Teacher turns sewing skill into bag-making business

High school teacher Asheka Headley was invited to an event and wanted to find the perfect purse to complement the shoes she planned to wear.

Frustrated with going to stores and finding nothing, she decided to use the clothing and textile skills she learned in school to make the accessory herself. Pleased with her handiwork, Headley attended the event where she was showered with compliments. A few weeks later, after receiving numerous requests to "make one like that for me", she was encouraged to start making purses as a business. That was in 2016.

Headley told JIS News that at the time becoming an entrepreneur was far from her mind, as she had her eyes fixed on advancing in the teaching profession. However, she decided to take a chance and launch her small business, 'Ayondae's Collection', offering a variety of beautifully made bags, totes and purses in various colours and fabrics and for various purposes.

With no experience in business, Headley, in 2017, turned to the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) for guidance.

"JBDC has played an integral role in the continuation of my business because there is so much that a regular person would not have been exposed to had it not been for the JBDC. They are one of the reasons why the business is alive today," she said.

Using her creativity, training, and research to construct each item from scratch, Headley, who calls herself "a needle and thread dictator", soon expanded her business beyond bags and purses to offer a variety of hand-made items for the home, office and gift-giving. These include home accessories such as cushions, curtains and sheet sets. She also provides embroidery services and T-shirt printing, among other offerings.

Headley, who operates out of her home and has a client base of about 200 persons, advertises through social media. On a typical day, the mother of one wakes at 4 a.m., makes breakfast for her son, works out and schedules her social media posts before sitting at the sewing machine from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. But she is also not averse to working at night, as she said her creativity comes through much more as there is less distraction."

Six years on as an entrepreneur, Headley said that she has no regrets. She noted, however, that there have been challenges, particularly in the early stages of the business.

"There were so many times that I wanted to just sell the machines and go and do a [regular] 9 to 5 [job]," she said. But she said that the support from her family, friends, customers and the JBDC has enabled her to stay the course. Headley said that she often needed time to come up with an original design to satisfy an order.

"Persons who do not understand the creative DNA and the creative process will believe that it is something that I do not want to do. But everything comes with time. Something that will take me three weeks to design is going to take me about 30 to 40 minutes to construct," she said. There is also the issue of marketing and getting access to capital but she is constantly doing research to make her life easier. Headley expressed excitement about the future and is looking to expand her business islandwide.

While she does not believe there is one winning formula for having a successful business, she maintained that there are certain attributes that an entrepreneur must possess, including humility. Additionally, she said entrepreneurs must be open to feedback, exercise discipline and never wake up without a plan for the day.

Headley also encouraged young entrepreneurs to remember that it is not a get rich quick scheme.