We were lucky to catch up with D James recently and have shared our conversation below.

D, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

yes 100% happier. I have had a regular job and it is actually what pushed me into becoming a business owner. Ever since I left my job it has been a huge motivational factor to keep me working hard so that I never have to go back to working a regular job.

Since starting my business I have thoughts of going back when times get rough. But my thinking is, If I have to do all of that for the job (Someone else) I can do those things for myself, and set my own hours.

I have always had a hard time getting up and being on time, and I like to do what I want when I want to do it, I would rather work double, or triple as hard to avoid having to go back.

I hate work meetings, and I like having the freedom that I can set them up at a time that works for me. People telling me what to do never sat well with me. I have never been good at “following rules” because I like to create the rules.

So my only option is to be a successful business owner.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I took the traditional route, went to school and got my computer engineering degree, so my background is technology. I have always been an entrepreneur by heart. All my life, I always had a side project or side business going. I have always sold things – whether it be candy at school to Snapchat filters for special events. So Ecommerce was just a platform to sell things on a larger scale. I decided to take the things I already knew how to do well (technology and selling) and use them for my benefit.

I got into the industry because I wanted to make more money. I wanted to live a better lifestyle, and I realized my 9-5 job alone, would not do it. I decided to create a company that I could accomplish the type of life i’ve dreamed of with.

The goal of my company was to bring high price jewelry items to a price that was affordable for everyone. I believe that everyone should be able to look good. I provide designer jewelry at an affordable cost. Im able to bring my clients dreams into reality in a way that no other jeweler can.

I am able to merge the two worlds of technology and art into the jewelry industry and I feel that is what sets me apart from other jewelers.

I am most proud of being healthy, happy, and at peace mentally.

I want people to know that if you want to do anything in life don’t be afraid of what people are going to say or think about you. Do what you need to do at 100%, do what makes you happy and don’t worry about what people have to say.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

You have to pivot everyday as a business owner. Back in college I wanted to be an architect I got accepted into the school, but not the architecture program, and I was devastated. The only thing that was available was computer engineering. I decided to go that route even though I knew it would be difficult, That was my first major shift. It taught me that pivoting is essential to not only a successful business, but a successful life.. If I would not have pivoted here I would not have been able to start my business. After that, I had to pivot from hair and sunglasses because there was circumstances such as market saturation, profit margins, etc. When I got into the jewelry business I had to pivot to begin selling items outside of jewelry such as clothing, leather goods, etc because of market saturation.

Sometimes pivoting is God’s way of pushing you in the right direction. Don’t be afraid of change.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Leading up to the 2019 Holiday season I was optimizing the ads to make sure everything was set to run smoothly. Black Friday came around and Google and Facebook ads were running fluently. We were at about 24k then the next day I check and we are only at 11k (not where we need to be).

I refreshed my Facebook ads, saw a big red banner, and noticed my account was disabled. It was one of the worst feelings i’ve ever had as a business owner. Once the despair passed, I had to figure out a solution. I could only think about all the money I was missing out on every minute that went by. I got on my white board, and started writing every option I could possibly think of. After trying everything I had to improvise a new website to get the traffic back. My Facebook ads were enabled several hours later. I did not leave my computer until after Cyber Monday,

(Having the word “Presidents” in our name caused several issues during the election.)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.goldpresidents.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/djames
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thegoldpresidents
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/goldpresidensts.com