In a time when the world was transitioning towards virtual and online entertainment platforms, Rejaughn Palmer, a 17-year-old music enthusiast, found himself deeply immersed in music and was willing to invest in his passion.
However, his journey took an unexpected turn in 2019 when he received an Apple Music bill he couldn't pay for. At the time, he was residing in Wisconsin. This marked the inception of an inspiring story about a flourishing digital music vendor whose enterprise now reaches across Jamaica, Cuba, and the US.
"Not being able to pay, in terms of not having access to a US bank account, I asked my roommate Donte to assist me with the venture," he stated.
"Donte agreed to use his card for payment but proposed a more ambitious idea. He suggested that we could also offer customer support for Apple Music subscribers," he added. They launched the Apple Music and iCloud storage (AMICS) Company on August 16, 2019.
The Kingston native returned to Jamaica to complete his secondary education at Mona High School and took full control of AMICS. However, he did not have access to a US bank card and Apple Music did not become available in Jamaica until 2020. Juggling academic obligations, he initially encountered challenges while trying to grow his business. A pivotal moment emerged in May 2020, amid the complexities of the pandemic, when AMICS extended its services to encompass iCloud storage.
"Back when I just started, I was really struggling to find people to subscribe to AMICS. Besides that, I have an introverted nature, but I decided not to let it hold back the enterprise. I kept going," he said.
Palmer's pursuit of a bachelor's degree in actuarial science at The University of the West Indies also aided the business, as being in the university space allowed him to market AMICS. He engaged with social groups and clubs like the UWI Actuarial Society.
"When face-to-face classes resumed, I introduced AMICS to students across various faculties and showed them the benefit. It's a more cost-effective method using AMICS, because they can save up to US$10 per monthly subscription, and we ensure that we check on our subscribers to ensure they have no issues," he highlighted.
But Palmer, 21, experienced financial challenges and found it hard to balance his schoolwork and business. However, he sees positives from the struggle.
"Pursuing such a degree has certainly helped me to see and learn a lot of things to help me grow my business. Having time management and making the commitment to tasks helped me to build personally and businesswise; of course, resulting in the enterprise bridging the funding gap for my tuition, food, and other expenses," he said. He is currently in his final year of study.
In July, after six months of rigorous work, Palmer launched the AMICS merchandise site; what he described as his most memorable experience in the venture.
"Getting to start the merchandise store was amazing. AMICSMERCH.COM was birthed through my enthusiasm for creating designs and putting them on apparel like T-shirts and hats. It is something that I've wanted to do for years, but I just didn't know which platform I would have launched it on," he said.
AMICS Company now has a portfolio of subsidiaries, including AMICS Family, which is entrusted with the management of iCloud and Apple Music subscriptions, and AMICS Graphics, which specialises in web design, video and photo editing, as well as content creation.
mentioned in the Jamaica Star newspaper.