I’m shining the spotlight on my friend and fellow mom entrepreneur, Jhéanell Adams. I asked her if she could share her personal journey as an entrepreneur in today’s article. She agreed and wrote the content below. Jhéanell’s one amazing entrepreneur and a valuable member of the Elite Society of Ambitious Moms Mastermind. Thank you, Jhéanell!
I’ve wanted to be an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, my mother owned a drapery business where I observed her grow from solopreneur to the boss of a team. I spent my afternoons doing my homework on the floor of her workshop and accompanying her to installations in the homes of her wealthy clients. Even as a 5 year old, I saw the pride in my mothers face when she presented her work to her satisfied clients.
As a result, I decided before I even entered the first grade that I was going to be my own boss one day. This thought was solidified as a pre-teen when we immigrated from Jamaica to The United States. I saw my mom make the transition from entrepreneur to employee, and I was not a fan. She didn’t have freedom, she had to answer to people and I believe one of her bosses even stole from her at one point.
In addition to making a bold decision at 10, my parents were always clear that they would be supportive of whatever I chose to do as a career. However, they stressed the importance of being the owner of whatever path I chose.
While working full-time corporate jobs, I tried a little of everything to find out what I loved. I became a photographer after someone spotted me at family function with a DSLR and offered me money to photograph her daughters Sweet 16. I ran a cupcake delivery service from my kitchen in Queens, New York. I had a successful run as a makeup artist in Miami. I was having fun following my passions, but I never found anything purposeful.
At 24 years old, I was a newlywed when my husband and I found out that we were expecting our first child. We were over the moon with excitement only to be met with tragedy when I unexpectedly went into pre-term labor right before my 24th week of pregnancy. Things went so quickly that my husband and I delivered our daughter Jolie on the sofa as my sister called 911. Minutes later, we were whisked away to the hospital were Jolie passed away a few hours later.
What followed was the darkest time in my life. I didn’t know who I was anymore, much less what I wanted to do with life. I was depressed, diagnosed with PTSD, and saw no way out of my Grief. As an introvert, I’ve always used writing as a way to express myself and found myself pouring out my feelings on my blog. I unintentionally started creating a community of Angel Moms who were happy to connect with me and who asked me for advice as they saw me progress in my healing journey.
By the following Mothers Day, I learned that I was pregnant again which made me as equally as happy as I was paranoid. I’d read that many everyday products that we used could cause birth defects, as a large percentage of what we put on our skin goes into our bloodstream. Having gotten Certified as a Skin Care Specialist a few years prior, I started experimenting with making my own natural body products so that I could be in full control. That passion further intensified when my son was born.
With my new natural lifestyle, I decided to become an e-commerce retailer that carried clean beauty products. One night I had a dream where I received the message that I needed to create and sell my own products. I also dreamt the name of this business and saw the logo. I sketched out what I saw in my dream and had a graphic designer bring it to life for me. 90 days later on what would have been Jolie’s 3rd birthday, my family friendly eco-luxury body care brand Jolie Bloom launched.
While it’s been a fantastic 2.5 years and I was able to spread my mission and donate to organizations that help to fight pre-term labor, there was apart of me that still didn’t feel truly purposeful. I ended up crying and praying in my car during my lunch break and got the answer to what I was looking for. It took about a year to come together, but I was able to combine everything I loved about helping other women with my own talents.
I became an Angel Mom Advocate! Through a myriad of products and services, I help women who have experienced baby loss to regain their confidence their grief and take the steps to thrive in their new normal. I also created a show called Babyloss Talk to help remove the stigma, shame and loneliness of loosing a pregnancy or infant by sharing advice, resources and inviting everyday Angel Moms to share their stories. Despite my rocky road to motherhood, it has ultimately lead me to my true passion and purpose. Almost six years later, I still don’t have a tangible answer as to why things went so wrong with my first pregnancy. While I’ve come to despise the phrase “Everything happens for a reason”, I know that I would not be able to connect with and help women the way I do unless I went through the experience of loss as well. On days where things seem impossible, or the memories of the doctor coming in to tell us that our daughter passed away, the reminder of how I can be of service through my career keeps me moving forward.
The path to entrepreneurship hasn’t been an easy one. I’ve tried many things and failed at more things than I can count. However, because I know that even at a young age my children will be aware of all that I do, I continue to seek guidance so that I can fully step into my power.
No matter what challenges you’re facing on the path to discovering who you are as a woman and MOMpreneur, never give up.
About Jhéanell:
Jhéanell Adams is an Angel Mom Advocate who helps women who have experienced baby loss regain their confidence, conquer their grief, and take the steps to thrive in their new normal. Jhéanell created her platform to help remove the stigma, shame and loneliness of losing a pregnancy or infant by sharing real stories, advice and resources.