Most college students dream about their future career as if it’s at least a few years in the future, but Emma Johnson has made her dreams into a business, Em John Jewelry.
Emma and her friend, Amanda on their first day of classes
Emma balances a heavy workload as a full-time student at Boston University with keeping meticulous watch over her successful business, making her a power player in the accessories industry. Due to her dedication and hard work, the young entrepreneur has been able to reach astounding levels of success for a young businesswoman.
“My biggest accomplishment to date has to be being featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things 2015,” the business owner proudly gushed. “It’s one of the most popular, coveted gift guides in all of magazine gift guide history.”
Her proudest business achievement related to her recent employment opportunity: a summer internship with O! Magazine, whose editors fell in love with the bubbly and determined personality that can be seen up and down Commonwealth Avenue, chatting with friends.
Emma proudly displaying her feature in O! Magazine
According to a BU Today article from December 11, 2015, Johnson is barely able to keep up with the demand of her furry key chains because of their popularity and affordability. Each handmade product could double as a bag charm, and they are sold in three different colors and twenty-six initial variations. This allowed for the item to be marketed as a personalized holiday gift, which led to record sales for Em John Jewelry.
“Emma pours her heart and soul into Em John Jewelry,” Tory Johnson, Emma’s mother, noted, “She eats, sleeps, and breathes it, and that’s the reason why she is so successful.”
Emma has considered her mother, a small business owner for over twenty years and Good Morning America correspondent, as her biggest mentor. She has helped Johnson with making connections in the industry, and this allowed her to have strong communication and networking skills.
Johnson praised her mother by commenting “She introduced me to other business owners who’ve also given me lots of advice and ideas. She doesn’t think there’s anything that I can’t do, which really bolsters my confidence.”
Being from a creative and business-driven family has allowed the Boston University student to flourish in the accessories industry. Aside from the networking and connections, she is also constantly encouraged to live out her dreams and told to conquer all of her business visions.
Emma and Tory Johnson
It may seem as if it is too much to run an entire company as a full-time student, but it came as second nature to Johnson. The “About Me’’ tab of her online store says the conception of Em John Jewelry came about as a challenge to herself to pre-pay for her college education. Every bracelet, necklace, keychain and pouch purchased thus far has contributed to helping Johnson pay for college, but she also created several charity projects where she gives all of the proceeds to Alzheimer’s research and earthquake aid in Ecuador.
Emma spilled her future plans for Em John, for she hopes to establish a college representative program that would allow college girls to host sales and keep a percentage of the profits.
“It would be amazing to see a trend where other girls pay for their college education and graduate debt-free through Em John Jewelry,” Johnson added.
The young executive drafted plans to have Em John Jewelry representatives on every major campus across the country, and this would benefit hundreds of young women by allowing them to afford the high prices of education without being burdened by student debt.
A few of Johnson’s designs, including her signature bracelets and keychains
As for the geographical buffer between Boston University and the Em John Jewelry headquarters in New York City, Johnson had to adjust to the distance.
Tory commented on the recent location adjustment by noting, “Emma is constantly calling, texting and emailing her manufacturer, store owners, customers and me to make sure everything is running smoothly.”
As a businesswoman and student, Johnson balanced her social life and work schedule to the best of her ability during her freshman year, but sometimes her business matters interrupted her. She sometimes has to explain that she is a full-time student to customers, but she has been lucky to make time to work on Em John.
Despite her changes to a few business hours due to class schedules, Johnson remained as the leader of her company, which will only grow bigger within the upcoming years.
“When she has a simple idea or dream about something, she sets her mind to make it a reality,” Tory remarked proudly.
Johnson took her mother’s advice, and she urges all young women to make it their mission to turn ideas into a reality.