Bethel Entrepreneur Wins National Small Business Championship Award

From Emma Lyn Designs

Bethel, CT─ Local handmade accessories business Emma Lyn Designs has been chosen as a winner of The 2017 American Small Business Championship hosted by SCORE, the nation’s largest network of expert volunteer business mentors. The Championship award is given to 102 entrepreneurs nationwide for their dedication to the success of their small businesses. Emma Kozlowski, owner of Emma Lyn Designs, was one of the two American Small Business Champions selected from the state of Connecticut.

As one of the nationwide winners, Kozlowski will receive a $1,000 Sam's Club gift card, an all-expense-paid trip to a training and networking event, and SCORE mentoring. SCORE is generously supported by Sam’s Club, a leading U.S. membership club serving small businesses since 1983.

“I am so excited and grateful to receive this recognition as a small business champion. Without any formal business education or training, I have faced many challenges starting and growing my own business, but the support of the community, the SCORE program and my customers has helped me succeed,” Kozlowski states.

26 year old Emma Kozlowski started Emma Lyn Designs two years ago with the goal of designing fashionable, personalized and functional accessories. Kozlowski first began designing clutches for herself to fulfill her need for a small accessory to use as an everyday wallet to hold her essentials. As a full time teacher, she needed something she could put inside her school bag, or grab to go into the grocery store.
Kozlowski blended her obsession with patterns, color, and monograms to design a practical accessory for herself and to give to friends as gifts.

Kozlowski loved being able to design her own clutches with a variety of bold patterns, bright colors, and classic monograms, and wanted to be able to share that same experience with her customers; allowing people the opportunity to design their own custom accessory. Kozlowski created a website, emmalyndesigns.com, that walks the customer through the design process so that each individual can design the perfect custom and personalized accessory.
“One of my favorite things about the customization of the products is seeing what each individual customer chooses. I love seeing what different designs people select and it is so exciting to hand-make the accessories and see the designs come to life,” Kozlowski shares.

All of the Emma Lyn Designs accessories are made by hand and are custom made for each individual customer. Kozlowski is very proud of running a handmade business with all of the accessories made in Connecticut.

For Kozlowski, one of the most important aspects of running Emma Lyn Designs has been being able to give back to the community. Kozlowski has has had the opportunity to give back by dedicating time and raising money for a local charity, The SCOTTY Fund. The SCOTTY Fund provides financial support to children with life-threatening illnesses. The fund was started by Kozlowski’s family after her younger brother died from childhood cancer. Kozlowski sits on the Board of Directors of The SCOTTY Fund, donates a portion of selected pattern sales to the fund and holds special charity events to raise money for this cause. This past holiday season, the 20’s themed patterns were chosen as the charity patterns, helping The SCOTTY Fund celebrate 20 years of giving back to the community.

Over the past year, Kozlowski has participated in the SCORE mentoring program and believes that the one-on-one mentoring has played a significant role in the success of Emma Lyn Designs. The mentoring has helped Kozlowski work through and overcome the many obstacles that are presented when running a small business.

“SCORE is very pleased to honor the hard work and accomplishments of these 102 small business owners. They come from all across the United States, and provide diverse products and services for their clients, but all share in their dedication to making their dreams a reality,” said SCORE CEO Ken Yancey. “It is our pleasure to provide the mentoring, tools and resources that will help them continue to grow their businesses and enhance the communities they serve.”

Emma Lyn Designs earned the title of American Small Business Champion by submitting an online application describing the most unique aspect of it’s small business that has contributed to it’s success, it’s positive impact on the community, and it’s plans to use the prizes to grow the business. Emma Lyn Designs also submitted a video showcasing the unique aspects of the business. Emma Lyn Designs was greatly supported by the public and received 36,000 votes on the voting portion of the online entry. The video and application can be found on the winners page of the SCORE website.

To learn more about The American Small Business Championship and to view the complete list of Champions, visit www.championship.score.org.

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 10 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year, SCORE’s 10,000+ volunteer business experts provide more than 350,000 free small business mentoring sessions, workshops and educational services to clients in 300 chapters nationwide. In 2016, SCORE mentors volunteered 2.2 million hours to help create more than 130,000 jobs and 54,000 small businesses.
For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800-634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you, or visit www.score.org. Follow @SCOREMentors on Facebook and Twitter for news and updates on the small business landscape.

About Sam’s Club
Sam's Club, a leading U.S. membership club, offers savings and surprises to millions of members in 659 U.S. club locations and at SamsClub.com. The Sam's Club Giving Program, established by the Walmart Foundation in 2008, is dedicated to micro- and small business prosperity. Sam's Club and The Sam's Club Giving Program have invested more than $28 million since 2011 in national and local programs dedicated to improved training, education and increased access to capital for small business owners. For more information on national or local giving by Sam's Club or The Sam's Club Giving Program, visit http://corporate.samsclub.com/giving.

Emma Kozlowski, Owner and Designer of Emma Lyn Designs
emmalyndesigns@gmail.com
203-948-0905
www.emmalyndesigns.com

Image via Emma Kozlowski