Meet Jeong-A Cha and Josemarie Fajardo of Jjenga’s Plants in Pomona

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeong-A Cha and Josemarie Fajardo.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Jeong-A: It’s easy to see based off of our platform that we both love plants very much. I began my plant journey in 2017. I was a freshman in college, stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed. Plants became my therapy and helped me stay sane. What started off as one grew to over 100 plants in less than a year. Anytime a friend came over, they left with a plant in hand.

Josemarie and I met earlier this year right before the pandemic began. Most of our dates consisted of picnics at gardens or just being outdoors. He was easily sucked into my habit of collecting plants.

Josemarie: It first started out with a simple pothos gifted by Jeong A. After keeping it alive for more than a few weeks, I started to experiment with avocado seeds and taro roots. After seeing how much those plants grew, I knew I had found something I really liked. It was the satisfaction of seeing plants grow that instantly got me to fall in love with plants. We grew our love for plants together and knew it was something we wanted to share with the rest of the world. That is how jjengas plants came to be.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Jeong-A: Definitely not a smooth road. We both lost our jobs due to the pandemic and are full-time college students. We have put everything we have saved in the twenty something years of our lives into bringing this idea to life. Josemarie as a finance major is a lot more familiar than I, a nursing major, is in business terminology. Nonetheless, we are both still very lost sometimes so we try to find joy in the small victories we have. From opening our business bank account to having our first sale, to doing our first giveaway, we try to focus on the positives because we know that this is the stage where struggles are inevitable. We’re definitely at the stage where we put every dollar we earn right back to the business. We’ve learned that owning a small business means you work 24/7. You don’t get paid to work overtime. The hours we spend behind the scenes can be described as long, exhausting, draining, defeating. Despite this, we know our vision will become a reality; it just won’t happen overnight.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Jjenga’s Plants – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Josemarie: Jjengas plants is an online retail store where we sell plants and anything plant related. We currently do our e-commerce on our Instagram while I work on building up our website. We have plans for all levels of expertise. For the plant collectors, we give them the opportunity to expand their personal collection of rare, exotic, or uncommon plants for a fair price. As for those who are just starting out their plant journey, we carry pothos, succulents, monsteras, and more while also providing them with basic care tips and resources. For our local customers, we offer custom orders which entail the customer giving us an idea of what they want and us bringing their idea to life!

This can be as simple as a customer telling us the kind of light they have in their room or as detailed as a specific pot and plant they would like. What sets us apart is the relationships we build with our community. We know all our customers by their names and emphasize building relationships beyond plants with them. I can easily tell Jeong-A that “Jane Doe” contacted us about a plant, and she’ll already know exactly who I’m talking about. People know they can message us and ask for help without feeling ashamed. We are here to help our plant community and our customers know it!

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Jeong-A: Josemarie and I are always filled with ideas for what we want for the business. In the very near future, we will have a website where we will sell our products rather than just on Instagram. We are looking forward to partnering with more artists and using our platform as a way to emphasize the arts. In addition, we are excited to have Josemarie create more plant themed designs for prints, stickers, shirts, or even sweaters. We hope to continue to build relationships with our customers while also providing a safe space for anyone to ask questions. We know that we wouldn’t be where we are without our community. As a result, we will continue to give back to our community and pay it forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jjengasplants.com/
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jjengasplants

Image Credit:
Any plant pictures were taken by Josemarie Fajardo

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