Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Hernández.
Hi Jackie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Jackie Hernández. I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, by the age of 17, I moved to California by my parents’ decision, this decision was made after I had finished high school and was not accepted for public college. I wanted to study politics or become a lawyer. My parents didn’t have the money to put me in a private school, so that’s why they thought it would be best for me to move to CA with them and work hard for the “American dream.”
When I arrived to California, I immediately started working in a Mexican restaurant where my oldest sister was already working. I started as a “busboy,” cleaning tables, floors, restrooms and helping all the waitresses. Back then, my dream was to become a waitress myself because I saw how much money there were making in tips. I worked very hard to prove myself to the restaurant manager, and finally, after a while of me being a busboy, I became a waitress, and I ended up working as a waitress for some years.
Moving forward in my story, one day, my oldest sister, Tannia asked me to go with her to a makeup studio to take classes on “how to” apply makeup. To be honest, I was never really interested in makeup; actually, all my teen years, I was considered by my mom as a “tomboy.” I didn’t really want to go to these classes, but she insisted a lot that I felt like I had to do it more for her than for me.
We started taking these classes, and I was surprised at how much I was liking it; somehow this was becoming a passion!
It was so weird to me that I never liked makeup, and now I enjoying so much the makeup world that once I was done with the classes, I wanted to become a professional makeup artist, and I did; I got all the tools I needed and started to do makeup on people I knew and started getting clients.
At this point in my life, I already had my oldest daughter Aubrey, married to my husband Ruben, and about to have my second child; this is when I started asking myself, “What can I do from home to earn money?” I started working since I was 14 years old, so for me, it was very important to be somehow independent and at the same time be able to be with my kids, so I did a couple things to earn money like selling catalog jewelry.
The passion for makeup was so strong in me that one day, I had the desire to share what I had learned in that makeup studio with other woman but for FREE; I didn’t care that I had paid thousands of dollars for those classes, here I was gonna share it for free. Back then, around 2010/2012, YouTube was the new thing, people were uploading all kinds of “how to” videos to this video platform, so I got myself a very small camera a tripod and started recording myself from my restroom. I started making those so famous “makeup tutorials,” and I was LOVING IT!
I did these videos for some time; I am gonna say maybe for about a year or so, for me it had become my new favorite hobby.
One day someone asked me, “How much money are you making with YouTube?” when I heard that question, I was very confused because I had no idea that I was able to monetize my videos and make money with views, but it was in that specific moment that I realized I had the answer to the question that had been living in my mind for some time… “what can I do from home to make money?”. I decided in that moment that what had been my hobby for a while, I was gonna turn it into my full-time job! It was perfect, I could do all this from home and raise my girls at the same time.
I am not gonna lie; it wasn’t easy at the beginning because I had to be patient until I started to see any money coming in. It took me about 2 years until I was able to say, “OK, this is going somewhere”.
I continued posting videos often, and somehow not only the money was coming in but also, I was witnessing my channel grow fast! 100 subs, then 1000 to 10000, and it kept growing every day. It seemed that girls and woman were enjoying my tutorials.
After starting YouTube, I also started posting on Instagram and Facebook content makeup/lifestyle related and the snowball effect started happening on those platforms too. My outlets reached MILLIONS of people; today I have a cyber family over 5 million.
I kept doing all this with love and passion I was very constant that slowly I started getting noticed by brands, TV, magazines, etc. It truly became my full-time job.
Through the years, I’ve done so many things I never imagined; I became a very well-known and respected beauty/lifestyle guru in the Hispanic community, that opened so many amazing doors for me. In 2017 I launched my own self-founded makeup line named J’dez. I was the first Latina Influencer to achieve that, indeed Forbes and many other magazines did articles on me and my brand, and to be honest, I couldn’t believe it, it was like so many dreams were coming true.
I became an entrepreneur without even knowing, an inspiration for many women, and also an outlet for entertainment.
I was able to experience attending events like “Premios lo nuestro,” “Premios Juventud,” many red carpets and also got invited to speak at important events to the Latino community.
In 2018 the Hispanic Women’s Corporation a national organization for Latina leadership, awarded me its HWMC Latina Leadership Award for being an outstanding role model for Latinas everywhere. Previous awardees have included Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal Allard, Eva Longoria, Christina Saralegui, Maria Elena Salinas, and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Hon. Henry Cisneros.
This year 2023 I was named VP of SHE.E.O Latina, this is a platform that was made for women by women. The purpose of this platform is to help women get inspired/motivated to start their own entrepreneurial journey and become the best version of themselves by using all the tools, information, advice, support, and more that SHE E O Latina for them to make their journeys easier. As a woman and a mother of two beautiful girls, I know how hard it can be to fight for your dreams while having to do other things, that’s why I am so love this new project in my life.
I started my career teaching girls how to feel and look more confident using makeup, and now after approx. 10 years in this business, I now want to show women the beauty of feeling empowered by making their dreams/goals come true. I want to show them that anything is possible if they only take the chance to believe in themselves.
I know my journey doesn’t end here; I still have a long way to go, and I am willing to share with the world my journey, the good and the bad in hopes that I can inspire many women by becoming a motivational speaker one day, but also to become a great role model for my two daughters.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think the road to success is never easy, and obstacles are a must! I believe that if there are no mistakes made there are no lessons learned. Success is an ongoing journey, so learning new things is necessary, and at times mistakes can gives us that knowledge we need to overcome future obstacles.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am considered an entrepreneur & content creator. I have been creating YouTube videos since 2012, but also, I’ve been very active on other social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
I have to say that I am overall very proud of my journey in this career, but one thing that I feel very proud of is for being recognized as a respected Latina with leadership for all the work that I’ve done throughout the years.
What matters most to you? Why?
Many things matter to me, but in this moment in life, I am very focused on my life purpose. God gives all of us a purpose, and I truly believe mine is to teach through my experiences, to inspire, and to help other women like me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sheeolatina.com/post/rm-101-media-group-anuncia-jackie-hernandez-como-vicepresidenta-socia-ejecutiva-de-she-e-o-latina
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeupbyjh/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakeupByJH/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEDO-Wsu9gdOeme6jxC64dQ
- Other: http://www.jdezbeauty.com
