By Alisa Lashley

IN this generation the word “empowered” is defined through varying gestures. Whether it be the likes of individuals, flipping a cheque and becoming their own bosses or aiding others with the tools to do so, it is without a doubt that today’s young women have transcended the ancient norm and are becoming more innovative given the wide array of women-owned small businesses that are emerging every day.

Hailing from the minning town of Linden, one such young woman is 22-year-old Denacia Angelique Jordan, who is the owner Trendy styles _592 and the founder of the “Chic in Business” initiative. After completing her secondary education, Denacia commenced working with her aunt, who owns a variety store in Linden. After a while, she sought employment elsewhere and became a teller at Republic Bank’s Linden branch, where she would learn more about online shopping, how to use a Visa card and money management skills- all tools that would later aid her in the development of her business.

A leap of faith
Growing up, Denacia expressed that she had always had a knack for business and after two years of working at the bank, she was later motivated to venture into the world of entrepreneurship.
‘As a single parent, I decided to launch my business idea in January of this year, two months before the current pandemic. After creating my business pages and working towards a smooth launch, I can vividly remember asking family and friends to share my page via their social media platforms as a means of marketing my business, but some met me with only words of discouragement. For a moment, I was really discouraged and I wanted to cancel this venture until things returned to normalcy. But I remembered that my mom would always say it’s better to try and fail than fail to try, so I took the leap of faith and in this has been six months of starting trendy_styles592, I honestly don’t regret the decision I made,” she articulated.

The road to success
Denacia described the first few months of being in business as a rocky road because of the few setbacks she endured during that period. “ I had experienced a few challenges especially when it came to clearing goods from shipping companies I previously worked with. The cost to clear goods was often times high and I would have to use my personal funds to clear items. After a while, I gained better knowledge and learnt new business tactics that help me in managing my business , in the best way I can,” she said.

Denacia futher expressed that now, she spends most of her time managing her business and taking care of her son, all while making sure she is doing all that is necessary to make her brand bigger and better. She moved from just preordering clothing to footwear, handbags, swimwear, lingerie, electronics, and cosmestics. “I also started to work on my brand content, better packaging and better customer services. I recently revamped my entire brand and I have been working on a few other business tactics so as to continue to offer my customers fashionable clothing for an affordable price but definitely products of unbelievable quality. I must say I’m still not where I desire to be, but I trust God that one day I will be . However, my desire for the future is to move from being an online based store to having an actual boutique,” the entrepreneur said.

Lending a helping hand
In July of this year, the young entrepreneur launched her “Chic in Business” Initiative that is geared towards empowering and helping fellow women in business and women looking to start up a line of business. The initiative seeks to help these women to better manage their businesses and to not make the same mistakes she made when she first began . “For entrepreneurs like myself that may have started a business but lack sufficient information to properly manage and market their brands, I am using this initiative as a means of helping them. Many times persons may have a business idea in mind but lack the necessary resources to get it up and running. The initiative offers a package that supplies entrepreneurs information on vendors, shipping companies, marketing skills, finance management, amongst other necessities every business owner/potential owner needs,” she posited . Ju Chic, Petite_Piecesgy , Bumpa’s Vintage Boutique and GALOREZ are among several business that were notably launched and /or relaunched under the aforementioned initiative.

In advising upcoming entrepreneurs Denacia noted that from her own experience research is key. She implored them to take their time and to go through all the blue prints; to have a plan and to work very hard towards it while, remembering that “dedication and determination are important and always remember that no matter how saturated the market is, one person can’t supply everyone and your business will always be unique because it embodies you.”