We recently connected with Jessica Walker-Rios and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

The term “successful” I think to most people means simply you make a lot of money. This never really resonated with me, so I have a different take. I have found through my 32 years on this Earth, that when I follow my highest excitement, success is just an inevitable outcome. For example, collecting fossils, minerals, and artifacts was an excitement of mine. I found a way to collect more, all while providing other people with incredible pieces to add to their collection! It was an instant “success”, because it was effortless and enjoyable to me. It snowballed into the company I run today, which I never could have imagined happening back when I started a little over a year ago. To have no insistence on an outcome is a huge factor in getting that “success” result when following your highest excitement. I purely did it because it felt good, and here I am today- a successful business owner- because of that!

Jessica, 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?

River Walkers Minerals sources the highest quality, most unique and rare minerals, fossils, and artifacts possible. I have created wonderful connections with miners and mine owners all over the world who help provide me the incredible pieces I sell! I hand select each and every piece, insuring they hold up to my high standards.
As a child, I was always very interested in geology, archaeology, and paleontology. My most influential event in my childhood was when my family and I took an RV out west for a summer. We were lucky enough to work with scientists out in the field who were digging up dinosaur bones. I happened to find a T-Rex tooth- which apparently was the first one ever found in the area! I ended up being published in their scientific journal which, as a 9 year old, was REALLY cool.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My career of being a mineral dealer started out as me simply being a collector. I had always collected crystals and fossils throughout childhood, and somewhere along the way I lost touch with it all. During quarantine in 2020, my sister-in-law got into crystal collecting and it made that old spark come back! I began collecting again and one day I decided I wanted to sell too. I started with one flat of fluorite from Yaogangxian, China. This is a very popular and sought-after locale and I felt in my heart I would do well- either selling out or having some beautiful fluorites to keep for myself! Well, I quickly sold out after they arrived, and I learned fast that by carefully selecting the aesthetic pieces, they end up selling themselves. I went from being a stay-at-home mom and struggling with only 1 income from my husband, to having two incomes, owning a thriving business, and still being able to stay home with my son!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I think for a lot of us, COVID forced us to pivot in life. Before quarantine, I was an artist working at a gallery. I lived and breathed art, and made money from my own paintings. However; during quarantine I got pregnant with my second son. I wasn’t able to work at the gallery either because everything was shut down. Once my son arrived, I no longer had the free time (or energy) to paint. For a while I was on autopilot mode- completely focused on caring for my newborn, as well as my firstborn son who was 5 at the time, and just overall surviving the pandemic and newborn stage. I completely lost interest in making art, and pivoted back into my love for crystals and fossils. I began collecting again, and eventually, started selling.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RiverWalkersMinerals.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/mineral.mami
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092466430093&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
River Walkers Minerals