Built on Gratitude: A Letter from Our Founder.

At the end of January 2022, I received a call that changed everything:
I had 28 days to vacate my brick-and-mortar gift store.

I lost the space I had built over five and a half years my shop, my rhythm, my sense of security. As a small business owner, I had poured everything into that store. It was more than a storefront. It was my dream.

The timing felt cruel.
We had just restocked after the holidays, preparing for Valentine’s Day one of our busiest seasons. The shelves were full. The rent was paid. But the building was being sold. I had no Plan B. No warehouse. No affordable retail space to move into.

So I did what I had to do.
I slashed prices, cleared out inventory at 90% off, and watched years of work vanish in weeks.

I was heartbroken.
Too heartbroken to even ask for help.

At first, I told customers gently, “We’re closing temporarily.”
I didn’t yet have the strength to say: “I’m scared. I don’t know what comes next.”
Because I wasn’t just losing a store. I was grieving a dream I built with my bare hands.

For months, I tried to figure things out alone. I searched for spaces I couldn’t afford. I pretended I was okay.

But by August, the weight became too heavy.

Then something unexpected happened.
I received a message from Megan, a local insurance executive who had been a past customer. She had seen my post. She didn’t just offer kind words she placed a large order. She didn’t have to. But she believed in my work when I wasn’t sure it still mattered.

That one order helped keep the lights on while I tried to figure out what JNJ Gifts could become.

Later that fall, I picked up the phone and called an organization that supports women-owned businesses. I didn’t even know what to say. But Lisa in Milwaukee picked up.

I broke down. I cried. I rambled. I apologized.
I told her I felt lost. And she didn’t hang up.

She listened.
Then she said gently: “I believe in you. You can do this.”

She meant it.

That day, her voice helped me take one step forward.
 She followed up with encouraging words. And a year later, she sent me an email I’ll never forget and referred me to a corporate client who placed a large order. We’re still friends to this day.

That one connection reignited the engine and hope that it had nearly shut down.

But it wasn’t just Lisa.

When I posted on Facebook that we needed to close, my dear friends Mike and Shirley quietly messaged me. They offered something I didn’t even realize I needed: space.
They let me store all my fixtures in their backyard shed for two full years. No rent. No conditions. Just kindness.

And when it came time to move out of the store, my friend Morgan showed up with her entire family. They packed, loaded, and transported everything. I didn’t hire movers. I didn’t need to.

Because they were there.
Because they believed in me even when I barely did.

These people didn’t expect anything in return. They didn’t post about it. They didn’t ask for credit.
They gave me dignity when I felt invisible.
They gave me time when I had none.
They gave me belief when mine was gone.

Today, JNJ Gifts and More is a thriving online gifting studio. We specialize in luxury corporate gift boxes but what we really deliver is meaning. Presence. Story.

Because I know what it’s like to lose everything.
And I know what it feels like to be lifted up not by luck, but by love.

This business second chance was built on the quiet, lasting gratitude I carry for those who showed up when I had nothing left.

That’s why I show up for others now. Quietly. Intentionally. Without expectation.

Gratitude isn’t something I say.
It’s something I live.

Thank you for reading and being a part of my story.

Jerina Vincent
Founder & CEO, JNJ Gifts and More
www.jnjgiftsandmore.com
 608-692-1476