Anely Ortega, a junior at Selma High, is a resilient woman with an aspiration to overcome anything facing her way. One exception she faced was not being able to find personalized jewelry that seemed to fit her needs, as sometimes the color, size, or looks didn’t meet her expectations. Determined more than ever, Anely then sought out to find a solution for this problem.
Anely is not new to the idea of a said proposed business. Being supported by her closest friends and mother, she came up with her own personalized jewelry business, madebyanely.
“My mom was really supportive and continues to support me, which is really my [main] motivation,” said Anely.
Through her business, Anely is able to sell bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, which are all tailored to fit your needs as a customer! She can easily customize her jewelry to your appeal in terms of shape, size, color, and more.
“I started off with bracelets such as ojo bracelets (also referred to as evil eye) because it’s part of my culture, along with others in the hispanic community, I wanted to share it,” Anely expresses wholeheartedly.
As the young entrepreneur shared her talent with her community, she started realizing there were more challenges to starting a business than anticipated. It isn’t always as easy as it seems to be, as you never knew what anyone might think or say.
“I was honestly really scared and anxious. There was always the fear of my business not succeeding the way I imagined it to,” she admits.
Oftentimes, Anely would find herself contemplating and doubting her skills, rethinking whether or not she should remake an item or whether the buyer would even like the product. However, she later came to a hard realization that you can’t always please everyone as we all have our own styles, but to instead take pride in her work.
Even though it felt like she didn’t know what was to come her way, Anely is still persistent in her strength, especially knowing that she is a sociable person who’s willing to take the extra step to succeed.
“I’m not afraid to meet new people and have people message me about my products…I love the support and all the new people I meet through my business, it makes me feel more connected with people [especially] on campus. I get to be as creative as I want with no limits or restrictions.”
“My insight to anyone who’s wanting or thinking about starting a small business is to know there is always room for improvement, you should try your best to better and grow your business even if you feel like it’s not going well,” Anely shared optimistically. Along with the opportunity of growth, it will help you know what to continue doing and what you may need more improvement with. You begin to gain a sense of awareness, allowing yourself to take criticism constructively.
Anely takes pride in her work, she enjoys making her customers happy and confident with their new accessories. Her accessories are the perfect addition to everyone’s jewelry collection. Anyone in the area can purchase from Anely. Head over to her social media @madebyanely and send her a message.