Meet Jasmine

Jasmine is an entrepreneur by trade and a creative at heart. Growing up, she always knew herself to be the “girl with a camera” and has been passionate about the visual arts and graphic design ever since her childhood. 

Coming of age in the midst of the content creation boom, Jasmine found an opportunity to market her skills to brands and individuals looking to establish their creative identities in the digital world. However, she would not realize how great the demand for such expertise truly was until she was in need of them herself. 

Jasmine began her entrepreneurial journey, first, in e-commerce by opening an online clothing boutique, but after her first months of operation, Jasmine realized that a pivot was in order.

“To be honest with you, my business wasn’t supposed to be what it is now. I started in e-commerce with a clothing boutique and had been renting a space in the heart of Jersey City to store inventory and photograph the garments.”

As Jasmine began to hire photographers and stylists to help her build out the website, she quickly pivoted to create a business to support these like-minded creatives in her community. 

“I’ve always been into visuals, but I knew how much of a chore their development could be because I was in that middle of it all myself. So, I pivoted and became the person helping to develop the brand as opposed to being the brand itself.”

As a result, Jasmine converted her 1,200 square foot space in Jersey City into a fully equipped photography studio and creative incubator which she has owned and operated for the past five years. She rents out her studio to all kinds of clients that are looking for the talent and resources to turn their creative vision into a reality.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

“We are helping fine tune brands, entrepreneurs, and creatives as they figure out their image on social media and the kind of content they want to create. Our clients can choose to book the studio itself or any of the fantastic photographers, makeup artists, and stylists that are on our staff.”

Clearly, this was a significant change for Jasmine, so she sought help from Grameen America to which she credits some of her most valuable business learnings.

“I was really drawn to the community of women like me who were trying to propel their businesses forward. Beyond the loan capital, I was attracted to the weekly meetings where I could hear from the Grameen America team as well as the other entrepreneurs in the program. I feel like there is always something to learn when we bring together business owners from very different backgrounds and industries.”

Eager to garner more brand awareness, Jasmine most often uses her loan capital to advertise and promote her studio services to bring in new customers from New Jersey and New York City. 

“I really appreciate how the loans increase over time and are incredibly reliable because that allows me to keep up with my regular expenses, like advertising costs. After I finish my repayments, it always feels like the larger loans are available to me just at the right time and match my growth as an entrepreneur. The regularity of the disbursements helps me feel like Grameen America has my back.”

Looking ahead, Jasmine has big dreams for her business, which she feels are within reach because of savings habits instilled in her by Grameen America. In the short-term, she is planning to expand into additional office space adjacent to her current studio to accommodate her growing team. However, her ultimate goal is to open a sister studio based on the west coast.  

Cognizant of her unexpected journey, Jasmine’s greatest piece of advice to her fellow entrepreneurs is to embrace the uncertainty that comes with forging your own path and never give up.

“Just because a project starts off one way, that doesn’t mean it has to end as such. Always be optimistic, and keep striving. Always stay consistent, and execute on every goal that you can.”