fistula Foundation (in partnership with Oprah Winfrey) and the Children's Cancer Research Fund since 1989.

How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?

My life experience has taught me to be resilient, a lesson I learned from a very early age. I was diagnosed with cancer at eleven years old, the first of three cancer occurrences. Facing your own mortality as a child is maturing and formative but also empowering in that you are more willing to take risks in order to pursue your dreams. These experiences taught me to be a decisive, bold, and hardworking leader and gave me an appetite for entrepreneurship.

How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at AWE?

I spent the last 28 years running Jilco, the jewelry manufacturing and wholesale business I founded in my early 20s. This experience combined with my cancer survivorship is what enabled me to recognize a gap in the marketplace: survivors lack a meaningful and enduring gift that is unifying and commemorative of their triumph over adversity. In designing AWEs inaugural collection, I leveraged both my creative expertise and industry contacts to create a medallion that both symbolizes the resilience of survivors and is crafted to last a lifetime.

What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at AWE?

AWE is built around our mission of gifting and giving back. We create meaningful gifts that honor, unite, and celebrate the triumphs of survivors, and donate 20% of each sale to one of our four charity partners. Our mission-driven, luxury-goods business model is largely new to the market, which has been a challenge, and necessitates a certain level of market education.

However, creating a community that unites and empowers survivors who have turned adversity into opportunity has been one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of my life! The fact that we have been able to connect those in need with those who have triumphed is a signal to me that this is something the world needs. The organic community response to our mission has been deeply moving.

What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?

The jewelry industry has evolved dramatically since I started 35 years ago. Back then bridal jewelry encapsulated the industry. Nowadays modern, empowered women are purchasing jewelry for themselves and others, and there is a growing appreciation for craft, design and meaning as millennials chose brands that are a true reflection of their lifestyle and values. In addition, e-commerce is completely disrupting the jewelry purchasing experience.

My advice to young professionals interested in the jewelry industry:

What is the most important lesson youve learned in your career to date?

Know what you're good at. My expertise is in jewelry sales and manufacturing: I understand the manufacturing process, supply chain, design trends, and pricing strategy. Now through AWE Im using this skill-set to accomplish my goal of giving back. Its important to remind yourself of your accomplishments and push yourself to grow further in the professional areas youre passionate about.

How do you maintain a work/life balance?

I believe finding balance is about dedication, consistency and accepting that its not an easy process! My time is currently split between my two businesses: the one I've run for 28 years and my startup AWE. Additionally, its always been important for me to dedicate time with my sons, my greatest sources of joy and inspiration.

To accomplish this I physically schedule out my time--including the things I need to do and want to do--on an elaborate system of post-its, and I stick to it! I've learned to prioritize my physical and mental health by incorporating them into my daily routine. I go to gyrotonic three times a week and schedule my mornings around it. I meditate before work for greater mental clarity.

What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?

Women face a number of issues in the workplace today (from combatting biases to gender inequality), and often lack support in dealing with them. On top of that women are searching for ways to have it all: a successful career, a healthy and stable family, physical and mental well-being, and some semblance of a social life. Often somethings gotta give, which is unfair because its not usually that way for men.

When adversity like illness or trauma takes women off their course, it can be especially devastating, which is why it is central to AWEs mission to elevate stories of empowerment and support organizations that provide immediate aid to those in need.

My advice to women is to support one another in the workplace when it comes to both personal and professional goals! In doing this we become united, and that can only make us stronger.

How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?

My late uncle was my most stable guiding figure through the early years of my career. When I turned 18 I moved from St. Paul, Minnesota to New York City and worked multiple jobs on 47th Street in the Diamond District to pay for my education. My uncle, who owned a dozen womens retail clothing stores in Minnesota, would take me along to his Market Week appointments in NYC, educating me on buying and negotiation. We would attend these meetings throughout the day and Broadway shows at night, a ritual I continue to this day with my son who lives in New York.

My uncle encouraged me to take all I learned from the New York jewelry industry back to Minneapolis and start Jilco. He instilled in me a strong sense of self, a confidence to go after what I want, and a compassionate leadership style.

Which other female leaders do you admire and why?

Michelle Obama inspires me with her grace, intelligence, and drive. She leveraged her position of power to make unprecedented impact in areas like health education and promotion of the arts. Moreover she effected change through compassionate and respectful rhetoric, reminding me to be the kindest leader I can be.

Ive always been fascinated by Frida Khalo. Her life was tumultuous to say the least, but she turned her hardships into inspiration. She broke gender barriers in the art world and explored the concept of gender through her paintings in a way that was uniquely feminine. I admire her fierce individualism and sense of personal style.

What do you want AWE to accomplish in the next year?

If we succeed in our mission, AWE will change the conversation around survivorship to one that is more empowering and inclusive, build a platform and community for inspiration, and directly impact the lives of survivors in need through our meaningful donations.

We hope that people will choose AWE as a lifelong symbol of strength, hope and resilience, which is everlasting and powerful by design. This next year we are focused on building out the respective areas of our business so we can maximize our impact in a scalable and sustainable way.

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Women in Business Q&A: Jill Johnson, Founder, Jilco Inc - HuffPost