Twenty years of observing the family business gave Iman Golestani the knowledge and hands-on experience that helped him start his own jewelry company, IG JewelryCo.
CSUN communications alumni and spring 2013 graduate, Golestani sells jewelry from different vendors with a variety of fashion, body and fine jewelry. However, his company specializes in selling gold and in watch repair.
Golestani wanted to continue in his family’s footsteps of being in the jewelry business. He was born in Tehran, Iran and when he was 3 years old, came to America in search of refuge with his family.
“I grew up with parents who have so much love and dedication for their work and that allowed me to appreciate every aspect of the jewelry industry, and it made me fall in love [with the business],” Golestani said.
Golestani faced the struggle of many companies: competition, which for him was other local jewelers. However, he has been able to become the businessman he is today by learning the value of jewelry.
Golestani said you can only do so much buying and selling gold.
“The challenge was finding my niche in the jewelry business,” he said.
Senior communications studies major at CSUN Jennifer Kim said communications studies allows you to pursue a career in any field because it opens up doors to anything if you know how to talk to people.
Kim’s plans for the future are working for the government, but she said that did not get into the political science field for the same reason, that communications is the key to getting into what you want as a career.
“He majored in communications, but the fact he went to CSUN and opened up his own business is incredible in this economy,” Kim said. “Seeing this [alumnus] doing something a little different makes me feel like I have a chance, and I can get into any fields as long as I work for it.”
Once Golestani graduated, he took over the family business. He then completed research on building an e-commerce, after which he started his own company. He then went on to hire a public relations boutique firm to represent his company.
“I am glad I majored in communications because it gave me a different perspective and it showed me that I could grow a business from the ground up,” Golestani said.
Business management senior at CSUN Divya Jaie said it is good to see people majoring in something besides business and succeed in being an owner of their own business with skills they have acquired from another field.
“I know to be a good business person you have to be able to communicate well with everyone and anybody you meet,” Jaie said.
At age 26, Golestani sees how majoring in communications has helped him shape his business of two years, but he also wants to obtain his master’s in business entrepreneurship sometime in the near future.
“I knew I always wanted to become a jeweler so that’s why I majored in communications, which has allowed me to gain skills such as the art of rhetoric,” Golestani said. “What inspired me was the endless possibilities of gems and precious metals, which enlightened my vision at a young age to my last days of college.”
Golestani is currently in the process of hiring social media interns and wants to help CSUN students by giving them the opportunity to work for his company where they will gain experience and knowledge of the industry.
Students are welcome to contact him through his company website, and he is also offering a discount of 15 percent off his jewels to Matadors with the promo code MATADOR15.
“I discovered that diamonds are not only a girl’s best friend, but they are also a man’s,” Golestani said.
The physical store for IG Jewelry is located at 2500 W. Redondo Beach Blvd, space #B-20, Torrance, Calif. 90504.
