Jodi Ann Gordon capitalising on leap of faith

The occasional feelings of uncertainty that wash over Jodi Ann Gordon, an entrepreneur, have never been enough to deter her from her passion for transforming ordinary spaces into something uniquely beautiful.

A science teacher by profession, Gordon took a leap of faith in June 2017 to establish her own business, Bloom Perfectly Gifts and Décor, after undertaking a charitable project where paper flowers were created for a wedding backdrop.

In a Gleaner interview ahead of today’s observance of International Women’s Day, which is celebrated under the theme ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’, Gordon, who attended the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Summit 2024, said it has been a difficult journey of establishing herself as a successful entrepreneur.

“It has been a work-in-progress for the past three years because you know sometimes you have a business idea, and you take a step to establish it, but sometimes you start and then you stop and then you pause and then you start back up again. That’s what’s it’s been like for us,” she said of herself and sister, Jolane Hibbert, who works alongside her.

Bloom Perfectly Gifts and Décor is an event planning, execution and décor company that also specialises in curating personalised, handcrafted décor items for birthday parties, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, corporate anniversaries, and weddings.

BRINGING A SPACE TO LIFE

“It’s really looking at the space and seeing how much you can bring to life the space by incorporating different décor elements [like] lighting, seating, having staging items, [and] greenery items,” she said of her process.

As time progressed, Gordon expanded the business offerings to include rental of décor items.

“Business is not an easy thing, so we’re here, trying to make our mark and to grow with the different opportunities that we’re given,” she added.

To attract new clients, Gordon stated that she has had to rebrand the business and work harder to increase its social media presence.

“In terms of persevering, to be honest, this is something that I really love. I have my profession ... but this aspect of transforming a space, I really love doing that. I find joy in doing that, and this is something that I am really passionate about,” she remarked.

Gordon believes that the reason she has not discarded her dream but has been able to stay the course is because she is genuinely passionate about what she does and hopes to see the brand becoming bigger and better as she continues to work at it.

“I don’t have it all together,but I have this dream, and I really want this dream to become my reality,” she added.

In the future, Gordon hopes to raise additional funds for the business to enable her to purchase additional essentials for carrying out her daily tasks and operations.

With her business based in Kingston at the moment, she also looks forward to expanding her reach and establishing another location in the western side of the country where she believes there is much potential for growth.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com

Jodi Ann Gordon can be contacted via email at bloomperfectly@gmail.com or via telephone and WhatsApp at (876) 481-4047. Her offerings can also be viewed on the website https://sites.google.com/view/ bloomperfectlyg iftsdecor?usp=sharing