As founder and owner of Nikki Smith Designs, Nikki Smith ('10) has built more than a successful jewelry brand. Through thoughtful entrepreneurship, she has partnered with retailers nationwide and built a company that helps people feel confident while proving that creativity and business strategy can go hand in hand. With more than 100,000 online orders, three thriving retail stores and a growing team of more than 35 employees, what began as handmade jewelry crafted for herself has grown into a nationally recognized business that reaches customers across the country.
For Smith, success has never been about chasing trends alone. It's about creating quality products, building a strong team and making intentional decisions that allow her business to grow sustainably. "I think I'm most proud that I actually did it," she said. "If you're passionate about something, figure out how to make it profitable and then do it."
After graduating from Prior Lake High School in Minnesota, she initially headed to Florida for college, drawn by the opportunity to experience college somewhere warm. After her freshman year, however, she realized something was missing.
"I've always loved retail," Smith said. "I worked in retail stores, but it really wasn't a major there. I really wanted to major in retail or merchandising."
Back home for the summer, she toured Polytechnic and quickly found the major she had been looking for alongside a university where hands-on learning and industry connections were central to the student experience. She transferred into the Retail Merchandising and Buying Management program, adding minors in Supply Chain Management and Business Administration.
"Stout was really the most perfect place. I feel like I got such a good education and was given so many different pathways that I could take," she said.
Outside the classroom, she served as a leader in the Stout Retail Association, cheered for the Blue Devils and completed the program's required 500 hours of retail experience while working at both Younkers and Victoria's Secret. Those experiences helped reinforce what she was learning in class while exposing her to the realities of the retail industry.
Just as valuable were the experiential learning opportunities that took her beyond campus. Through faculty mentorship and the Stout Retail Association, Smith attended industry events including fashion markets in Las Vegas and Miami, experiences that introduced her to major retailers and gave her a firsthand look at the business she hoped to join.
Those connections ultimately led to an internship with JCPenney in California, followed by acceptance into the company's highly competitive business training program in Dallas.
Over the next several years, Smith advanced through roles in merchandise planning, allocation, buying and e-commerce. She learned how retailers forecast demand, manage inventory, analyze sales data and build relationships with wholesale vendors. Those experiences, while pivotal then, would eventually become the framework for her own company.
While working at JCPenney's corporate headquarters, Smith began making jewelry simply because she loved accessories and wanted affordable pieces that would last. Soon, coworkers began asking if they could buy her creations. Rather than immediately leaving her corporate career, Smith approached entrepreneurship strategically. She built wholesale relationships, developed an e-commerce website and steadily grew a customer base while continuing to work full-time. Only after carefully tracking the financial side of the business did she decide the timing was right.
"I really waited on entrepreneurship until it financially made sense," she said. "I had the wholesale clients, I had the retail clients and I had the website built."
That thoughtful approach has defined the growth of Nikki Smith Designs over the past decade. What started as one person handcrafting jewelry evolved into a business with three retail locations across the Dallas area, a growing wholesale operation and a robust online presence. As demand increased, Smith transitioned from making every piece herself to leading a team and partnering with manufacturers, allowing the business to scale while maintaining the quality standards that set it apart.
Today, the company employs more than 35 people and has fulfilled more than 100,000 online orders while continuing to expand its reach through retail partnerships across the country. "I've realized manufacturing has allowed us to grow so much more," she said. "Now we can fulfill larger orders, create more opportunities and reach more customers."
Like many entrepreneurs, Smith's greatest challenge came unexpectedly. She opened her first retail store in March 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses across the country to close their doors. Instead of abandoning her vision, she pivoted.
The business shifted to e-commerce while preparing for long-term growth, a decision that continues to pay dividends today. Smith is now investing heavily in enhancing the company's online shopping experience, adding personalized engraving, expanding its custom charm offerings and creating digital experiences that mirror what customers enjoy in her stores.
She also remains committed to the values that inspired her to start the business in the first place: creating affordable, durable jewelry people can wear every day with confidence.
For Smith, however, the most meaningful measure of success isn't the number of stores she operates or the volume of orders she's shipped, it's the people. From the employees whose careers have grown alongside the company to the customers who celebrate life's milestones wearing her designs, Smith finds the greatest fulfillment in creating something that positively impacts others.
"I love that I get to share that feeling with so many people," she said.
The applied education, industry experience and entrepreneurial confidence she gained at Polytechnic continue to influence every decision she makes. Everything she learned in corporate retail — from merchandising and buying to analytics and supply chain management — now helps drive a business of her own. For Smith, her leap of faith has created opportunities far beyond what she imagined for herself, her employees and the thousands of customers who choose her designs every day.
