We recently connected with Maiya Jones and have shared our conversation below.
Maiya, so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.
Over time I learned that the people who may discourage you, are those who have never chased their own dream. They didn’t possess the qualities to do that. They were simply too coward to take that initiative to put theirselves out there, so they envy you. I use that as my motivation, they are people who said I would fail, now I have to show not only them but myself it can be done. They may even look at you as inspiration but they will never let you know that.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am fashion designer from Miami, Florida I manufacture and design everything I sell. I’ve always wanted to be in the fashion industry because I had an immense amount of love for dressing up as a little girl. I wasn’t allowed to model professionally because my parents didn’t want to invest in it. They wanted me to take a more traditional route in my life going to college and getting a career. I’ve always been self sufficient working my first job in middle school. Once I went to college, I was on my own in another state and working multiple jobs and juggling school. I look at the covid-19 pandemic as a blessing in disguise. Being forced off campus we were only given the option to take online classes. I took online classes in the day and worked overnight for Amazon. My goal was to make enough to buy myself a sewing machine and a couple other machines to create with in my business. I always wanted to start my own business but I didn’t have the funds to keep it up.
Every chance I got I was always researching, how to do this and how to do that. I probably watched every YouTube video on YouTube pertaining to sewing and starting a business. I ended up getting hurt on my job which was in the Amazon Warehouse and because my productivity was slow since I was working with one hand I eventually couldn’t return. It was time to step out on faith and actually invest in myself.
Fast forward I was able to get myself an office space which I leased for year and worked out of. The best times of my life. I built everything in there and took out everything just the same. Off the strength of just a little faith and a lot of tears. After a year I moved out of there, went back to college in Washington D.C., and graduated college May of 2023. Now I want to scale my business enough to eventually have my own store front!
Right now I am working on bringing the collections and designs I drafted to life. Be on the look out for a model call and maybe even eventually a fashion show. Please follow us on instagram for updates @simbian.co as well as if you want to work with me email me at [email protected].
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first and most important quality that was the most impactful in my journey is resilience. Because no matter how hard things get my resilience keeps me going. In any situation the ability to advance despite adversity allows me to accomplish anything I put my mind to. The second quality is being teachable. I never stopped wanting to learn new things, new tips, and strategies. Being teachable is being able to accept that you can’t know all things around you and you allow others to teach you. Taking in constructive criticism to become better. The last quality would be my creativity. Creativity in everything is what sets me a part from other people. Being able to bring forth new ideas, designs, and looks is what attracts people to me as a person and my business.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
My ideal client would be a person who is very trustful in my ability. They pretty much give me a theme and let me create. They would be creative and a person who wants to be the most eye catching in the room and different from everyone else. They would be confident, professional, and openminded.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://simbian.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simbian.co/
