"Women will come in here and they'll come in on their lunch break and say they just Need a minute. They needed a minute to themselves before they pick up the kids or before they go back to work. They just needed a little retail therapy. Luckily, I get to provide that for them, which is rewarding for me too." - ashley nowacki
It's a risk that I took and some days are harder than others, but I don't regret it at all. I love it. I think the biggest reward has been doing this with my family. My husband is also an entrepreneur and he has had my back from day one. The store is named after my eight-year-old daughter and she thinks it's the coolest thing ever. Seeing her even tell her little friends or tell her teachers about it and be proud of me is amazing.
And how impactful do you think this process has been for your daughter? To see her mom succeed at something like starting a business. I think it's been really impactful to her. I think she is very proud of me. I think she has a confidence about her where she doesn't feel like there's anything she can't do. She is invincible in her own mind. I like to think that some of that came from me and showing her that you can do the things you want if you work for it. There's nothing that you can't do if you work hard and you can see that confidence in her now. It's just really something and it's so fun to watch.
Fashion and shopping have so many different niches. How did you settle on women's clothing as the base of Jade + Jasper? I think you have to be a shopaholic at heart to do this, right? I get to shop and I get to shop for others. Then, there is just something about that connection with women that come in here. We just have a lot of fun. Like on Saturday, my store was buzzing, we had music going and there was just something fun about that. It's a great atmosphere. I think part of it is that there is a lot of pressure on women these days, right? You're a mom, you're working hard, you have to remember everything, you have to plan birthday parties, plan vacations, grocery shop, meal plan, work out and do all these things. There has to be an outlet for that because otherwise women get burnt out. Women will come in here and they'll come in on their lunch break and say they just need a minute. They needed a minute to themselves before they pick up the kids or before they go back to work. They just needed a little retail therapy. Luckily, I get to provide that
for them, which is rewarding for me too. Sometimes, you just need something for yourself and if it's just coming in and looking at pretty things, then so be it.
What sort of advice would you give your former self before this whole journey began? That's a really good question. I need to remind myself of this every day, but just to give myself grace. I'm very hard on myself and I think we're all our own worst critics. I wake up every day thinking about what I can do better. Figuring out what I need to do to change. That can be taxing. I think to give myself grace would be the thing I would tell myself. Also, to just enjoy it. This last year has been an absolute blur with everything that has happened. At times, it seems like we needed things to speed up and we wanted to fast forward through it. Then there were times where things were moving a little too fast. I feel like I've taken little mental pictures throughout the journey. However, I need to take time to relax and actually enjoy the journey too.
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