Today we’d like to introduce you to JOIANA sisters or Ana, Melissa and Mariela Franco
Hi, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Joiana Jewelry started in 2017 by Ana Franco (the oldest of the three JOIANA sisters) as a hobby. I started selling earrings to family and friends basically as a side business and hobby. Jewelry style and fashion was very different back then and at that time statement earrings were much in style at that moment. I started to build a client list and word of mouth was helping me a lot back then. I opened my Instagram Business account and Facebook site to promote my jewelry but it wasn’t anything as it is today. I didn’t take the time to take proper and professional pictures and didn’t know how to promote it as well mainly because Instagram was still in the early stages and it wasn’t used for business purposes as much. Time passed by and I started to build a presence on Instagram but my clients were mainly from Tijuana and South San Diego. Most of my sales were from friends and family and some clients at the showroom where I had my jewelry.
At the end of 2019, I decided to ask my two sisters, Melissa and Mariela if they wanted to join me and help me with the business. At that time everything was very informal and we just started playing with pictures and promoting the business with Instagram and Facebook. It was at that time when we decided to take the business online. We launched our online shop with the intention of expanding our clientele to the whole US and Mexico and also to have a more organized inventory. At the beginning of 2020, COVID hit and sales stopped completely for a moment. It was an uncertain time for everyone and jewelry and fashion wasn’t essential or needed at that time. We were very scared of what would happen to our business. That’s when we decided to change it up a little and adapt to the situation we were living in and launch a new product line aside from jewelry which was hair accessories. We were focusing our efforts on online sales because of the pandemic and social distancing and consequently started reaching more people around the United States and Mexico. We were also focusing on building an online presence through our social media platforms and built a community of people.
It was at the end of last year when we as sisters decided to formalize our partnership and now JOIANA is a three sister owned business and we are very proud of it. We love working together and come up with our own ideas and bring them to life. To see our business grow and our clients love our product is our biggest satisfaction.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It for sure has not been a smooth road. We would say COVID has been one of our biggest challenges because we had to figure out what we had to do to survive as a business. Come up with ideas of new products that were needed at that time without compromising what we love the most which is jewelry.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We started JOIANA because we are passionate about jewelry and fashion. It is something we enjoy and love doing. We started JOIANA because we loved the idea of selling high quality jewelry at affordable prices. We love creating and designing new products and hearing our customers love it is our biggest reward. We make a great team because each of us is able to develop our entrepreneurial side and do what we love. I believe customer service is key when having a business and I believe that is one of many assets that sets us apart from others. We love our customers and always try to give them the best experience while shopping with us. We also always stay true to ourselves and take everything as a learning opportunity. Our biggest inspiration has been hearing other success stories of small businesses and entrepreneurs who have gone above and beyond while starting with very little.
What makes you happy?
Being able to work together as sisters has been a blessing. It has strengthened our bond as sisters. Hearing each of our ideas and input that we have for the business and how we all care about it makes us really happy.
Contact Info:
- Email: joianajewelry@gmail.com
- Website: www.joianajewelry.shop
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/joianajewelry
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/joianajewelry
Image Credits
Ivanna Bañales
