A TCU alumna was able to start a jewelry company after a social media post of a bracelet she made led people to ask her about where she got it.

Lauren Godby, who graduated with a strategic communication degree in 2019, started her company, LoJewels, after people started commenting on her VSCO photo.

“I knew that this was the start of something special, so I took advantage of the opportunity to grow my successful business over the course of the past four years,” Godby said. 

During her time as a student at TCU, Godby was a TCU Showgirl and heavily involved in Greek life. Godby never expected her business to grow as much as it did while she was at TCU and now that she has graduated, her business has skyrocketed even more.

After getting her start on social media, the same platforms have been the main resource that has helped Godby’s business grow over the past couple of years. She tries to post on Instagram at least once a day and does monthly giveaways to try and increase her active followers and have people interact with the business’s account. 

Along with increasing the interactions, social media helps Godby build loyalty and trust with her customers 

“Maintaining trust, value, and consistency with our audience is of the utmost importance to the brand,” Godby said. “We strive to communicate to the customer whenever they might have any questions, concerns, etc., and this creates more of a trusting relationship between us and the consumer.”

Godby said along with having an active social media following, word of mouth has helped grow her business as well. 

“Initially when Lojewels started, the TCU college-age group was our main audience, but this quickly expanded way beyond the TCU girls,” Godby said. 

From a post to a full-time job

LoJewels has successfully sold to all 50 states in the U.S and has even made sales outside of the country. Some of their products can also be found at a local Fort Worth shop, Three Boutique. 

LoJewels sells a variety of unique items such as clothing, art and jewelry. Their scarf tops have continuously been a bestseller as well as their butterfly art which Lauren’s sister, Kristen Godby,  designed and created herself. 

“I own a couple of scarves from LoJewels that I like to wear for game days. They are great quality and I like how they have tutorials on Instagram on how to style the scarves in different ways so it looks like you aren’t always wearing the same top,” Sarah Miller, a TCU junior psychology major said. 

Although LoJewels has gained popularity and become a successful business, it is still running out of Godby’s house and is family-operated with Godby and her mom doing most of the work. Her sister Kristen also helps as much as she can while still being a full-time student at TCU. 

LoJewels has become Godby’s main job and source of income but she also runs her own photography business, Lauren Godby Photography. 

Godby has hired interns in the past to help with daily tasks and manage some of the engagement on the LoJewels Instagram. 
You can find LoJewels on Instagram @LoJewels, as well as shop their products at www.lojewels.org.