Meet Jerold Jones II | Fashion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jerold Jones II and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jerold, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I initially just needed another creative outlet. Something I can get into and put out into the world. I truly believe the cornerstone of life is to create and it’s something everyone should do, even if it’s just a hobby. One day, a friend and I were having a conversation about brand recognition and how people are easily swayed by symbol. I jokingly said I bet I could draw a random animal like a fish on a shirt and people would buy it. You know how Polo Ralph Lauren has a horse and a man. They said “Alright. Then do it.” It wasn’t a serious response, but I gave it some thought the next day. I told myself you know what? Why not? Let me put this creative energy to use.

The next thing I knew, I was spending a whole year coming up with just the name for it. It became much more than just about coming up with a random logo and name for me. I wanted it to actually have meaning. After I came up with Stoicheío,(Stoh-ee-shee-o) everything else fell into place.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Before Stoicheío Clothing was born, I was working in a warehouse. It felt God awful waking up at 4AM and expected to perform mundane tasks day in and day out at a high-performing level. I felt like a machine. Like I wasn’t living up to who I truly am. It’s the reason Stoicheío became important to me. The word itself is Ancient Greek for element. It’s believed to have other meanings such as cell and data. All those definitions had meaning to me of what makes us. It’s important to walk in your own element. To stay true to your individuality. We’re all born to to be set apart from everyone else. Stoicheío was created to help tell your story and show people your individualistic expression through fashion.

After I lost that job during the pandemic, I swore to myself I wasn’t going back to a warehouse ever again. The brand name and logo had already been set in stone by that time. So now I had plenty of time to execute and get my business off the ground. I had already held leadership roles as a supervisor in previous jobs, so professionally, I knew what I needed to do to run a business and how to how to be a student in an industry that I’m a complete newbie in, This was something I needed a team for. I knew doing it alone would be super challenging. Why make it harder for myself when I can become a captain of a ship with trustworthy crew mates?

Going into this wasn’t easy at all. I can’t even count how many costly mistakes I’ve made. I can say I’ve definitely been learning the journey of entrepreneurship the hard way. I’ve learned when you’re a new business owner, all your moves need to be calculated. Money is like oxygen to a business. You can’t be reckless the funds. Entering a new market is the very wrong time to overestimate yourself. You need to observe study consumers. Lock in on a target audience. Most importantly, when creating inventory for the first time, start small. you’re trying to build an audience that’s familiar with you. No need to spend money making over 50-100 clothing items before you even make your first sale. I’ve been doing this for two years now and I’m still learning. I’m still learning how to use social media platforms to my advantage. I still study how other brands create products that are pleasing to the eye. I still talk to financial advisors, accountants, and lawyers about the ugly side of business, which are legalities, proper paperwork to be an official business, and making sure I keep track of where the money goes.

I’m excited to see where this journey will take me in ten years or so. I’m proud of the team and community I created behind Stoicheío. I’m excited to expand what we’re doing here. After all, you can’t have a brand that promotes individuality and you don’t have something that fits everyone. Inclusion is the ultimate goal here. We’re slowly but surely inching towards that.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I am now without my brand ambassadors. They buy my products as much as the average customers do. They advertise and bring in more exposure than I cold do on my own. They even pitched in together to buy me equipment for my production!

I also wouldn’t be ascending to new heights in the business without my business partner Joshua Williams and my marketing executive Karla Victor. They both started out as ambassadors and were adamant about wanting to take on more responsibilities. They believe in this brand as much as I do.

Website: Stoicheiowear.com

Instagram: Stoicheio

Twitter: Stoicheiowear

Facebook: Stoicheio Clothing

Image Credits
Lance Blade Whitney A. Manuel