Sunnie Delilah’s Journey to Success

We spoke to Sunnie Delilah about the success of her business and how she is constantly inspiring women like you, to be successful.

Tell us about yourself and how you started doing what you do now?

Delilah’s Dressing Room provides statement accessories for Women, Men and Mini Me's. I make customers feel great about themselves with statement accessories that they can mix and match with their unique style, without breaking the bank.

I started Delilah’s Dressing Room as I have always been obsessed with statement jewellery and I was stopped regularly to be asked where I bought my items from. I have always been a designer (but mainly in clothing) and this was a new venture for me, but having done a Degree and Masters in Fashion & Design, I started my own brand, and after a few months quit my long term job with Google Enterprise/Google for work, to go full time with my online boutique.

I built the brand single handedly, creating my own website and building my social media platforms. Feedback from customers has proven that the quality and effort put into my personal service, packaging and bespoke products brings repeat business and that seems to be what makes the brand stand out.

I started working with ASOS Marketplace in January 2016, which opened my brand to a much wider audience, with customers from all over the world. Following this I gained, loyal & repeat customers and managed to expand the brands exposure.

Delilah's Dressing Room predominantly gains new customers and business through social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, so you will always find me and my team pretty active across these and interacting with everyone. Oh and get to know the real me behind the scenes.

What made you want to get into your own business?

To be perfectly honest, when I was young that’s all I wanted to do - Be my own boss! This was greatly influenced by my dad, who has been his own boss for pretty much the whole of my life. I can say he definitely rubbed off on me and inspired me to always be the best I can be and build my own successes.

I started Delilah's Dressing Room as a side business while I worked as a Google Account Director, (I know you're probably thinking how did I go from being a Master's Graduate in Design to working in Tech? Truth is, after years of working as a designer for other companies, I went for a change to widen my horizons - and boy did I do that! If I hadn't worked in my last job I wouldn't be where I am now). I knew it was time to take the plunge and go at it full time as my own full time business.

How long have you been doing what you do?

I started Delilah's Dressing Room in spring/summer 2015, when I launched my Women's statement accessories, so we are coming up to 2 years now. Wow that has flown by now thinking of it! I then launched Men’s Accessories a year ago and most recently Bespoke Wedding Accessories.

Do you enjoy what you do?

Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing. I gave everything up to do what I am doing now and don't regret any decisions that I made. Don't get me wrong, it's hard work but enjoyable because it's mine and I can be as expressive & creative as I like.

"Goal-digger, Creative, Entrepreneur"

How successful is your business?

Everybody measures success differently. For me, I would say my business is becoming very successful in terms of sales, the geography of customers and the amount of interaction I receive. It is also now getting recognition in different countries and being cherry picked by teams who organise events such as the Oscars. I would at the same time note that it's still got a long way to go, but definitely on the right path and that is all down to dedication and hard work. I put in all the hours possible, as and where I can to achieve what I have done. I also now have a great network and team of lovely people who help me achieve what I do.

What inspires you for your designs and work?

Inspiration comes from all aspects of my life, though I have always been inspired by travel. You will find me in different parts of the world immersed in different cultures and fashion from one side of the world to the other. A lot of inspiration for the collections I do come from both eastern and western couture fashion designers. I can also usually find a unique wall tile or great architecture and it will spark the creative juices and I just go with the flow.

What would you say has been your biggest challenge when starting your own business and where you are now?

I would probably say the biggest challenge when starting out is getting yourself known and getting your brand out there. I spent a lot of time building my social media platforms and reaching out to potential customers. You can have a fantastic product or service but if you don't reach out to the right audience you are targeting then you won't get anywhere.

Now having run the business for almost two years, I'd say my biggest challenge is maintaining my reputation and improving it whilst continuing to be creative and innovative. Once a brand is recognised as doing well, you start a movement and find many people who try to "ride your wave". This means dealing with imitators or copies. You can't stop the inevitable but you can remain professional, I now see this as blessing that I am doing things right if there are people imitating what I do.

“Always be true to yourself! Believe in what you do and you will succeed.”

What advice would you give to people starting out?

My advice for aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs, is put everything you have into your dream. Always have a positive mental attitude and push boundaries. Come out of your comfort zones and you learn a lot. You are always learning throughout the journey of your own business, especially with advances in technology and the movements and characteristics of how people now communicate and generally do anything!

Don’t ever be afraid to ask, ask and ask some more and network as much as you can – you never know who you may meet! The world is your oyster but you have to be prepared to work hard and make sacrifices. Look out for mentors and/or find somebody who inspires you and just ask them if they would be happy to mentor/guide you in the right direction. I will also add, Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that!

What’s next for Delilah’s Jewels?

My marketing team are currently in talks for a massive celebrity endorsement for DDRmen - Which is very exciting! Having previously worked with the likes of Bollywood Music Artists Manj Musik, Nindy Kaur and Mainstream Model/Actresses Amy Jackson and Sunny Leone. It's time to make moves with the next face of the brand.

https://www.delilahsdressingroom.com/