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

Alright, Johntina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

So I’m going to tell you a little bit about all my businesses that I have first Jlashae Locs I started doing lots around 14 years ago after I got my hair locd I started doing family and friends here which then turned into a business. Jlashaecreations Handmade Crochet Designs got started by me teaching myself how to crochet after being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and trying to find ways to cope with depression and anxiety. I found that I really like crochet and I really like creating new things so I decided to take my crochet designs to a whole nother level.
Royal Crown Hairgrowth Products started by me having dry brittle locks and postpartum thinning after having my first son also with being diagnosed with hypothyroidism it takes a toll on your hair which makes it very dry and brittle and can break off easily so I came up with all natural ingredients to grow strengthen and all around keep your hair healthy.
Waisted By Jae find me trying to find new ways to cope with anxiety and depression soon as I post it my first set of waist beads I started getting orders back to that and I then decided to make it into a business.
EntrepreneurHER Merch I love to see women doing good and I love the up with women I love female bosses I love women who own their own business and work for themselves so I decided to make a t-shirt that represents us women who are female bosses who run our own business while being mothers wifes and more.

Johntina, 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?

Hello my name is Johntina Simmons I go by Jlashae. As a child I always been a creator I’ve always found ways to decorate recreate revamp clothes and other things. I’ve always loved the dance and I’ve always loved to be in the spotlight put it on the show showcasing my talents. I always knew I was going to be that girl but I just didn’t know what would take me there after having my first child I start to find myself and start to find what I really wanted to do and that was to create..be a creative..the creator. I’m now a lot tissue a crochet artist I handcraft with love all natural ingredients hair care products I make sensual waste beads and I represent us female bosses.

As a growing business I have had to write my wrongs and fix my mistakes with products and clients as any business will go through I accept constructive criticism because I want to be better and do better in everything that I do.

I’m different from others because I’m me I was special kind of person that I know everybody think that about themselves but a lot of things I do people don’t think about or even put into thought I’ve always knew I was special.

I’m most proud of showing my three boys how to hustle how to work how to get on your own business wise how to run a business have to keep a business up and running I want them to take as much from me as possible so that when they get older they will have that hair strong mentality as well.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

The way I basically started my businesses was when I got my hair locd up probably about a year or so later I started doing friends and family hair and people at school build my clientele up over the years. Jlashaecreations got started by me being diagnosed with hypothyroidism and trying to find a way to cope with anxiety and depression so I taught myself how to crochet and eventually got better and better and learn more stitches and learn more ways to make things and so I started to sell items and then people started requesting items so I practice and work hard and brighten my craft until it was a whole business.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

The way I built my audience on social media is by posting a lot using hashtags I post on all my social media handles more than one post more than one time a day until I started accumulating more followers more subscribers. And I would say if you just starting out just remember don’t give up just keep on promoting your business promoting your brand and I promise you they’re going to catch on just never give up just stay posted about your business describe your product or what your business is about you can also make flyers and direct message them or DM them to people as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Jlashaecreationscrochet.com
• Instagram: Jlashaecreations
• Facebook: Johntina Jlashaecreations Simmons
• Youtube: Jlashaecreations
• Other: TikTok: Jlashaecreation