By Jenna Frisby | Social Media Editor
By following her passion, Lexington, Kent., sophomore Haidyn Chudy channels her entrepreneurial spirit with her jewelry company, Southern Belle Glitz.
Chudy strives to use her company platform for greater things to benefit women. She has been able to combine her love of fashion into a successful small business.
“With my company, I want to encourage women,” Chudy said. “I want to use fashion and my business as a platform to encourage other women and build them up. That’s why I do what I do.”
Dallas junior Susannah Turner said she appreciates Chudy’s strong female example in the way she approaches her business.
“It’s so refreshing to see a women-owned small business be so successful in this economy,” Turner said. “Haidyn works a secretary job, has positions in Zeta, has an internship and runs a business full-time. Her jewelry is so unique and definitely something you can’t find anywhere else.”
Competing in pageants her freshman year of high school sparked her interest in the jewelry business, Chudy said. She first went to Southern Belle Glitz as a customer and worked under the owner until her junior year of high school. Originally, she planned to franchise in high school before coming to college.
“For my birthday one year, my parents helped sow the seed, I raised up the money I had and I bought the company from her,” Chudy said. “Since August 2019, it has been fully mine.”
The business eventually led Chudy to switch majors.
“When I came to Baylor I was actually pre-law, but in between my junior and senior year of high school was when I bought my company, and that kind of changed my career path at Baylor,” Chudy said.
Chudy said bringing her business to Waco meant building brand awareness and making connections in Texas. She didn’t have a car freshman year, which made it difficult to get around. Luckily, the John F. Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise OSO Launch program helped Chudy form connections and establish a network here.
Her business showcases three collections: boutique jewelry, a sorority collection and a pageant collection. Her most popular collection is the boutique jewelry, which according to Chudy, features trendy, everyday pieces.
Flower Mound senior Mikayla Anthony models for Chudy’s boutique and attests to the wide assortment of products and quality of the jewelry.
“I love Haidyn’s business because it has something for everyone,” Anthony said. “From her sorority collections to big statement pieces, she offers a range of items that pair well with everything. I have modeled for her company and have so much fun every time because there’s always something new.”
Chudy started doing pop-up shops around Waco before establishing a storefront in Pretty in Pink Flamingo boutique. She said she admires the owner, fellow local entrepreneur Savannah May.
“She has been such a blessing opening up her store to me,” Chudy said. “She lets me have my boutique set up in the space. Without her, that is an achievement I would never have been able to do.”
With all of the hardships COVID-19 brought, Chudy said she was determined to make the best of it. Despite delayed shipments from merchants and shipping times to customers, she worked to build other aspects of the business.
“Over the first part of Covid, I launched my sorority collection, so I really got to pour into that,” Chudy said. “Since then, I’ve been able to make connections and I’ve been able to establish a place here.”
She one day aspires to own her own clothing store with Southern Belle Glitz as well. Her mission remains to spread female empowerment in each piece she sells.
