We recently connected with Jane Pope Cooper and have shared our conversation below.
Jane, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Thank you so much for being interested in my story. I feel that risk taking is a big part of any successful business! There is a point where you must take leaps and have faith in yourself when you are starting a business. Even the most logical number crunching type of person must be willing to take risks if starting their own business. If there is anything I have learned over the past 24 years, it’s that nothing is guaranteed in this life. It is each and every person’s responsibility to go out and make things happen. I am an incredibly hard worker and I love solving problems. I cannot imagine waiting around for the “perfect time” to do anything. Do I get nervous? Absolutely I do. But the payoff of figuring something out when the path is not exactly outlined is insanely rewarding.
The biggest risk I have ever taken was bringing my manufacturing in house… in 2020, two months before the Covid pandemic. The entirety of the jewelry district in NYC was shut down for months. Many people I worked with in years past closed their doors permanently as a result of this shut down. Had I not moved my production in-house when I did, I may not still be in business today. My team was small, and we were able to work safely at a distance and for this I am incredibly grateful for all that has come since then. The gain in doing so was also one of the most rewarding and fulfilling of my career.
Jane, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
What advice do you have for managing a team?
I think one of the most important aspects of managing a team is ensuring that each team member understands your vision. The big payoff of the aforementioned struggle is building this incredible, small but mighty all female team. I have had the pleasure of watching the team evolve and am so proud of where we are today. Each member has her role to make this JP dream possible. Each understands the work I have put in over the past 24 years to establish this brand and share my vision. I feel incredibly grateful for the community here at JP Jewelry and in Charleston in general. I have so many entrepreneurial friends and a strong support system of local females here. I love my Charleston studio and am so at-home here!.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Where do I begin? In 2012, with a 6-month-old and an 18-month-old, I went to the ER for bad headaches, and ended up having a brain tumor and subsequent cardiomyopathy. I had emergency surgery to have a shunt put in my brain to relieve pressure and was intubated and completely out of it for days. Once stable I was helicoptered to MUSC where I had surgery to remove the tumor. I spent a few weeks there recovering and was released. Unfortunately, during the trauma, my vision was impaired (which was luckily mostly distance related) and I was left with double vision in my right eye. I was told that it would go away, but after a year, it did not and I was cleared to have surgery at Duke to attempt to fix it. It took 2 surgeries 6 months apart and not driving for a year and a half to get my vision repaired enough to fully get my freedom back. All this to say, I was back at work within a month of the initial surgery. While I wish I had taken it a little easier, I was so determined to get back to normal that I just pushed through frustration and my vision issues and got back to creating beautiful jewelry.
I went 10 years without issue, but this past year, I was having bad headaches again. An MRI showed that my brain was no longer able to drain fluid, so it was building up and causing pressure. I was SO deflated to hear that another surgery was in order, and I was much more terrified this time as I was aware of when it would be and what it involved, which was not the case the previous time. I had so much anxiety around the surgery but did it this past September. Recovery was more challenging than I thought, but I have honestly not felt better in a really long time. I don’t think I knew the pain I was in and the effect it was having on me daily. But I feel so amazing now and for that I am grateful. I have some professional resilience stories as well, but I will stop here. Whether you are a 1 woman show or a CEO of a publicly traded company, if your health is not intact, you are struggling. How you come out on the other side says a lot about your resilience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JanePopeJewelry.com
- Instagram: @JanePopeJewelry
- Other: [email protected] Jane Pope Jewelry