We were lucky to catch up with Jazmine Kennedy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jazmine , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

A huge risk I took was stepping out on faith and pursuing entrepreneurship full-time. I launched my online boutique XIXV (Eleven-Fifteen) at the end of 2021. Naturally, I was nervous because I had a full-time job that provided a stable source of income. I told myself if this is something you truly want to do then you have to take a chance on yourself.

Fear infiltrated my mind and I kept thinking what if I fail? What if no one supports me or my brand? On October 10, 2021, I took the leap and my brand and vision came to life. When I made more money selling inventory than I did working a full week at my job, I knew I was on the right path. I knew I had made the best decision for my life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name Jazmine Kennedy. I am a fashion, beauty and lifestyle influencer located in Charlotte, NC. I am also a mom and business owner of an online boutique called Eleven-Fifteen. My mission is to inspire and motivate people through relatable everyday content.

I’ve always had a love for all things fashion. My childhood dream was to become a model and a fashion designer but I was told I was too short and I could not draw to create clothing. I grew up an only child. Throughout childhood and my teen years, I loved going through my clothes and my mother’s closet to create various looks and outfits. This continued into adulthood and oftentimes my friends and family will Facetime me for outfit inspiration and styling advice.

The dream of starting my online boutique came to me in 2018. At that time I had a full-time position as a veterinarian assistant. I didn’t feel fulfilled working in this field but it provided stability so I put my dream aside. When I became a mother in 2020, I was completely burnt out from working in the veterinary world. Deep down I also knew it was not something I wanted to do or was destined to be. During this time I was growing consistently on social media. I was showcasing daily fashion inspos. It was then that I reflected back to my dream of an online boutique. I knew that in order to pursue it, it would mean taking a risk on myself and trusting that God would guide me.

I am most proud of taking the risk to turn a childhood dream into reality. I am the model for my boutique. Although I don’t design the clothing, I hand pick and source out every single item. It is a laborious undertaking but I love the process. I know my younger self would be so proud of the woman I am becoming.

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

At the beginning of 2024 I hosted my first event. Initially, I planned to host this event in 2021, but allowed fear hold me back. This year when I finally decided to move forward, the planning and preparation were going exceptionally well. Ticket sales were thriving and the amount of support I received from social media was astounding. I was beyond excited that one of my long-term goals was coming into fruition.

The morning of the event everything seemed to fall apart. It felt like everything that could go wrong did, from the setup, to food preparation to timing. Additionally, I received numerous emails from attendees stating they were no longer able to attend due to conflicting schedules and unforeseen circumstances. I became extremely overwhelmed and considered cancelling. But then, I heard a voice say “Pivot” . I recognized this voice as God, reminding me to not quit just pivot. I realized that if this is something I wanted to do I needed to learn to not quit when things get rough. I devised a new plan and direction to ensure the event’s success. My close friends and family offered their time and services to assist with setup and decor. I created personalized thank you bags for the guest and used the extras as additional giveaways and prizes for those who couldn’t attend. My plan for this event was to be a small, intimate, and a personable gathering and it turned out to be just that. To my surprise, my guest said they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and everything turned out great. This experience taught me that when things don’t go as planned, we must always try to pivot. Never let your circumstances defeat you; continue to push forward.

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

I started creating content on social media in 2020. At the end of the same year, Instagram introduced its new feature of reels. I decided to give it a try and start posting more consistently. At first I would share outfit inspirations and clothing hauls. During this time a lot of creators were going viral from their reels by doing different transitions. I posted a reel of myself walking showcasing my outfit of the day which went viral. I started garnering a lot of views, comments and followers from this one reel. I decided to post the same type of reel of myself walking to see if the same thing would occur and to my surprise it did. I was beyond thrilled! I had finally found my “thing” on social media. Not only was I doing something that I loved but my audience enjoyed and wanted to see from me. I received tons of comments and questions about the outfits I wore and that is when I decided I wanted to launch a boutique and use the same format to showcase my inventory. This method has worked over the past few years and has been the best form of content for me.

My advice to anyone just starting out on social media is to create content that is authentic to you. Don’t worry about current trends or what is popular. Create content around what you are passionate about. You are your own niche. Your audience will find you and resonate with what you post. Lastly, just be consistent, set small goals and work toward them. Each one is a win!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.xixvboutique.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinupcouturee/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@_JazmineJanae

Image Credits

Photos taken by personal photographer Chris.
Instagram account: @lemarvisualz