We were lucky to catch up with Amique James, MBA recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amique, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My work ethic came from my mother…man, she is a hard worker. She has done many things right to impact my journey. She migrated to the USA from Jamaica and it was a difficult journey for her. She was a single mother and had no other choice than to work hard to take care of her small kids. Her resilience, faith in God, and work ethics has truly impacted my life and helped me become the women that I am today. She didn’t always have the right answers or resources, but she made it work with what she had. One of the best things my mother taught me was to have my own personal relationship with God and that has guided my life. She has also taught me how to be mentally strong, work hard, and how to live within my means. I appreciate her teachings because although I’m not where I want to be I know by watching her that if I keep the faith and work hard, I will be rewarded in the end.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Well, I am a small business owner who created a healthy, refreshing, and delicious beverage called Amique’s Ginga Juice.
#AmiquesGingaJuice is a hashtag and was created in 2018 for those who desire to boost their immune systems while enjoying a refreshing drink. It all started with a passion for wanting to spend more time with my family, having the desire to be impactful in society, and not settling for mediocrity. I was also so tired of working crazy 13 hour days in corporate America for people who didn’t care about the well-being of me nor my family.
Nevertheless, as I was watching an episode of shark tank and seeing all these people who created simple things that manifested into something big, I began to think of ideas of my own. I have always desired to start a business (restaurant or hotel), but financially it was far from my reach.
Therefore, I had to start small with something that didn’t need much capital so I created #AmiquesGingaJuice. I never really enjoyed the carbonated ginger juices, also known as ginger beer in the stores, and wanted to make something that was healthy. I took pictures of some freshly cut ginger and lime and then created a label. My name is unique and I always wanted it branded so that’s where the name came from; Amique’s Ginga Juice. I started to market them at different restaurants and stores and was only consistently picked up by one location at the time; GIAS ORGANIC SHOP in East point. I also marketed to friends, family, social media, and at church and was able to gain several regulars. I also did many different pop-up shops and networking events to get my business out there. Now fast forward to 2020 during a pandemic when business really started to pick up. Ginger and lime are great for building your immune system and helps with respiratory infections, so as I was completing one of many orders, I had a moment of complete gratitude and had to thank God because I realized that #AmiquesGingaJuice was created for a time such as this.
Amique’s Ginga Juice is a healthy, refreshing, and delicious ginger juice which was created to boost your immune system and increase your energy. Ginger, lemon, and lime have a multitude of health benefits such as;
-Helps with chronic pain and indigestion
-Fights Respiratory Infections & inflammation
-Increases Energy
-Detoxifies
-Improves brain function
-Treats nausea
Thankfully, Amique’s Ginga Juice has been very effective during the pandemic which has truly been a blessing, and many of my customers can testify to that.
Of course, It has not been an easy road, but God has been good. Marketing at different restaurants and stores has been challenging, with some places giving me the run around. Nonetheless, the locations who have given #AmiquesGingaJuice a chance has definitely reaped and is reaping the financial benefits.
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?
Prayer, perseverance, and patience will lead every person to their desired destination. When you pray God hears, when you persevere God sees your efforts, and when you are patient God develops your character.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I am learning how to process and deal with rejection. Rejection in business, rejection in relationships, and rejection within myself.
Thus far, I have learned rejection is apart of life, and you can either learn to deal with it or it will deal with you. The latter will lead into depression so I rather have the upper hand and learn how to deal with it. The best way to deal with rejection is to understand that God’s Will will always be done; it’s his timing, his plan, his glory to be revealed.
Contact Info:
- Website: Amiquesgingajuice.company.site
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ajdbiz?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajdbiz.ajdbiz?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Twitter: https://instagram.com/1stoosh?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
- Other: https://linktr.ee/AJDBIZ?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=a774d1a4-a454-4044-b181-c0ba37027c9e
Image Credits
Yves Dognon
