But Sydney designer and global businesswoman Samantha Wills hopes it's her vulnerabilities, struggles and authentic experiences that will inspire others.

She'll be speaking about her personal and business experiences this Friday when she headlines the INSPIRE International Women's Day event in Canberra.

"All too often we only see a perceived highlight reel and milestones, but not the struggles or the realities of running a business. What we see just isn't true," Wills told The Canberra Times.

"What I'll be presenting takes you through a timeline of my business highlights and compares what you might have seen on Instagram or in the media and show the parallels."

Wills began her jewellery business from her kitchen table in Bondi, and worked until the early hours with bleeding hands. This expanded to a global brand with 45 staff and an annual turnover of more than $10 million.

"It took me 12 years to get to where I did, and I'd get really frustrated when media would say it happened overnight," she said.

"Overnight success doesn't come with longevity and it's just not a reality."

Wills stressed the importance of sharing stories of struggles, not just of success, with other women who were young in their career.

"With success comes responsibility, and there is a responsibility to share the struggles," she said.

"We live in an age of perceived perfection. When I started, I looked up to other people in glossy fashion magazines.

"But when my hands were burning and I was alone working at midnight they in no way reflected what I was going through. The danger is it's isolating to people and its not the truth."

Wills will also be launching her memoir, Of Gold and Dust (Allen & Unwin, $32.99), ahead of the event. The book follows her journey, from the company's humble beginnings to its sudden closure during the height of its success in 2019.

"I used to use jewellery as my vehicle of storytelling and now I do it through presenting and through my book and telling my story vulnerably," she said.

"I hope that when people read it they don't feel isolated.

"I hope they reach out and hug who they need to and that people find a bit of themselves in there."

The book's title, echoed by stories throughout, is designed to communicate life's peaks and troughs and the importance of both, in business and in life.

"I've always been interested in the idea of alchemy as a jewellery designer, of base metals turning into gold and as it relates to the modern way of life," she said.

"Sometimes we are in the dust and sometimes we are golden."

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