We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jermacia Gardner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jermacia , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I feel like to be successful you have to have a clear vision on where you’re going and then move in that direction. You have to motivate yourself even when you don’t feel motivated and show up even when you think no one’s watching. Constantly growing in your craft. Often times, success by which the way you take off can take you by surprise and it can even be in an area that you didn’t even see coming. When this happens it’s so important to double down on what your audience is showing you that they want from you because after all they are your clients. Showing gratitude for every opportunity is a most. The better you show up and produce the more success will come your way.

Jermacia , 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?

My name is Jermacia and I’m an Artist. I like to think I am artist in every since of the word. I’m a music artist and a Jewelry designer. The funny story is that I had no intention on becoming either. It all happen based off of people’s response. For the music it was one night at an open Mic that changed everything. For the jewelry business it was one day just wearing my own D.I.Y designs and both times people loved what they saw/heard, so I believed that this was my calling.

With jewelry things have been really fun and for the most part relaxing. I’ve always felt jewelry was meditative. It feels so good to do things that you love and it feels even better to see others enjoying them. I’ve had many points in my career that I would deem successful from thousands of pieces sold to going from a table on the streets to a booth in the mall. I believe that the support from people all around world has shown a genuine love for my creations.

With the music it’s always been about therapy and growth. Relating to people with my songs feels great but giving them a way to move forward feels even better. Sharing my redemption story at the end of my songs is important to me because I never want people to feel like there’s no way out. I want them to know that with God all things are possible especially healing.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

Currently I sell on Etsy, (I also have a website)

overall selling on Etsy has been a pretty decent experience. The set up is super easy and for handmade creatives it is a great platform to start out on. One of the pro’s of being on Etsy is that you can receive a lot of organic sales by just being on the platform. Many people come to Etsy for handmade or one of a kind pieces so they’re always being flooded with potential buyers. This was a great asset to my company.

A con of being on Etsy is their tax fees. You can spend up to 10% of profits in on taxes and fees. This can turn out to be a lot of money especially in the long run. Another con is that you don’t have an option to collect emails. So if you ever have a sale there’s not many ways your can contact your clients to let them know.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Being original , working hard and giving.  With so much competition in the jewelry industry it was really important for me to stand out in my own lane. I designed a lot of my creations in a freestyle form. Allowing the flow to just happen and many of them became best sellers. When I first I started my business I would always give away free gifts and I actually really enjoyed doing it. To me it made shopping with me more special because you always received more than what you expected. I also believe in giving people good quality work. I try my best to master all my designs so people can get my best work. I really want people to look and feel good when wearing my creations. With that being said I do my best to model my brand as best as possible, making everything with love.

Contact Info:

• Website: Jermaciagdesigns.Etsy.com
• Instagram: Jermaciagardnerdesigns & Jermaciagardner
• Youtube: @divineinsightsqueen