Tallahassee’s Christian Jenkins is a state employee, single mother and entrepreneur.
Jenkins and her toddler turned critically ailing in late 2019 with what she believes was COVID-19. No one knew what it could possibly be on the time — in late 2019 — however all of the signs add up.
Over the previous 18 months, she began two part-time companies devoted to creating individuals really feel more healthy. Jenkins mentioned she obtained it first in November 2019 after which handed it to her then two-year-old daughter Alani.
“I self-medicated for 4 to 5 days. Nothing was working. By that fifth or sixth day, my daughter ended up getting sick,” Jenkins mentioned. “And on her second day of getting sick, I took her to the hospital as a result of she had an especially excessive fever.”
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The hospital checked them each for strep and the flu virus, which Jenkins mentioned got here again adverse. “They mentioned that it was a abdomen bug, nevertheless it wasn’t a abdomen bug,” Jenkins mentioned. “This was worse.”
She mentioned they had been sick for November, December and practically all of January 2020 with excessive fevers, fatigue, chills, physique aches and a extreme cough. Nothing the hospital did or their main physician tried made any enchancment of their signs.
“It was heartbreaking as a result of for one, she was so younger,” she mentioned. “For 2, no one may inform us what was unsuitable with us.”
Jenkins went again to work in January to her full-time job as a procurement officer for the Division of Corrections after taking off important quantities of time throughout that interval to take care of herself and her daughter.
However a statewide safer-at-home order issued in the beginning of April 2020 then required state employees to work remotely. Jenkins mentioned she began her first part-time enterprise at the moment.
AJ’s Blossom, named after her daughter, sells Irish sea moss gel. She was utilizing the gel as a part of a weight-loss journey and her pals had been consistently asking her for a few of her provide.
“So ultimately I used to be like ‘Properly, if I can promote it to my pals, then I can promote it out to others as effectively,’ ” Jenkins mentioned. “Simply the response I used to be getting from everybody made me need to open up a enterprise.”
However she didn’t perceive the sort of struggles she would have beginning a enterprise throughout a pandemic. She included AJ’s Blossom in late June 2020, after a delay as a result of pandemic.
Then she had points getting some provides for her AJ’s Blossom, reminiscent of alkaline water to transform the ocean moss right into a gel and sufficient mason jars to carry the gel. She additionally sells elderberry syrup and natural teas.
Jenkins mentioned she would spend hours at evening after ending her day job. “There have been some nights that I did not fall asleep till 2 or 3 within the morning,” she mentioned.
AJ’s Blossom is a brand new member of the Capitol Metropolis Chamber of Commerce, which promotes the inclusion of underrepresented voices within the Tallahassee enterprise group.
Jenkins determined to start out one other enterprise earlier this 12 months known as V Treats that sells vegan baked items and chilly pressed juices. She mentioned she noticed a marketplace for her new enterprise as a result of lots of her clients had well being points and had been making an attempt to cease consuming sweets.
Regardless of the challenges she has confronted getting provides for AJ’s Blossom, Jenkins mentioned that enterprise is doing effectively. She’s doing plenty of pop up retailers the place she will be able to showcase her merchandise to most people.
However she mentioned V Treats could possibly be doing higher, which she attributed to this summer time’s dramatic rise in COVID-19 circumstances and deaths, which made it tougher to attach with members of the group.
“So proper now we try to refill on stock, attempt to get forward of the ball recreation so if there’s issues that I do know that I will have to go forward and buy the objects,” she mentioned. “Additionally, whereas the world is open once more or it hasn’t shut down, to attempt to take the chance to achieve out to as many individuals as potential in order that I can construct that clientele.”
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