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

Jaylen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I started my business due to not being able to find a good job at the time. I’ve always had the dream to have a business, but that just pushed me even more to go ahead and start it. If I would have started it sooner, I honestly don’t think it would have lasted this long due to the mindset I had at the time. Although I wouldn’t have started it sooner, I definitely wish I would have started it later. I say this because I don’t feel like I rushed into it, but I do feel as though I didn’t educate myself well enough on the ins and outs of being an entrepreneur. All I had gotten was my LLC not knowing it was way more to having a business than just a LLC. Most importantly, you have to have the capital. From day 1, every single thing — inventory, website, traveling, photoshoots, etc. — was paid for using my own personal money. Although I know I won’t see instant gratification, it’s different when you’re using your personal money not knowing if you will get the profit that you truly desire. Now that I understand these things completely, I have taken the time to just give it a break and truly look into different funding opportunities so I won’t have to take as many losses. Not only am I looking into funding options, I am also educating myself on being a business owner. Everyday won’t be a good day and I am learning to be okay with that. I’ve always had thin patience so I am learning/ have learned to just be patient with myself and understand that everything will happen when it is supposed to. I would definitely say I kind of rushed into doing things being that I needed extra income to come through at the time.

Jaylen, 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?

I am from a small city called Albany, Ga. I am 23 years old and I started my business a couple of months after I turned 21. As stated before, I started my business due to not being able to find a good job at the time. I initially wanted to be a stylist, but that’s not something I actually stuck with. I have a women’s boutique at the moment. I plan to eventually venture out into my men and women custom clothing. What set me apart from others is that I don’t mind helping someone. I know I do not know it all when it comes to being an entrepreneur, but I do feel as though I know enough to help someone not make the same mistakes I did. I’ve experienced many trails and errors. I’ve experienced the letdowns when it comes to having a business. I’ve experienced not having the motivation to keep moving forward. The fact I did continue to move forward is what makes me most proud. What I would like for everyone to know is my brand is much bigger than me. It signifies the month and year that I lost both of my parents. It holds a lot of value to me and is near and dear to my heart. I refuse to ever give up on my business.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The way I built my social media audience would definitely have to be my photoshoots. Believe it or not, my photoshoots have played a huge role in growing my audience. Initially when I started off, I wasn’t getting the attention/audience I desired. I started brainstorming and thinking of different ways to market my product better. After carefully looking at the pros and cons of each strategy I tried, I was able to come up something that actually worked. My main advice would be to just find what works for you. Try out different options to see which one would actually get you your desired results.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I do not manufacture my own products… yet. I did have to find a vendor. When I first started out, I believe I spent about $400 on different items and sizes with the same vendor. I didn’t know anything about sampling the product before you actually sell it. I was so disappointed because I really wanted to sell those particular items, but it didn’t go as planned and it was a waste of money. That’s when I started looking into different vendors. I started ordering the same items from different vendors to see which vendor was actually true to size. Again, it’s all about trial and error. You definitely have to spend the money to make money. You have to take the time to test out different vendors to see who and what works for you. I actually have about 3 vendors that I order from consistently due to the quality of the items.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopeleven8.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/_eleven8