Meet Jay Marie

To build a community of like-minded creatives, Jay Marie runs a membership-based creative studio in Jersey City, NJ that offers clients brand development, social media management, production services, and content creation. Since 2021, Jay Marie has received $30,000 in loan capital from Grameen America to expand her successful business.

“I started my own business because I just wanted to control my own life, my time, and my money. At any point, in any small business, you’re going to need funding and a financial organization that can support you – it’s just about finding the right one and Grameen America is the right one.”

Jay Marie began her entrepreneurial journey with an e-commerce clothing boutique. While she dreamed of producing high quality clothing, reality set in and she couldn’t afford the materials to bring her designs to life. Despite the initial setback, Jay Marie adapted to become the person helping to develop a brand instead of being the brand itself. She started renting the space to support like-minded creatives in the community with their brand identity and aesthetic. Over the years, Jay Marie turned her business into a full-fledged production and branded content hub.

“Grameen America is a resource that’s always there when you need it—even through the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur. Not only are you paying back a loan, but you’re also growing your credit and gaining a community of women to talk with. The entrepreneurs in my group and I go over business modules, take classes, and talk about how we can grow as a whole and individually.”

In 2021, Jay Marie joined Grameen America, particularly drawn to the community of likeminded entrepreneurs and the opportunity to connect with business owners from different backgrounds and industries. Jay Marie’s first purchase with a loan from Grameen America was a new camera and lighting equipment, and she has also used the capital for advertising to gain more clients. Jay Marie has also appreciated the opportunity to access larger loans after each repayment, matching her growth as an entrepreneur.

“Growing up, I watched my mom have different businesses, starting with a cleaning business and then daycare services. My mother was an entrepreneur role model in my life. I never thought I would be where I am today. I became an entrepreneur when I was 27 years old, but it’s been so rewarding to see that I’m capable of doing anything I set my mind to.”

“This business has helped me be independent and fly. Looking from my kid’s view, it gives her hope and lets her know that she can do anything too – that’s priceless. My motivation to keep going is to change the trajectory for my 14-year-old daughter by creating a better life for her. But it’s bigger than that. I want to become one of the first female entrepreneurs to help people in the production industry.”

Because Jay Marie’s business focuses on brand development, Grameen America financial and business education on social media, branding, and marketing have been the most beneficial.

“My first mission and passion are making sure my clients and their brands are at the highest level. My clients’ success is my success. Aligning myself with their success stories is fulfilling. Imagery and brand identity are so important, especially on social media and websites, which serve as your digital portfolio. My business comes in and fine tunes that. We work together to elevate each other’s brands and identify what each business needs.”

As Jay Marie looks to the future, she hopes to expand to a larger location and take on more memberships while truly cementing her place as a leader in the branding and creative world.

“In the future, I want to become a small school for production to help creators get to the next level, see their careers take off, and keep expanding our partnerships and contracts with brands.”

Jay Marie is an entrepreneur by trade and a creative at heart. Growing up, she always knew herself to be the “girl with a camera” and has been passionate about the visual arts and graphic design ever since her childhood. 

Coming of age in the midst of the content creation boom, Jay Marie found an opportunity to market her skills to brands and individuals looking to establish their creative identities in the digital world. However, she would not realize how great the demand for such expertise truly was until she was in need of them herself. 

Jay Marie began her entrepreneurial journey, first, in e-commerce by opening an online clothing boutique, but after her first months of operation, Jay Marie realized that a pivot was in order.

“To be honest with you, my business wasn’t supposed to be what it is now. I started in e-commerce with a clothing boutique and had been renting a space in the heart of Jersey City to store inventory and photograph the garments.”

As Jay Marie began to hire photographers and stylists to help her build out the website, she quickly pivoted to create a business to support these like-minded creatives in her community. 

“I’ve always been into visuals, but I knew how much of a chore their development could be because I was in that middle of it all myself. So, I pivoted and became the person helping to develop the brand as opposed to being the brand itself.”

As a result, Jay Marie converted her 1,200 square foot space in Jersey City into a fully equipped photography studio and creative incubator which she has owned and operated for the past five years. She rents out her studio to all kinds of clients that are looking for the talent and resources to turn their creative vision into a reality.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

“We are helping fine tune brands, entrepreneurs, and creatives as they figure out their image on social media and the kind of content they want to create. Our clients can choose to book the studio itself or any of the fantastic photographers, makeup artists, and stylists that are on our staff.”

Clearly, this was a significant change for Jay Marie, so she sought help from Grameen America to which she credits some of her most valuable business learnings.

“I was really drawn to the community of women like me who were trying to propel their businesses forward. Beyond the loan capital, I was attracted to the weekly meetings where I could hear from the Grameen America team as well as the other entrepreneurs in the program. I feel like there is always something to learn when we bring together business owners from very different backgrounds and industries.”

Eager to garner more brand awareness, Jay Marie most often uses her loan capital to advertise and promote her studio services to bring in new customers from New Jersey and New York City. 

“I really appreciate how the loans increase over time and are incredibly reliable because that allows me to keep up with my regular expenses, like advertising costs. After I finish my repayments, it always feels like the larger loans are available to me just at the right time and match my growth as an entrepreneur. The regularity of the disbursements helps me feel like Grameen America has my back.”

Looking ahead, Jay Marie has big dreams for her business, which she feels are within reach because of savings habits instilled in her by Grameen America. In the short-term, she is planning to expand into additional office space adjacent to her current studio to accommodate her growing team. However, her ultimate goal is to open a sister studio based on the west coast.  

Cognizant of her unexpected journey, Jay Marie's greatest piece of advice to her fellow entrepreneurs is to embrace the uncertainty that comes with forging your own path and never give up.

“Just because a project starts off one way, that doesn’t mean it has to end as such. Always be optimistic, and keep striving. Always stay consistent, and execute on every goal that you can.”