SoulKu: Interview with Founder Elisa Van Arnam
Soulku is a jewelry and crystal company that sells accessories which are handcrafted by work-from-home moms in Asheville, North Carolina, thereby helping them make money, work from home, spend more time with their children, and avoid costly childcare fees. Soulku founders Elisa and Allison want to empower their makers and buyers via their beautiful products which exist solely to improve lives and moods. Elisa recently discussed the company and more via an exclusive interview.
Meagan Meehan (MM): How did you get interested in jewelry and/or crystals?
Elisa: Years ago, when we were first starting to make jewelry, I took a yearlong “priestess training.” It was kind of like Hogwarts for spiritually minded grown women. Many of the women I studied with were really into the healing properties of crystals and I got hooked. I am still to this day, blown away by what Mother Earth makes and how each stone carries certain properties and meanings. And how the power of belief in those things can change your life. And who doesn’t like to be surrounded by sparkly things?!
MM: What inspired you to start making jewelry?
Elisa: Well — actually, it was NOT our first attempt at creating a product. We started with inspirational cards that could be registered to an email address and passed from person to person and tracked online. However — once people got the cards, they didn’t want to pass them on, so that model failed. We then tried regular inspirational cards and those didn’t sell, so like true moms — we made the best with what we had. We had 20,000 cards, and very little money to buy alternative offerings so we doctored the ones we had by cutting them and putting stickers on them. We created the easiest piece of jewelry we could with nylon cord and gemstone beads — because neither of us were jewelers and we marketed those. By some miracle, a rep group out of California saw our offerings online and wanted to represent us and the rest is history…
MM: How did you meet?
Elisa: Allison and I met at a book club. It was a very intense book club. Not only did you have to read huge epic novels (this was when our kids were still very young and quiet reading time was scarce) but then we cooked meals based on the content of the book for the meetings. These other women were amazing cooks and gardeners — one person even made goat cheese for a meeting from her own goat’s milk. Allison and I were the ones who always brought chips and wine. It was way too stressful for our busy lives — so we bonded over being book club dropouts together.
MM: What inspired you to start your own company and how did you come up with the name Soulku?
Elisa: Both Allison and I (who were lucky enough to be stay-at-home moms) knew we wanted to do something once all our kids were in school. We had very different backgrounds — she had a degree in insurance risk management and I was coming from commercial and music video production. But together we were an amazing brain — she could do all the math and I could do all the creatives. We just needed an idea. What we knew for sure was that we wanted to be in service to humanity in some way and we didn’t want to make more stuff. Everyone had enough stuff. Our vision for the company was literally that somehow, we would provide something for people that was like a little point of light and that those points of light would be connected across the world. While we were in our infancy I was also going through some really hard times. There was a foreclosure, a bankruptcy, a divorce and what I really needed during those times was someone to tell me that it was going to be OK. We came to the table with all these ideas, thoughts, needs and feelings…Our first venture, as I mentioned before, were inspirational cards that could connect, empower and inspire people through community. Each of those inspirational pass and track cards had 4 lines of poetic words of wisdom on them. They resembled a Haiku format. We knew we wanted the word Soul in our name and then Ku came from the end of the work Haiku. After we decided on the name SoulKu — a friend told us that the word Ku in Japanese actually translates to “infinite possibilities” or “the void from which everything comes.” And that just felt perfect — SoulKu is the infinite possibilities of our Souls.
MM: What has it been like to get your company on the market and how have you raised awareness?
Elisa: Initially we were a very wholesale heavy business due to the rep group we signed with in California. They covered us from Colorado, west and got us into hundreds of stores. We brought on some independent reps and also worked hard to grow our online business. Our email newsletter was a big focus for us in getting online sales. Then we were approached by someone who helped small businesses scale, he hooked us up with a very effective digital advertising agency in 2019 and, back then when data was pretty free flowing, we went from doing 17K a month online to 170K with well-placed Facebook and Instagram ads. I think though, one of the most important pieces of raising awareness — beyond the nuts and bolts of how we did it — is that we have a story to tell both with the creation of SoulKu as a company and our business model — which employs work-from-home moms.
MM: Out of all your products, do you have any personal favorites? If so, which ones and why?
Elisa: My favorites change based on a couple factors — I, of course, love anything new we’re doing — like right now we have this Alchemy collection that is an electroplated bezeled gemstone that is attached to cards that have these really fun and whimsical moth designs on them. I love the concept around the idea of Alchemy — that it was an alchemical process to adhere the electroplating to the stone and that each stone features something about transformation. I also have my go to sparkly stones — I’m a sucker for labradorite and rainbow moonstone anything and I have a pearl necklace from our original Soul-Full of Light collection that I have worn for years and years that just feels like a part of me now. And — I do pick stones to wear when I am going through something specific or I want to amplify the property of a stone in my life.
MM: How many jewelry makers are part of your company?
Elisa: It depends on the season. Right now, we have 22 mama makers. They usually work between 15 and 20 hours a week. What is amazing about their jobs is that they get to work from home so they can be present with their kids. Some of our mama makers homeschool their kids, some love the flexibility and work when their kids are napping or at school or even in the evenings. They come to our offices once a week and get a box of raw materials and a form telling them what to make. They come back the next week with their finished products and pick up a new box. They don’t have to pay for childcare to work and they can contribute to their household finances. We love this model as it empowers our mamas so much and that feels fitting for our products. And — what’s super cool is that each piece is mounted to a card and the cards are signed by the mama that made them. You can go to our website and meet the mama who made your piece and learn all about her.
MM: What is the most memorable feedback you’ve gotten about your products?
Elisa: Good question! There are so many stories we have heard of truly remarkable things happening around our SoulKu products — the necklaces in particular. One friend told us she was at an ER in Connecticut with her daughter who’d had a bad accident and the nurse was wearing a SoulKu. Both our friend and her daughter had SoulKus on and felt immediately at ease and bonding with the nurse over their love for SoulKu. This happens a lot. People also tend to wear them for years and get really attached to them. They will send us the stone if the cord breaks (as it can after 2 or 3 years of constant wear) and they ask us to restore it. Many times, they ask if the mama that made their original necklace could do the repair — as they grow attached to our mamas too. This really blows us away — it’s basically a $30 necklace, but it means so much. It’s a real honor to be involved in something like that.
MM: How much does being a mother influence you?
Elisa: A LOT. Both Allison and I worked really hard to be present for our kids. The joke is — so we started a small business. But truly — being a mom and wanting to make the world a better, friendlier, more compassionate and connected place is a driving force. Family is so important. Being able to really create roots — which we’ve both been lucky enough to do as business owners — is something we’re super proud of. I think personally having my kids watch me go from being afraid we may all have to live in my car, to building something I love and am passionate about and that supports us was one of the greatest achievements of my life. Wanting my kids to be proud of me and to see that you can fall all the way down and get back up again kept me motivated. They have inspired and influenced me in so many ways it’s hard to mention them all.
MM: What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Elisa: There have been some really wonderful times. One was SoulKu being named number 944 on Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in 2021. Another was being named Entrepreneurs of the Year in our incredibly vibrant and inspiring Asheville entrepreneurial community. And really the best is when I see someone in a random place wearing a SoulKu and I ask them about it and they tell me an amazing story about how it helped them get through a really tough time. That’s kind of everything.
MM: How do you hope Soulku evolves over the next five years?
Elisa: While we have a really strong foothold in a lot of states, I know there are so many people and so many places where they’ve never heard of SoulKu — so I’d like to see us in every state and big city. We’re always thinking about our look and feel and have started rebranding or refreshing a lot of our collections that have been around since the beginning. We will also continue to work hard to keep our prices affordable, while still offering handmade pieces that have authentic high-quality gemstones in them. Our IG Live sales have really taken off so we’d like to expand our live offerings on other platforms. And…who knows where anything will be technology-wise in the next 5 years. We always try to stay in step with technology so that will be interesting for sure!
MM: What are your ultimate goals for the future and is there anything else that you would like to mention?
Elisa: Our goals for the future are the same goals we’ve always had…to be in service, to connect, empower, celebrate and inspire our customers, to facilitate a way to say, It’s going to be OK, to build community and be happy doing all those things. SoulKu should feel like a big hug from your mom, just when you need it most. If we can do that, we have more than reached our goals. Lastly — thank you so much for giving us this opportunity. It was an honor to share our story and I hope it serves you well! Please let me know if you need anything else. I’d also be happy to offer a discount code to your readers with code MEDIUM15 — huge blessings!