From Nurse to Business Owner: How Clarendon woman transforms online venture into thriving May Pen store

Simpliessentialja operates as a variety clothing store, offering a wide range of items. Despite having a physical storefront, Peart continues to maintain a strong online presence, serving customers across the island through delivery services.

“I started off with just six ID holders,” Peart recalled. “Most people think it’s strange, but that’s really how it started. Long before I know about Zipmail and Knutsford Express, I use to travel from May Pen to Kingston at the Big Tree to do my deliveries. My early sales were mainly made to my co-workers and to JUTC bus drivers because the ID holders had the string that they would pull to scan.”

At the time, the venture operated strictly online, with Peart personally delivering items and gradually building a customer base through word of mouth and social media. 

Peart, who is originally from Hayes, Clarendon, said her upbringing in a hardworking, business-minded family played a major role in shaping her entrepreneurial drive. After graduating from South East College in 2019, the former practical nurse officially launched Simpliessentialja in 2020 while still working in the healthcare sector, investing her earnings into the business.

As a practical nurse, Peart worked at different nursing homes, including Touch of Heaven Home for the Elderly in Marlie Mount, Old Harbour. Her duties included training new nursing students and accompanying patients to May Pen Hospital for medical procedures. Despite her dedication to nursing, Peart said balancing the profession with motherhood and a growing business eventually led her to reassess her priorities.

“I wanted to take the business more seriously,” she explained. “When I looked at it, I was earning more from my business than I was from working. Also, I had my daughter in 2024 and being a mommy with a young baby, I wasn’t getting much time with her as I needed while being a nurse.”

In 2023, Peart made the bold decision to resign from nursing and commit fully to entrepreneurship. That same year, she opened her first physical location on Chapelton Road, but due to accessibility concerns raised by customers, she later relocated to a more central area — Stork Street, where the store currently operates.

Peart, a former Garvey Maceo High School student, said the work ethic she developed early in life supported her transition from nursing into entrepreneurship. While nursing became her first professional path, she revealed that her earliest dream was not in healthcare, but in the trucking industry, a passion deeply rooted in her family’s legacy.

Growing up surrounded by trucks, she credits that environment for sparking her early fascination. “From I was younger I love trucks… I’m still a truck girlie; I  am excited about trucks. My family members own trucks, my dad, my uncles, they all drive trucks and fix them, setting them up for the road when they just come from overseas,” she said, adding that becoming part of the trucking industry remains a personal goal she intends to achieve. 

In addition to managing daily operations, Peart is also a graphic designer, creating all promotional materials and visual content for Simpliessentialja by herself.

Kiana Ormsby, a longtime customer of Simpliessentialja, said she has supported the business for years and has been impressed by Peart’s growth and dedication. “Since I know her, she has been very hardworking, she has always been a hustler trying to better herself. The growth of her business has been amazing and she sell quality things at low price. And I must say, she has excellent customer service skills and I know that she will be very successful,” said Ormsby.

Social media has played a major role in the brand’s visibility, particularly on TikTok and Instagram. At one point, Peart amassed over 21,000 followers on TikTok before her account was unexpectedly banned.

“That was a hard moment for me,” she said. “I cried, I couldn’t eat… especially because it happened while I was refurbishing the store. People reported my contents which is very cruel but I didn’t let it stop me. I see where Tiktok allowed many people to know about my business who had no idea Simplienssentialja exist. Even right here in May Pen, people pass every day without knowing and then learn about my business on TikTok. So my social media accounts are very important to me. My new TikTok page is coming along well with over 3,000 followers already and my Instagram has over 7,000 followers.”

Beyond business challenges, Peart also endured personal loss, losing three close family members between 2022 and 2023, including her grandmother, uncle, and father.

“That was my lowest point,” she shared. “I am family person… I really love my family. I had to pause a bit, but I pushed through.”

Despite the challenges, the mother of two remains proud of her journey, emphasizing that she built her business without taking loans.

“I never borrowed loans or anything to do business. I worked my way up, and that’s what I tell others who want to become entrepreneurs as well… start small and build. Take your time, it’s not a hurry thing, it’s a pen and paper thing. It’s not always easy but never give up. I started pretty small and I have sent over 1000 packages to customers all the way in Montego Bay and Westmoreland.” she explained.

Looking ahead, Peart hopes to expand Simpliessentialja to additional locations, potentially outside Clarendon, though she acknowledges that such growth will require careful planning.

For now, she remains grateful for how far she has come.

“Sometimes when I look back, I just can’t believe and I feel like crying,” she said. “I’m extremely happy and proud of myself. My cousin encouraged me to start entrepreneurship and I never regret starting, it is really working out for me.”

From a small beginning to a growing storefront in the heart of May Pen, Therece G. Peart’s journey reflects steady discipline, calculated risk and the realities of building a business from the ground up.