If you could create your own fantasy board of directors, who would be on it? CO— connects you with thought leaders from across the business spectrum and asks them to help solve your biggest business challenges. In this edition, we ask an entrepreneur how to turn a hobby into a thriving business.
In this edition of “Ask the Board,” we feature Stephanie Martin, Co-founder of Thorum, a jewelry company with a focus on unique wedding bands. Stephanie managed to do what many find impossible: successfully run a seven-figure jewelry brand with her husband while raising their family—all without losing sight of what truly matters. Below she shares her tips on how to turn a hobby into a life-changing business venture.
In 2012, my husband and I started making rings in our tiny Colorado garage. It wasn't about business—it was simply for the joy of creating something unique for people in love. A decade and over 10,000 handmade rings later, that passion remains the driving force behind Thorum. Today, as we stand at the helm of a thriving e-commerce brand in 2025, our journey has taught us eight invaluable lessons that transformed our hobby into a successful business.
Here are my tips for fellow creatives ready to take that leap.
Keep it personal
From Day One, we treated every ring as a personal creation, and we still do. Even as orders poured in, we insisted that each ring carry the same handmade care as the first one. Scaling with soul became our mantra. To this day we design, assemble, and polish every ring that leaves our shop. Growth never meant outsourcing our passion. Each ring is a story crafted by us, not a product off an assembly line. This hands-on dedication keeps our quality high and our purpose intact—every customer receives something we poured our heart into.
Build your own brand identity
For years, Etsy was our launching pad—it gave us reach and customers in the early days. But as we grew, we realized our brand needed its own space to flourish. The marketplace was getting crowded (mass-produced goods were flooding Etsy, making it harder for handmade sellers to stand out). So we took a deep breath and transitioned from Etsy to our independent e-commerce site.
It was scary leaving the familiar marketplace, but it was a game changer for our brand positioning. On our own site, we control the look, voice, and values completely—we’re not just another seller on a big platform, we’re Thorum. That move allowed us to tell our story on our terms, build a direct relationship with customers, and reinforce what makes us unique. The lesson? Don’t be afraid to leave the nest to let your brand fly on its own. Your identity will be clearer and stronger for it.
Value your work and price it accordingly
One of the most difficult lessons for a craftsperson-turned-entrepreneur is realizing the worth of your work. In the beginning, selling on Etsy meant looking at the going rates and feeling pressure to undervalue our rings. We fell into the trap of thinking lower prices might mean more sales. The truth? Underpricing was undermining our craft. When we launched our own site, we finally set prices that reflect the handmade quality and care we put in. It was liberating to say, “Yes, our rings cost more than mass-produced bands—and they’re worth it.”
Scaling isn’t just about selling more—it’s about making sure every part of the business is strong enough to handle that growth.
Stephanie Martin, Co-founder of Thorum
If you don’t have faith in the value of your work, no one else will. In fact, makers everywhere echo this: “Please stop underpricing your handmade work. It is worth more. You are worth more. Have faith in yourselves & raise those prices!”
We discovered that the right customers did come, and they were happy to pay for authenticity and craft. Charging what you’re worth isn’t unrealistic—it’s respecting your art and ensuring your business can thrive. Remember, you can’t build a sustainable business on bargain-bin prices without burning out or resenting what you once loved.
Let customers to fall in love and spread the world
We haven’t relied on marketing gimmicks to grow. Instead, we focused on making a product so distinctive and high-quality that customers can’t help but talk about it. Every time someone opens a Thorum ring box, we want them to feel a story come alive. And you know what? People share those stories. They post their rings on social media, tell their friends the tale of the whiskey barrel oak or Gibeon meteorite on their finger, and come back to leave heartfelt reviews. This kind of organic love is something you can’t buy in marketing—it has to be earned. And it’s incredibly powerful: word of mouth drives between 20% to 50% of all purchasing decisions.
In our case, it’s been the engine of our growth. Happy customers became our ambassadors, creating a ripple effect that no advertisement could match. We now have over 5,000 five-star reviews to show for it, each one essentially a customer telling another customer, “This was worth it.”
The takeaway: Make something worth talking about. If people genuinely love your product, they will become your storytellers and your most authentic marketing channel.
Grow stronger, not just bigger
Scaling isn’t just about selling more—it’s about making sure every part of the business is strong enough to handle that growth. For us, that meant focusing on the unglamorous but essential work: upgrading our tools, refining shipping logistics at our Tennessee warehouse, and hiring people who truly shared our vision. Could we maintain quality at a higher volume? Could we answer 10 times more inquiries with the same personal touch? Could we grow without losing what made us special? When the orders rolled in, the answer had to be “yes.”
Every detail, from production to delivery, had to work in harmony if we were to keep craft at the heart of Thorum. Some days, it felt like we had traded our creative tools for a calculator. But handling those nitty-gritty details meant we could keep making rings with the same heart and craftsmanship as when we started. That was a small price to pay for growth that didn’t just make us bigger, but better.
Commit to sustainability and ethical practices
What was once a trend has become an expectation: Consumers in 2025 want to buy from businesses that care about sustainability and ethics. For Thorum, this was non-negotiable from day one.
Using reclaimed whiskey barrel wood, offering alternative metals, and repurposing meteorite fragments are not gimmicks—it’s a reflection of our commitment to make products with character and conscience. Being able to tell our customers exactly where the wood in their ring came from, or that their stone didn’t fund conflict, is everything.
Remember why you started in the first place
When the pressures of running a business mount, it’s easy to lose sight of why you began. We learned to constantly remind ourselves that we didn’t start Thorum just to make money; we started it because we love what we do. By keeping our original purpose in focus—making unique, meaningful rings—we avoided getting caught up in trends that didn’t fit us. This clarity kept us grounded during tough times. Success followed as a byproduct of doing what we love, not the other way around. In short, if you keep passion at the core, your business can survive the storms with its identity intact.
At Thorum, every ring carries more than a design—it carries a unique story of perseverance, creativity, and love. We hope our journey inspires you to take that first step, knowing that every great business starts with a simple, heartfelt idea.
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
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