Jasmine Reaves

Keeping an Eye on the Prize

Story By: C. M. Schmidlkofer

Perseverance.

That is the advice Jasmine Reaves of Ocala offers to those pursuing their dreams ― and in particular ― business dreams.

Expect things to get tough along the way, but never give up.

“I would say make sure you never stop doing what you love,” she said. “Take a deep breath and keep pushing forward.”

She speaks from personal experience. She opened Diamond Effect Beauty House in May of 2020, offering natural and full-glam makeup applications and self-care products for men, women, and children.

With three young children to care for as a single parent, Reaves said finding work that allowed her flexibility and control over her future was imperative, especially with the events that unfolded in 2020.

“2020 has made me realize that you need to pave your own way because if you work for a company that doesn’t care about you, a pandemic can make you homeless.”

A daughter with health issues also pushed Reaves to make selfemployment work for her. “My twoyear-old daughter is disabled and completely dependent on me. Due to her sickness, I was unable to keep a job so I found something I loved and can make my own schedule.”

She credits prayer for giving her the courage to be an entrepreneur, along with the desire to create a better life for her children. Being a leader has also meant she had to accept criticism in order to grow as a businesswoman and to learn how 64

to work with customers who may be difficult.

She has a growing base of clients who rely on her expert touch for makeup and hair for photo shoots, bridal makeup and special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Customers find her by word of mouth or her Facebook page and make appointments for her to visit them in their homes for their personal care needs.

Reaves still remembers the first bride she made up. “She was so nervous and irritated because nothing was going right.”

Until she looked in the mirror and saw how beautiful Reaves had made her look.

“After that, her day was amazing.”

Reaves became inspired to learn makeup techniques when she was a teenage beauty contestant with a desire to be a model.

She developed her own line of beauty products: body scrubs, organic soaps and moisturizers, oatmeal baths, and hair serums.

Her buttercream brightening scrub is her most popular item, which includes turmeric, lemon peels, and raw cane sugar.

She named her business after her popular “Diamond in the Rough Collection” of body scrubs.

Reaves became interested in offering makeup and body care products to others after learning confidence and poise from her participation in beauty pageants as a teen. “I learned I was beautiful in my own skin.”

Helping women feel empowered is the most satisfying aspect of her job, but her greatest accomplishment was purchasing her LLC status, she said.

Reaves has big plans.

“My long term goal is to become a multi-millionaire company and to have my products in every store.”

Reaves said staying focused is imperative for success, as is good communication, patience, and passion. “Setting goals has made me stay very focused on the prize.”