I am back to share another beautiful woman with you all! Today's article features a woman by the name Jasmine Smith. I first came across her business account a few months ago, I instantly fell in love with her products and the message behind her company. To learn more about her company be sure to check out the article on Jasmithdesigns.
Jasmine is 24 years old and has lived in the Tuscan, California area for her whole life. Jasmine graduated from Chapman University in 2020, with a degree in graphic design. Besides running her business, Jasmithdesigns, she also has a full time job as a web to print designer.
In the last two articles posted, we delved into each woman's experience as a business owner. Since Jasmine is currently both a part of the business owner and job realm, I was very excited to speak with her about her experience on both fronts. To my surprise, Jasmine informed me that in her experience, while in school, women in her department of studies outnumbered the men. However, once she entered the professional industry she found that men outnumbered the women. I took two things away from this part of our conversation, the first thing being that women are making progress. It positively amazed me to hear that there are so many women taking their education seriously. For a long time women were withheld from expanding their knowledge and now after a long battle, it’s like a breath of fresh air to be able to speak with an educated woman, about the immense population of women seeking education. The second thing that stuck with me was how the dynamic seemed to change once the environment changed from school to work. I am by far, in no position to assess what that change in population could imply, but it stood out to me.
When asked, Jasmine attributed her greatest achievement not only to starting her business but to hitting every goal she made for her business in 2021. She explained that she considers this a great achievement (which it is) because she was able to put her dreams into motion, work hard enough to hit all the goals she laid out for herself, all while still being able to have time for herself so that she didn't become overworked. It’s very common for me to hear how people will work themselves to the bone in order to achieve their goals, but in hindsight was it very beneficial to them to compromise on all other aspects of their life to achieve one thing? Some might say yes depending on the goal and what area of their life it will enhance.
It is intended that as goals are reached things in the area in which the goal is made will be enhanced. However, for me, I want to be living my life to the fullest in every aspect life has to offer and that requires reaching goals in a manner that isn’t as aggressive. I took special interest in this part of the conversation because it’s really hard for me to not be aggressive in achieving my goals. I am impatient, hard working and addicted to the feeling of accomplishment; so to hear a business owner, I look up to, say that she’s accomplished her goals and has time for her personal life really opened my eyes to the importance of maintaining your personal life. It is too often we see socializing and self care as an extracurricular that is only acceptable once all other tasks are completed, when in reality both are a necessity to healthy living. I encourage you to be better at making plans with your friends and scheduling time for yourself, let Jasmine be an example that taking care of yourself and achieving your goals can simultaneously happen.
Jasmine explained to me, one of the most helpful tools she utilized for herself was putting together a schedule and sticking to it. It’s one of the more simple “chores”, many recommend to business owners, but it’s such a beneficial one. Creating a schedule that optimizes your time, and still allows for rest helps ensure productivity while decreasing stress. Jasmine really emphasized how business owners should manage their time wisely. She encourages business owners out there to create a schedule, stick to it and remember that not everything has to be done at once. For those who may be struggling with time management, like myself, Jasmine explained that it’s a learning process and to take things day by day.
During our conversation, Jasmine and I discussed her struggle in embracing her womanhood. When asked about her toughest obstacle to overcome as a woman, Jasmine explained how she struggled to view herself as an equal to man for a long time. She detailed how seeing men get higher positions, or a higher salary than her has affected her because she let it get to her head. Over time she has learned to not focus on what others, specifically men, make/do and focus more on her. She explained how she came to the realization that as long as she was working hard and remaining consistent she would reap the benefits specific to her. I completely agreed with her. I was refreshed with how she decided to handle her struggle in feeling less than because of how much better off men in her career seemed. I was refreshed because while yes, there is a wage gap between men and women, the gap will never decrease if we, the women, don't put in the work. I admire how Jasmine turned her frustration into a drive to do better because many may have given up, or switched jobs. While on the topic of wage gaps, I do encourage all business owners to be a part of the solution, not the problem. According to a Pew Research Center article, in 2020 women made 84% of what men did that year and depending on the color of the women's skin the gap widens. There needs to be an effort from both employers and employees to close the gap. Women, don’t give up when the waters get rough, work harder and fight firmer for what you deserve. Employers, erase any bias in your mind and reward the employees who truly deserve it, woman or man!
A question I present to most creative based business owners is, “How has putting yourself and your artwork on social media affect your self esteem?” During her response to this, Jasmine expressed that luckily she has received mostly positive feedback on her artwork and what she sells. She assumes this is because most of the items she sells centers around an inspiring and uplifting attitude, so she is less likely to attract a negative crowd. Due to the positive responses Jasmine has noticed her self esteem increase, despite some previous anxiety of how people would respond to the items she put out there. She also mentioned that as long as you are creating items that make you happy first and foremost, the positive response to them is just the icing on the cake.
To start wrapping up this article, Jasmine's best advice for young entrepreneurs would be start making reasonable, reachable goals from the beginning. Once you start to hit those goals, you will slowly start to build a motivating momentum for yourself and things will start to flow more easily. She expressed that it’s all about taking your time and remembering that everyday offers new opportunities to grow and learn.
Jasmine gives a huge shout out to her mom, for being her number one supporter! Jasmine explained how her mom has always been there cheering her on and pushing her to strive for better. As we spoke about her mother, I could feel the gratitude pouring out of Jasmine, so a big thank you goes out to not only Jasmine’s mom, but all moms out there who do their best to support their children!
Thank you all for taking time out of your day to learn more about Jasmine Smith! If you are interested in what her business has to offer, head over to the I Am Business section of I Am Woman to find the article on Jasmithdesigns.
For those of you who enjoy reading about inspirational women within the community, be sure to scroll to the bottom and subscribe, to be notified when a new article is posted. If you know of a woman you'd like to see featured here, send a nomination email to iamwoman.www@gmail.com. To stay connected with all things I Am Woman, be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok @iam.wwoman.
Finally, last month I Am Woman gained a new team member to the mix, Robyn Owens. If you haven’t already read her introduction article, be sure to scroll below and give it a read!