Jennifer McMillan builds home-grown business with hard work, dedication

Even while working at MBNA from 1998 to 2005, Jennifer McMillan always had an interest in selling merchandise on the internet. During those years, she had a side hustle collecting ephemera, which I learned comprises old papers, deeds, letters, etc., as well as old books. She sold them under the name McMillanbooks on eBay and Amazon. While she wasn’t making anywhere near the amount of money she was by working in the marketing department at MBNA, she definitely saw the potential to make her business something bigger. When MBNA merged with Bank of America, the company began layoffs, and Jennifer opted to take a severance package and follow her dream.

With her severance package in hand, and her husband’s support, Jennifer began to expand her online retail business to include toys and home décor. Her business continued to grow, and it wasn’t long before she had outgrown the basement and moved into a warehouse in Newark in 2014. The business flourished, and she and her husband made the decision to sell their home in New Castle County to support the business. She expanded into a larger warehouse in Harbeson, where they are today – but only for a few more months. With the move to Sussex County, she also coined the name JennyGems for her business.

Jenny was importing many of her home décor items from China, but started to have problems with quality. At the same time, she was also selling other brands, and based on advice from a friend, she began to think about manufacturing her own products. Then came the pandemic in 2020. When China shut down its country, Jenny had a choice; either go out of business or pivot to something else. COVID gave Jenny the push to pursue a “Made in America” strategy, where JennyGems began to manufacture its own products.

As with many other companies, COVID had a significantly negative impact on business. A new $100,000-plus printer was delivered, but the manufacturer wasn’t able to provide any staff/training to teach Jenny how to operate the equipment. Thanks to Google, and many long days, Jenny and her husband learned how to operate the new printer. Unfortunately, sales had dried up by then and Jenny had to lay off her four employees. However, sales eventually began to return, and by August 2020, Jenny rehired all her former employees.

Jenny truly recognizes the value of her employees and has developed a culture at JennyGems that stresses the contribution each employee makes to the business. The company has events and activities each month that emphasize fun for the team. In addition, Jenny has developed a bonus program for her employees that is based upon overall profits, and individual employee performance and productivity. Jenny also believes in giving people a second chance and has hired people who have made mistakes in their past but are trying to turn their life around. Employee turnover is very low, and employees who left have come back asking if they can be rehired. Since January 2022, there has been no employee turnover and Jenny now employs 28 people.

Jenny is looking forward to the move to a much larger warehouse in Georgetown in January. The larger space will not only allow JennyGems to increase inventory and expand product offerings, but also feature a showroom where people can buy seconds or products with a slight defect. Additionally, her designers will be available in the new space to work with individuals and companies for customized orders, which is a fast-growing aspect of her business.

As Jenny looks into the future, she sees an opportunity to place her merchandise in local souvenir shops and stores as a uniquely “Made in Delaware” product. Local businesses have also begun to purchase plaques to recognize their employees, which is another growing part of the business. Eventually, she believes local sales will equal her e-commerce sales.

One of Jenny’s most proud accomplishments is being recognized as Delaware’s 2022 Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year. Jenny acknowledges she has made many mistakes as an entrepreneur, and given the obstacles faced during COVID, this award reinforced that she has been able to do many of the right things. She, her husband and her team have been able to develop a successful business despite the many challenges, and JennyGems is one of the few real manufacturing businesses in our area. JennyGems really is a gem of a business here in Sussex County.