My name is Jamila, and I am an artist and entrepreneur learning everyday what it means to be in business and still keep the creative dream alive and growing.
This blog is intended to be both an exploration and a guide.
Over the years I’ve wondered why I only got about 3 hours of business instruction in my 4 year art school experience when so much of actually LIVING as an artist of any kind requires that you navigate the waters of business- which can be very choppy at times. Add some headstrong and stubborn Taurean tendencies and you’ve got a recipe for learning everything the hard way!
I began my business 11:11 enterprises 7 years ago in Brooklyn, NY. I was waiting tables on the Upper West Side and convinced that I would soon rise to stardom as a handbag designer and my accessories empire would just fall into place. I thought it would just happen or that someone else would step in and do the dirty work. I had no concept of what running a business actually meant. I got lucky early on – Urban Outfitters became one of my first accounts which I filled out of my tiny room in our charming little dump of an apt on the corner of Bedford and Metropolitan in Williamsburg. My room was so small I had to fold up my bed to sit at my desk! That was a challenge but nothing compared to what lay ahead.
After New York I moved to North Carolina, lived with the parents for a year, got out of debt and then made my way out to Los Angeles in 2006. I thought for sure once I was back in a big city that things would just blow up for me. I still had no idea.
Lately however it’s been a lot more up than down- which proves that this economy can be what you make it! I have taken the market downturn as a personal challenge to just get smarter, more focused and more creative about how I do business. It’s a real journey we’re all on and I look fwd to sharing it with you now as we take this business to the next level. I hope that my story helps you to know that your artistic and entrepreneurial dreams are possible too. Lets do this together! 2010 is our year!