Entrepreneurship & Small Business Sustainability
On this episode of Unspun Benh Pham, founder and owner of jewelry brand Year 901, sits down with Danielle, Catherine, and Lauren to talk about everything from the origin of what she makes and her intentional sourcing, to the future growth of her small business and the maker and artisan community at large.
Purposeful Work
Like many who questioned the meaning of their fast-paced lives during the pandemic, Benh found herself at this juncture after working post-college in her dream job as a marketer at a software company. As her career accelerated her need to unwind did too and so she started making jewelry out of her bedroom at night and on the weekends.
It took a couple of years for Benh to see the potential in her business. She started making sales on Instagram and through word of mouth. It was after she made a website that she started to feel official. She explains that the decision to exclusively devote her energy to one of her jobs was inevitable.
“IN THE BEGINNING I TOLD MYSELF, ‘THERE ARE NO EXCUSES...IF I CAN DO THIS HERE AND NOW WITH WHAT I’VE GOT, I’LL BE OKAY.’”
While Benh was working in the corporate world, she always questioned her purpose and personal fulfillment. It was through Year 901 that Benh found her purpose. She felt a new sense of freedom in being able to make what she wanted to make and being her own boss. Nonetheless, it wasn’t an easy decision to leave her corporate job with stability and a steady paycheck.
The decision point came when Benh’s parents were taking a trip home to Vietnam and they prompted her to think about coming. She took the leap and left her job on the first of the year, traveling for a week with her parents and then the rest of seven weeks alone. Her story reminds us that you can find fulfillment by following your passion.
The Sustainability of Small Business & Community
“I CAN TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY BUT I ALSO HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I’M A BUSINESS THAT CREATES MORE GOODS TO PUT INTO A WORLD WITH EXCESSIVE GOODS.”
Year 901 is a one-woman shop, and for Benh her passion manifests in the mindful and intentional creation of her jewelry. She has no desire to overproduce for the sake of it and doesn’t do seasonal launches for this reason. When thinking about scaling her business, Benh continues to emphasize intentionality to scale in a responsible way.
Benh also integrates sustainable practices into her business and its values. She uses recycled materials when she can, melting down jewelry or taking materials out of old pieces to create her own. She is also very careful about the precious stones she uses. Benh is hyper-aware of trends exploiting and sometimes appropriating gemstones such as jade, and chooses to intentionally purchase these traditionally sacred stones from trusted and traceable sources.
To hear more about Benh and her experience transitioning from a corporate career to owning her own jewelry brand, what being a small maker means to her, and her approach to sustainability tune in to the latest episode of Unspun.