Founder of ERIN/ANDERSON
In 2010, Avonda Turner graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor degree in Mass Communications and Public Relations. Immediately after graduating she found herself in the middle of a recession searching for a job in the struggling job market. This fueled her to self teach herself a new skill doing graphic design and web design, which lead her to start her own company named TurnerHill Agency. TurnerHill is a design agency that creates digital branding identities and experiences for start-ups.
Photo Credit : Tech.co
Even though Avonda was thriving in her marketing career she took a huge leap of faith and turned her back on marketing to start her Jewelry line Anderson/Erin. She noticed the lack of versatility in price and quality within the jewelry industry when it came to purchasing Jewelry statement pieces that can easily switch from work to dinner. What Avonda found was either the pieces were of great quality, but very over priced for young women entering the workforce out of collage or they were perfectly priced, but of very low quality. With an eye for quality, a goal to create a change of having amazing quality jewelry at affordable prices, and a passion for marketing Avonda birthed the online store for Anderson/Erin the Jewelry line for desk to dinner fashion at a guilt free price. In the interview Avonda did with Kimberly Wilson of Blackenterprise she said;
“From founder of TurnerHill to CEO of ERIN/ANDERSON, there has definitely been a transition. Designing a website for an accounting firm is a completely different ballgame from maintaining a successful e-commerce retailer. The Web development and branding were in the bag, but the merchandising, customer account management, shipping and handling, all became major lessons learned in the book of E/A. From founder of TurnerHill to CEO of ERIN/ANDERSON, there has definitely been a transition. Designing a website for an accounting firm is a completely different ballgame from maintaining a successful e-commerce retailer. The Web development and branding were in the bag, but the merchandising, customer account management, shipping and handling, all became major lessons learned in the book of E/A”
She pushed herself and learned everything she had to know about the industry to build her brand and used her marketing skills to build her internet presence. Avonda’s advice to any aspiring entrepreneur is;
“If you can dream it, you can achieve it,” as my parents would say. This still rings true to me today. We were all created to be extraordinary individuals with divine purpose. Find your purpose. Align it with your aspirations. Go”