Inspired by her mother’s past challenges with managing her natural hair, Adesha Peters was inspired to take the jump into the entrepreneurial world to not only make living with natural hair easier for herself, but for other women around her with her line of hair and skin care products under the name Jadesha Kreationz.

Adesha considers herself a ‘Trinvincy’ having been born in Trinidad and Tobago but spending most of her life here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. She shared with us the fact that many people around her thought she had hit the end of the road when she brought two wonderful children into the world at relatively early ages, those ages being 17 and 20. However undeterred by naysayers, Adesha kept pushing forward.

Peters, shared with ANN just how her foray in the world of business started with the cutting of her own hair, with the memories of the challenges her mother faced with dealing with her natural hair growing up serving as motivation for this entrepreneurial jump.
‘After 7 years I decided to cut my locs but didn’t want to go back to a relaxer. However I couldn’t forget how difficult it was for my mom to manage my natural hair when I was a child. So in came you tube & countless conversations with a friend who shared the same interests. I started researching & consuming every piece of information I could find on the harmful chemicals in everyday products & what natural alternatives there were available. Soon I began to experiment & I’ll share my concoctions with friends who were amazed & would say “you need to start selling this!” Then with $100 from my salary & a dream I decided to go for it & never looked back. However, the name of the business was created years before during my Toastmaster days when I would make reference to a business named Jadesha Kreationz. At the time I had no idea what on earth I would be creating cause I never considered myself creative but. … ..here we are!’

Adesha has been operating her business in an official capacity for six years since, but according to her she has been making her own hair and skin care products for approximately ten years, and she shares that decade of knowledge and experience with her customers through her exceptional products.
Adesha says she doesn’t consider this business venture of hers a success just yet. Admitting that she is her harshest critic, she said that she’ll consider the business a success when it becomes a household name, not just here in SVG but around the world. Her hope is to see her business expand to the point where she can even provide employment for others.
‘Wow, success……hhhhhmmmmmm. I am my harshest critic so no, I won’t say I’m successful just yet. Success for me in my realm would be my brand being a household name (not just in SVG but throughout the world), my website up & running with regular traffic & me being so busy that there’s no time to focus on a job for supplemental income & I can create employment even if it’s for a few.’
Along her entrepreneurial journey there have been many challenges, she shared with us a few of the major ones, one that has even made her consider shutting down at one point. One of the first major challenges that she made mention of was that of financing.

‘The main one for me would be financing. I’ve never been lucky enough to benefit from a grant etc like most of the small businesses here so every bit of funding has been out of pocket. Therefore it’s very difficult to balance spending/reinvesting into the business & saving for it.’
Adesha also said she faced challenges when expanding her business into the wider regional and international markets. Obstacles such as high shipping/postal fees proving to make the mission of reaching a greater customer base difficult.
‘My second biggest challenge is expansion regionally & internationally. Even though I have clients throughout the Caribbean region, North America & Europe, our postal/shipping fees to these countries are atrocious. Therefore, convincing a client to pay more for shipping than the actual product is a task unto itself.’
The third challenge mentioned by Peters, was that of duties she has to pay at customs for the raw materials needed to make her products. She said this challenge has been so great that she even had thought of shutting down her business crossing her mind, but since she has never been one to be deterred by a challenge, but instead motivated by them, Jadesha Kreationz is still up running today.
‘Thirdly I would say duties. Sourcing all my raw material in SVG just isn’t possible or even feasible in some cases so I must import. The duties sometimes make me want to shut down. Only one customs officer ever advised me that my business is entitled to concessions on certain items but efforts to get more information on that have proven futile so I simply go with the flow.’
When asked if there was anything she would do differently when taking the leap into being her own boss and operating her own business, Adesha initially said she would have waited for better financing but then changed her answer not too long afterwards to nothing. She noted that there is value to be derived from the challenge she faced in her business due to financing and that without that challenge she would not know what she does now.
One of the highlights of running her own business so far, according to Adesha, has been the ability to help others, not just through her products but through moral support that she provides to women of all ages that may experience issues with self esteem due to problems they face with their hair.
‘Helping people. For me it’s the little things like when a person wakes me up on a Saturday morning crying cause she took down her weave & almost her hair went with it and she didn’t know how she was going to work the coming Monday. Giving her that pep talk and recommending products that actually helped them to hear her voice note weeks later testifying how pleased she was with the growth she was seeing. ….. The countless number of persons who reached out whether it was to help rebuild their child’s self esteem or even the men who were self conscious…….helping them made it all worth it.’
Another aspect of running her own business that she enjoys is the creation of her products. Adesha says it’s this time in the lab that allows to enter own world, where nothing else matters, it’s just her and her products.
‘The only other thing that compares to that euphoria is when I’m in my lab, music blasting or my current show on & I’m formulating; it’s like I’m lost in my own world. Fatigue doesn’t exist, the world fades away, stress scurry to the shadows cause all that matters then & there is that product I’m making & how it’s going to make ppl feel.’
Adesha believes a good entrepreneur should always be patient, empathetic, and fiscally conscious and passionate about what they do. She notes that while she understands that most people start a business for the monetary benefits, getting into a business without love or passion for it is a recipe for disaster.
‘I believe a good entrepreneur should be patient, empathetic, customer oriented yet know when to be firm, tenacious, fiscally conscious & passionate about what they do. While I understand everyone goes into business to make a profit, if you don’t have a natural love for what you do then you won’t last through the tough time’
Peters emphasized the importance of research when issuing advice to other young women who may be thinking of her entering her field of business. She cautioned that while on the surface it may seem like a fairly simple process, there is definitely more than meets the eye.
‘First, do your research!!! A lot of ppl look at what I do & think oh yea anybody could do that but it’s so much more than just dumping oils & butters into a bowl & mixing it. Have a love affair with your raw material, become intimate with them, know them inside out. Don’t just release a product because you want to, do market research, understand the consumers you’re hoping to reach & appeal to them.’
She also noted that working in a business where customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance would work to their advantage because of the knowledge they would be able to gain.
‘If possible, work in large businesses where customer satisfaction is key & learn all you can before branching out on your own. You will be amazed at how much of the discipline, customer service & marketing strategies for instance that you can then apply to your business for your benefit. These days everyone wants to be an entrepreneur but skipping the pillars needed in our market to ensure longevity. So you end up with dissatisfied clients and suppliers refusing to work with you because of your poor work ethics or non-existent customer service.’
Adesha Peters, through her business Jadesha Kreationz, has proven that challenges are more than just challenges, but they can also serve to be just the motivation one may need to take that next vital step.
If you are looking to discover health and beauty care the natural way, you can contact Adesha at (784) 527-0773, find her on Facebook and Instagram at Jadesha Kreationz or email her at [email protected].