Growing up in a single income household meant that my siblings and I spent our teenage years with one goal in mind: to obtain a job after completing high school. College was such a foreign concept to us because we spent our entire childhood on survival mode, collecting food, shoes, and clothes from our local church. By the age of 14 I was determined to find a job. One weekend, I took the bus to Pacific Blvd., hoping I could find a job. However, I was not successful at achieving my goal-- every business I entered told me I looked too young. When my older sister found out about my failed job search, she gave me a call, explaining that a part-time position had opened up at the shoe store where she was working at. Eager to help me get the job, she encouraged me to put some makeup on and to lie about my age. I did as she told me and took the next bus to Plaza Mexico. I was determined to convince her boss about my newly assigned age, but I also felt timorous. Would the owners believe me? All those feelings of anxiety diminished the second I walked into the store. Suddenly, it was shoe galore. I've never seen so many women's shoes in my life; similarly, I had never shopped at a women's shoe store in my life before. That's the moment I recall falling in love with shoes. In that moment, I only cared about two things: making money and buying myself some new pair of shoes for school. It didn't take me long to learn the inventory system. I still remember getting my first cash paycheck. AlthoughI I was earning an hourly wage of $5, I felt like I could finally help my younger siblings. For the first time in our lives we were able to afford cable. At the age of 14, I was joyous about watching Nickelodeon with my younger siblings at home. My entire junior and senior years were spent working after school at the shoe store. As soon as our dismissal bell rang, I'd rush out of class to catch the next bus that would take me straight to work. By the age of 16, I knew one day I would like to open my own shoe store. 14 years later, I finally turned that dream into a reality. Named after my daughter and I, I now welcome you to

JESS & ZURI.