MY ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE – Australia’s Top Ten Women Entrepreneurs: Jemimah Ashleigh

This article first appeared in My Entrepreneur Magazine.

Jemimah Ashleigh is the Creative Director of Tangs Design and is the founder of Epic Social. This criminal-investigator-come-jeweller is passionate about breaking through the many myths and misconceptions about being an entrepreneur and thrives on helping other business owners on their journey.

Jemimah’s career is jam-packed with a wide range of experiences. From working for the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for over a decade as a criminal intelligence analyst and working in Manhattan, to leading the Canberra business networking scene and enjoying life as a thespian.

Despite three Degrees and a Master’s spanning security, criminology and fraud investigation, a wake up call came while on a working holiday in Manhattan when she stumbled across an artisan whose jewellery she had long admired online. Like somewhat of a sliding doors moment, Jemimah was invited into the jeweller’s workshop and it was there that her passion for jewellery design was set ablaze. After returning to Australia, Jemimah signed up for another chapter of education, this time in silversmithing, and so her jewellery business, Tangs Design, was born.

Juggling full time work and a successful emerging business took its toll on Jemimah’s mental health and soon, she was forced to make a decision about her future. With a hectic schedule and a difficult relationship with her manager at work, it’s little wonder that in 2015, Jemimah experienced her first encounter with anxiety. Her first panic attack was an experience that sent her into depression with a challenging journey back to good health.

While the experience left her with little doubt that she needed to leave the force, it took many sessions in therapy and the assistance of a carefully designed medication program before Jemimah found a way to manage her anxiety. However, the experience equipped Jemimah with coping skills that she incorporates into her busy life, including a major focus on self-care.

After leaving the force, Jemimah threw herself into her business full time. Committed to pushing the boundaries and telling it as it is, Jemimah has built a global brand, which has reach in over 40+ countries and counting – The Business Experiment – alongside her Business Experiment co-founder, Shevonne Joyce.

Jemimah is RAW: a natural born artist, a skilled improviser and comedian and in 2015, was named Canberra’s Artist of the Year. She has studied the fields of security and intelligence extensively, speaks several languages and is currently studying to be an Australian sign language interpreter.

A multi-talented entrepreneur, Jemimah’s intuitive understanding of human emotion allows her to work across multiple areas, including as a mentor, comedy writer and social media guru with an emphasis on storytelling. She is a highly sought-after speaker, blogger and contributes to many media outlets on a regular basis.

Jemimah brings an original, quirky sense of humour and a fun loving attitude to everything she does. She is passionate about helping people to express their individuality and creativity.