Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jakira Usry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jakira thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Designer Diamonds is a jewelry company that serves a different purpose than our competitors by having a profound need to help the community and a passion in changing the lives of its customers. Our style of jewelry has previously only been known to be available for people of a rich background. Before our company, real diamonds and fine jewelry were not previously accessible to citizens of a middle/lower class. Providing a gateway for any person of any age range and any tax bracket has given the community a sense of unity because they all have a common denominator- the ability to afford luxury jewelry accessories from us. We purposely make our jewelry affordable so that people of any background can be able to access it and become a part of our legacy. The more customers we gain, the more notoriety our brand will have. This notoriety has previously gained us a sponsorship that allowed us to host a back-to-school giveaway, giving school supplies back to the kids in need in our community. This marketing strategy of less-expensive items to gain more clientele is extremely rare within this field, which causes our brand to have more traction. We plan to continue marketing to a target audience that includes all professions of any pay grade (anywhere from fast-food workers to first-responders).

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Designer Diamonds was founded by me, Jakira Usry, when I was 16 years old. I started the business to show reverence for my late father who had a nickname for wearing a lot of jewelry. In 2020, I officially launched this business (my first brand) after careful study of the jewelry industry and practicing my craftsmanship for several months. I learned primarily just from watching jewelers on youtube and picking up on some of their techniques with the craft. Over time, I was able to develop my own style of making jewelry and I developed my own methodology. My company offers luxury jewelry accessories including diamond earrings, bracelets, watches, anklets, necklaces, etc. with different diamond qualities that vary based on the customer’s budget. We offer jewelry that varies from cubic zirconia to VVS quality. Designer Diamonds allows for customers of various age ranges, tax brackets, genders, and races to understand they can all find a quality piece within our store, and we will serve our purpose to satisfy their needs. Our brand does not and will not ever discriminate, and this is why there is such a strong sense of unity established within our community. Before our company, jewelry was known as being a token of success. It was an asset that people seemed to only be able to afford once they had made a certain living for themselves. But with our company, it allows people to have a chance to experience a token of the luxury lifestyle as soon as they would like to. I am the most proud that this brand was created to celebrate the name of my late father, but it is simultaneously allowing me to make a name for myself as Miss Designer. Our customer base is 100% genuine, everyone who has shopped here has desired to out of their own interests. I want my potential clientele to understand this jewelry company is not like any precedents. We value our customers and not their funds. We actually take heed to servicing our community, and we often donate to show our sincere gratitude for our continued support.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Yes, I manufacture my products. Before I started my company, I watched videos of jewelers’ making pieces for their clients. I am a visual learner, so this is how I was able to visualize how I could manufacture my own products. About two years later, my business had grown to a clientele of over 2,000 customers. In order to scale my business, I worked to find a manufacturer for small items such as tennis bracelets, earrings, etc. while I continued to hand make custom chains. It was difficult finding a manufacturer that could produce the same quality I had, so I went through a lot of bad shipments until I could find the right one. My advice to any entrepreneur is to make sure you are producing quality. It may be difficult, especially if you are making everything yourself, but customers will always come back for quality pieces.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Designer Diamonds was my side-hustle when I was 16. I was a junior in high school, and I could not go back to my job because of the pandemic. I wanted to keep making an income for myself, so I started my business. I sacrificed a lot in order to start- I saved up my entire paycheck for several months while I was working my 9-5 because I knew I had a business pan I needed to execute. When I released my product on the first day, I sold out! This was a triumph moment for me, because as an entrepreneur you are taking a risk and you can never be sure if you will have any customers, but I was so proud to say on Day 1 I had already built clientele. Even though I sold out, I had to use all of my money I made to reinvest into more stock, more business cards, more packaging, etc. I did not actually see a profit until I had my business for about 4-5 months. At the time. I had tunnel vision and I was never worried about the money, I knew that would come later. I was busy building a consistent clientele, designing original products, promoting myself, and learning the most I could about the industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://designerdiamonds.co/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/designerdiamonds.co?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ShopDesignerDiamonds/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jakirachanel4928