From Instagram Hobby to Career: A Student Turns Charms Into a Business

Chelsea Mahloch launched Charmed by Chels on Instagram in January 2025 — one month after she was making charm jewelry for free as a hobby. The business now sells custom, build-your-own charm jewelry online, at public pop-ups and at private events.

Mahloch isn't a typical founder. She's a full-time student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a Clifton management major, and a sorority member running a company on the side.

The demand came first. In December 2024, friends started asking whether they could pay her to make charm jewelry for them. By January 2025, she had an Instagram account and a business.

"I got to turn the hobby into an actual business, which has been so awesome, getting to do something that I just love to do, and getting to make a business out of it," Mahloch said.

How does she market it?

Her training ground was social media itself. Mahloch said her time scrolling platforms taught her how to market a business, and she chose to lean on personability and authenticity in her posts.

"I think one advantage of Charmed by Chels is that it is all handmade and very personal, and so I kind of took that and ran with it, and just made a lot of videos of me packaging orders and different things like that," Mahloch said.

That handmade positioning is her differentiator — and her content strategy makes it visible.

What does balancing school and a business take?

Full-time classes, a company and sorority life sit on one schedule. Mahloch said the experience has taught her time management and self-discipline.

"It's definitely not a perfect science, but I'm working towards it every day," Mahloch said.

The packed calendar isn't new. She said she's kept a busy schedule since high school and loves it.

"It's definitely all worth it and I wouldn't try to balance it all if I didn't love it all," Mahloch said.

The workload is shared where it can be. Her sister, Megan Mahloch, is Charmed by Chels' first employee and helps at events, while Chelsea handles most of the online order work herself. She called learning to run a business a rewarding challenge.

Why does the accelerator matter?

Mahloch is both a Clifton Builder and a member of UNL's accelerator program. Both programs back student entrepreneurs who want hands-on experience running a business. The people, she said, keep her motivated and give her a place to test ideas — from operations to leadership.

"Being a student entrepreneur, it can feel a little isolating sometimes when most of the people around you don't really understand. So, being in a group of people who do understand has been such an awesome opportunity and so helpful," Mahloch said.

Who shaped her path?

Business was always the plan, and her model is close to home. Her mother started a company straight out of college.

"My mom has been an entrepreneur her whole life, and that's been a huge inspiration to me. I mean, straight out of college, she started a business and never looked back. So that's been like a huge motivation and inspiration to me," Mahloch said.

Megan Mahloch points the admiration back at her sister's drive in both school and business.

"I admire her and look up to her ability to inspire people and to include people and just get things done," Megan Mahloch said.

What's her advice to other founders?

Chelsea Mahloch's biggest lesson: don't stay inside your comfort zone.

"If you have an idea, go talk to someone about it. Get some feedback. And if you're prepared to put your all into it, that's what matters, and that's what makes a successful entrepreneur," she said.

Charmed by Chels made its campus debut at the jewelry-making event "Just Charmed," hosted by UPC at UNL. Next, Mahloch wants to grow the brand and explore other ventures.

"I never, in a million years, thought Charmed by Chels was going to be something big or like a real business," she said. "I started it as a hobby. It was a small Instagram account and it's completely changed my life and become basically my career. So you never know what it could become."