We were lucky to catch up with Jasmine Chambers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jasmine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

When it comes to analyzing my own childhood, I like to look at it in the context of what I would or would not want to repeat now while raising my own kids. My parents did a fabulous job allowing my siblings and me to be individuals rather than conformists; “fitting in” was never the goal for us. This implicitly instilled a core belief that I could accomplish whatever I set my heart to regardless of what others said or expected. I remember my dad telling me, “If you say you can, you can. If you say you can’t, you’re right.” Basically, it is up to you to choose your mindset and whether you are going to excel. It was especially remarkable that my parents were able to give that gift to us because of the pressures put on them by the community we belonged to. This intrinsic sense of identity and purpose went a long way in helping me through tough times and to get over hurdles that could have otherwise been detrimental to my growth as a person. Especially as a woman leader in a historically male-dominated industry, I have found a need to develop an even greater sense of self and I am grateful for the jumpstart!

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?

At Jasper, we believe anything is possible! Jasper is a construction company that collaborates with homeowners and business owners to discover their dreams and make them tangible. We have developed a signature process to deliver each project as a one-of-a-kind masterpiece and to ease all the typical pain points of the building experience. Our objective is that our clients enjoy the process and rest at ease knowing that Jasper has every detail covered. Our team at Jasper shows up to be E.P.I.C.. These are the core values that we live by everyday – Excellence, Integrity, People, Communication. As we grow, we are intentional about maintaining these core values in our everyday decisions. We agree with Aristotle that, “Excellence is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution.”

Jed and I decided to go into this business venture together when I was finishing my business degree at Lipscomb University. We have always made an effective team and enjoyed adventures together, so it just seemed right. My business knowledge and management experience coupled with Jed’s likeable personality and expertise in the trade make us a dynamic duo! And we were ready for the challenge.

Jed’s years of experience in the construction industry began when he was a kid tagging alongside his grandfather who owned and operated a successful plumbing company. Then, as a teenager, he spent time studying under mentors including a skilled electrician, and an internship that involved building an enormous luxury home in Connecticut. Here he was immediately immersed into the highest level of quality artisanship learning from true masters. He loves to tell the story of when he learned that “pretty good” is quite different from “perfect” when it comes to a cut and how it fits. Since then, his experience includes time where he ran his own residential renovation company and then worked for other companies where he gained proficiencies in the commercial construction world as well. Jed has always been great at making connections throughout his career which was key to us getting Jasper started in such a challenging time. His drive for excellence continues to be a motivating factor and a basis for how we train our team.

Jasper was born out of the belief that nobody should have to live a dreamless life. Construction is an amazing opportunity to create and bring visions into real life while building and transforming not only structures, but lives. We have the chance to build legacies and add incredible value to growing families and businesses. However, in this industry there seems to be such a stigma – and rightly so. There are so many ways corners are routinely cut and quality devalued. No wonder it is so hard to take pride in being “a construction worker” when time-honored building techniques are not applied, and “quality” is an overused word that holds no relevance. We are here to change the narrative.
Nothing could be more fulfilling to us than to close out a project and have made new life-long friends in the process!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There is quite an array of great leaders who inspire me, it would be difficult to name them all. Recently, one of my favorite influencers is Brene Brown. Her research is incredibly informative and insightful, illuminating the way to show up as the truest and most excellent version of oneself in any type of leadership position. Whether as a parent, friend, team leader, or teammate, I believe we can all benefit from her work. Podcasts and audiobooks are a game changer and accompany me whenever I am driving! I listen to and read the works of Simon Sinek, Tom and Lisa Bilyeu with the impact theory, Allison Maslan, Lisa Nichols and other transformational writers and speakers who lead by example. I also have personal and business mentors and role models whose advice and guidance are invaluable. It is important for me as a leader and learner to maintain a growth mindset, to persistently discover new and expansive ways of engaging in this ever-changing world, and to show up for my family and my team each day just a little bit more fully than the day before.
Building a team is much like parenting, immensely challenging yet equally rewarding. I always say I have two families that I am raising simultaneously – my four kids at home and my team at work. There are wins and losses, and we learn from both – there is no placing blame or punishment for mistakes – we just keep moving forward. Having a strong culture, and a shared vision and values is extremely important so that each team member is internally motivated to do their best, rather than needing external compulsion, rules, and excessive policies. Our goal is to be completely team managed which requires Jed and I to let go more than feels comfortable at times. (We have found that we are somewhat of control freaks but that is no way to inspire.) We want to equally lead by example and communicate that we believe in the team. It is amazing what people can accomplish when they believe in themselves and work together toward a shared goal.
Life is an infinite game, and we are here to play!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Jed and I knew each other as kids. We were both raised and homeschooled in the same organization in a tiny town in Northern Vermont. One summer, when I was seven and he was ten, we played together almost every day. We did not have toys, phones, or television; our play involved climbing trees, picking wild blackberries, building forts in the warm months and igloos in the winter. That year we especially enjoyed hanging out in a certain pine tree that was in the center of our huge yard. It was our “kingdom,” he was the prince, and I was his queen. That is where he first proposed marriage to me and naturally, I said “yes.” After all, we were besties, so why not? Later that evening I told my mom of the interaction, and she advised me that I was much too young to be making that kind of promise. She also relayed the story to Jed’s dad, who, as I am told, reproved him with an undeniable smirk and remark about waiting for the right time. That sweet summer expired, and this “proposal” was not at the forefront of our memories until we began dating about ten years later. We ended up falling in love, getting married, building a family and now an enterprise together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jasperbuilds.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasper.builds/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JasperIBuilds
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jasper-builds

Image Credits
Andrea Farmer Photography, Allie Chambers of Stocked Studio, Ruby and Peach Photo, Daniel Williams of d3w photo