Luxurious, Exclusive, & Diverse

The world of entrepreneurship can be very challenging and intense during current times due to social media and other external factors that go into modern business ownership. But throughout all of the competition ODU alumni Jernisha Patterson has figured out the strategic methods for success with her own business J Glam Beauty. Patterson majored in Business marketing and Minored in Fashion Merchandising while she attended Old Dominion University.

The cutting edge of both programs shaped the marketing shark that works with celebrity clients today.

So, I asked Jernisha outside of the classroom how being an ODU monarch prepared her for life after graduation. “When I look back, I realize that my time and experience at ODU was invaluable in the development and growth of my brand, JGlam Beauty. The diversity of the student population and variety of available course offerings gave me the opportunity to develop and sharpen skills within my desired field”.

Patterson also mentions the social media marketing course where the fundamentals of marketing is taught and how to navigate through social media platforms with a different lens. “One of my favorite courses at ODU, Social Media Marketing left me with tools that I still employ to this day. The course focused on practices that can be used to garner and maintain potential customer’s interest. Prior to this course, when I came up with product concepts and subsequently created content for my social media platforms, I wasn’t aware of the importance of targeted marketing practices”. 

“ In general, I believe that college better equips you to make the decisions that “real life” brings – whether it be doing something you do not feel like doing, choosing to develop and cultivate a relationship, or simply navigating newfound adult freedoms”.

Focus and discipline equates to ultimate success; to stir away from the distractions Jernisha speaks on the importance of planning and how influential it can be for a business. “ The world is full of distractions – in order to stay focused I’ve found that using Sunday as a planning day helps set the tone for the week. I have visual and written reminders of my goals around my room and work area that serve as constant motivation to keep going. Most importantly, I try to focus on getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night, actively maintain a to-do list, and have a cup of my favorite coffee every morning”.

Career opportunities, helping others, and enhancing creativity skills were some of the advantages that gave Jernisha the motivation to give the beauty industry a shot. Another important key topic that was discussed was networking. “Networking is the key to success in any industry – within my business, I learned early on where to focus my networking efforts to ensure maximum return. Since the pandemic began, I have focused on leveraging social media to identify influencers within the beauty industry. Cultivating relationships with these influencers and offering them a quality product has led to endorsements and in turn increased sales”.

Sometimes it takes a village for a vision to come to life and this is another factor that went into JGlam. “ The greatest lesson I have learned from being a business owner thus far is that it is impossible to build a successful business by yourself – my vendors, mentors, and peers all play critical roles in my individual success and the success of JGlam”.

There are a plethora of students on campus who would want to put their entrepreneurship knowledge to the test once their time at ODU ends. These are some of the viewpoints that Jernisha Patterson wanted to leave the students with. “ My advice for future ODU graduates who plan to pursue entrepreneurship after graduation would be to trust the process. Entrepreneurship is not one size fits all and it doesn’t look the same for every person. Networking is extremely important, and people often fail to network with a purpose or goal in mind – keep your goal at the forefront when identifying events or people to network with.

“Everybody’s path to entrepreneurship is not the same – do your research, take risks, and embrace the fact that failure is a part of the process”.

“My brand has worked with several celebrities in the past and I can’t wait for everyone to see who will be the face for J Glam next! I’ve been extremely busy working on bringing my lip gloss collection to life which should release in the spring of 2021. The packaging is to die for and I can promise it will leave you breathless! J Glam currently has a total of twelve highlighters which practically makes your cheekbones visible from outer space, six lashes suitable for all eye shapes, & tweezers”.

Website: Www.jglambeauty.com

Instagram, Twitter , & Facebook: @jglamllc