Photographer, coach, event space owner, entrepreneur and mother of two Jasmine Javon Renee Newton knows a thing or two about uncertainty. After all, she started her first business right after she was let go from a customer service job. Emphasis on “right after.”

“I got fired in April 2015, learned how to use my camera in May and got my business license in June. I have been a full-time photographer ever since.”

Javon Renee Portraits specializes in business, boudoir, personal and family portraits — “whatever they need.” Most of her subjects are women, and she excels at making them feel beautiful in their own skin.

“I love showing women their own brand of beauty and who they are at their core without having to worry about all the labels society has bestowed upon them.” For many of the Maker City entrepreneurs — especially women of color — Javon Renee Portraits is the go-to. Her studio at 8078 Kingston Pike is also available as a rental space.

Newton is the very embodiment of the word “entrepreneur” in that she builds on her successes and learns from — but isn’t defeated by — her setbacks. “Mistakes are a great teacher,” she says. The result is that everything she touches seems to grow.

Her business coaching, for instance, came out of the coaching she did with fellow photographers who were trying to build their own businesses.

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“I would have them do a photo shoot along with me, walk them through the process. But since I started that I’m moving away from the one-on-one sessions and focusing on group coaching and workshops. I just had a workshop last month and I plan to do more.”

She’s encouraged other creatives by volunteering as leader at Rising Tide Society’s local Tuesdays Together group, and now that’s expanding, too.

“We pretty much now look at it for anyone who has a small business, not just creatives. Anyone who lives or operates in the Knoxville area can come to a chapter meeting. We’re working on rebranding to Rising Tide Society Knoxville.”

With her pal Coy Kindred, who runs Coy Kindred Consulting, she founded Luxe Branding Suite. “We had such a huge response last year. We booked ourselves solid.” Clients included Black small business microloan company The Women, LLC; Lillian Ruth Bride, featuring unique bridal gowns in a boutique setting; and Revelation Road Coaching and Consulting.

“We did the websites and the photography. They came to us and got the full package. It was super successful, but we’re taking a break from that now. We need to tweak our workflow a little to make things a little easier! We do plan to come back to it once we’re real rested.”

In September of 2020 she was named to the Mayor’s Maker Council, and this year she’ll be chairing the Maker City Summit.

“I’ve never done anything like this before. I had no idea what would be expected of me, but I felt pretty good about it. And I absolutely love it. I’m doing everything I can to make sure this year’s Summit is great. I want everyone to feel included, and to come away from the Summit knowing they have something they can actually use — something tangible that they can work on.

“I feel like I have learned a lot about fear and being OK with being uncomfortable — especially in the past year. What I’ve brought my business to is beyond what I dreamed about when I first started. Now I’m at this stage where this mountain that I’ve climbed so far … it’s like, ‘Yes, I’m here and I’ve made a name for myself.’ That’s great, but now there’s an even bigger mountain.

“We had a challenge through COVID where we had to shut down. Now there’s a challenge with inflation. I’m still a luxury service regardless of how many people love my photos! Each and every day I try to remember to take it just one day at a time, and that everything that’s for me already has my name on it.”

The Maker City is the greater Knoxville-area community of makers, artists, creatives, and small-scale manufacturers and supporting entities. Led by the Mayor’s Maker Council, we facilitate collaborative partnerships, programming, and opportunities in an effort to create a sustainable creative community. For more info, visit us at http://themakercity.org.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Maker City Summit: Photographer Jasmine Newton to chair 2022 event