Meet Jazmine Eads

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jazmine Eads. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jazmine, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My purpose is my daughter! Having a girl changed my life entirely. First of all, having a little girl exposes you to “all things cute!” Dresses, hats, hair accessories, etc. I started off buying all of these things and then thought “I wonder if I could make these?” That’s how my online boutique came about. It started with bows, then to scrunchies, and hopefully adding clothing soon! I’ve always been a little creative but after having my daughter it just poured out!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hello, my name is Jazmine and I started my small business journey NomiLee Boutique back in 2019 where I started off making hair accessories for little girls. What quickly began with leather bows, eventually led into fabric bows, head wraps, then into accessories for all women! Which also led into making purses, fanny packs, canvas bags and much more!

What I feel that is most exciting about being a small business owner is not only connecting with our customers, but it’s the fact that my customers think that my handmade product is worthy enough to buy. That my creativity, dedication and hard work I put into making my product is loved by someone. Having a support system behind you and your business means so much! And it comes in many different forms and is greatly appreciated so much, but I have a special kind of support that I absolutely love. I know it may sound crazy, but every time I send out an order I always include a thank you card and on the back I always write “Please tag us on our socials!” I list all social handles… And sometimes they tag us, sometimes they don’t and that’s OK! But I do have to say my favorite is when we have a customer who wears our product regularly (especially in posts) that may not mention us but you they love it enough to keep wearing it! Or repeat customers that may not always post about/tag our product but always show support by always leaving five star reviews. That lets us know that we have quality product that you continuously wear and purchase from our business. I LOVE that! So it’s not always about the tags and mentions, but the fact that they love some thing of mine enough to showcase it and for that, I am so blessed!

If you follow us on any of our social handles
TikTok/IG-Threads @nomilee_boutique
Facebook- @nomileeboutique
You can catch us at any of our upcoming pop-up small business events where there are all types of different vendors and food trucks. We always keep updates so you guys know and can meet us there!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I always thought that I understood the phrase “I wish I knew then what I do now.”

There is so much I wish I knew back when I first started my small business, that I have more knowledge in today. Before really researching, I just dove right in- blind. I knew what I was making and that’s where it stopped. I thought that every little girl needed my product in their hair. I later found out that I was targeting the wrong people. Yes the little girls can wear my product, but who is buying the product? The parents! More specifically the moms. I was targeting the little girls of my business, when in reality I should have been targeting the parents with the money who were going to be making the purchases. That’s deep! It gets deeper, because let’s say all moms with daughters accessorized their little girls hair. What kind of mom am I targeting? Stay at home moms? Working moms? Moms with teens, infants? The list goes on. And keep in mind that when my business grew, my product changed. So that meant my audience did too.

I have always used social media as a way to showcase my product from the very beginning. We now live in a world where just about everyone has social media so it can be the best tool to utilize to reach a large quantity of people at one time. Sometimes you end up attracting people who you wouldn’t even think to be your target audience, but end up being your greatest online support system, or your best customers. It’s weird because on all of my platforms I reach different people and I absolutely love it.

1.) Every day I am still learning but one thing I wish I knew when I first started, my business was who exactly I wanted to target, why and execute a plan from there on how to target them.

When I first started my business, I made things that I liked. So it was like I was making them for myself in that for my customers. And the truth is not everyone is going to like what YOU like. I think it’s very important to get outside of your comfort zone and once you figure out who you want to target which brings me to number two…

2.) Produce quality product that your CUSTOMERS want.

3.) Last, but not least finding relatable, hashtags, captions, trending sounds (if you’re on social media) that your ideal customer is using also.

I wish I knew those important things sooner because I could have grabbed my target customer a lot sooner! But I also feel like it’s important to know what works for someone else may not work for you and it’s all about trial and error. So if you feel like your business is stuck, look at your target audience, and who knows your audience better than they know themselves! They know what they want so ask them, and they will tell you.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
If you know me, personally, I typically come off as a more reserved shy person. Which there is nothing wrong with but it has also set me back in many areas in my small business.

I remember back when I would only show my products. People knew my product, but they did not know me as a person or a small business owner and I believe that also sent me back because when someone purchases from you they are also buying you not just your product. Today I put my face to my business because I want people to know me and my personality and it shows through my work in social media now which was so hard for me to do it first. I actually dreaded it.. and now I can’t wait for our next pop-up event to meet new people and show my face!

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Portraits of Resilience

Sometimes just seeing resilience can change out mindset and unlock our own resilience. That’s our

Productivity
Perspectives on Staying Creative

We’re beyond fortunate to have built a community of some of the most creative artists,

Confidence
Kicking Imposter Syndrome to the Curb

This is the year to kick the pesky imposter syndrome to the curb and move