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March Goal Setting

March is creeping up on me and that means spring is almost here. There are some things that are great about spring! Some people think of spring as a fresh start (even though I think anytime is a good time to start), the weather starts to warm up a little bit, beautiful flowers start to bloom, and the leaves start to turn green again. I think the only thing I hate about the spring is my allergy problem haha.

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I’ve been looking back on my 2017 goals this past week in Evernote. I revisited the goals I wrote down for myself and just let it marinade for a little while so I can evaluate things I want to work on, change, and keep doing.

  1. Health and Fitness: I need to start going to the gym consistently and continue on improving my dietary choices. 
  2. Work: Ninong’s is doing well, we are continuing to grow and change. I’m planning a huge trade show for CO Creative Cartel in the summer and I need to start planning. Real estate had been busier than expected, we closed 2 transactions in the first quarter and have 3 potential clients we can possibly in the 2nd quarter. I never thought this would be something that I would ever do, especially without my mom. But God has a way of showing you what His plans are for you. 🙂 The Good the Bad the Foodie has started and we’re filming on a consistent basis. We’ve got more videos coming your way so if you haven’t subscribed to our YouTube channel yet make sure you do so you don’t skip a beat!
  3. Home: Charlie and I have been organizing little by little and tackling projects every couple weeks. Working 6 days a week (sometimes 7) makes it really hard to keep your house clean. I’ve been taking every Monday to clean and doing little by little every day after work to make it more manageable.
  4. Personal Growth: I have really bad self confidence issues and one day I woke up and decided I wanted to start taking care of my skin (more on this later). I’ve never really had any issues with my skin but I definitely didn’t want to start having problems as an adult. I’ve been doing it for a little over a month and not only has my skin felt really soft and healthy but it has also given me a little bit of confidence. Taking care of myself has helped me to treat myself with respect and has mentally given me some self worth! On top of that I found an accountability partner in my good friend and fellow entrepreneur Heather, I started up bible study with my friends again, and I plan on traveling more this year.

So this month, I plan on being more consistent with the new things I started and turn them into healthy habits. The idea of positive reinforcement has been a huge factor in my progress not just in my personal habits and confidence but also in my productivity. So I want to continue to do things that are healthy for my body and mind which will be my focus for this month.

Happy planning guys! What are you goals for the month of March?

Xoxo,

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Making Entrepreneurship Work when You First Start Out

Sometimes I can’t believe I was only 19 when I started my first business. I was still a college student. I was at my last quarter at FIDM, working 35 hours a week at a bridal gown store, and on the verge of graduating. Who has time to start a business?! After I graduated, I found a job at a print company and was working 40 hours a week while still doing my business on the side. Since graduating I’ve held lots of full time jobs all while doing my business on the side. I was working until 3 am sometimes only to get up at 6 am the next day. Hey, I had to survive right? I had bills to pay.

In every way you can imagine, entrepreneurship is about survival. You have these skills, passion, and you see an opportunity that you can fulfill. You want these things to be part of your daily life and would do anything to survive by using those 3 assets. Even if that means working night and day to make it happen. Why would anyone do that to themselves? Because it makes us happy. I know it makes me happy being able to exercise all 3 of those things – skill, passion, and opportunity. When you start a business, that’s how you survive. You realize you do what you have to do so that you can be happy.

Don’t get me wrong, being a business owner is hard – really hard sometimes. I’ve written about it before. Here, here, and here. Sometimes things will be great! And other times, you just want to curl up and hide from the world. Sometimes you have more than enough money coming in, and sometimes you won’t. A lot of entrepreneurs start off doing their business after work hours until their business can sustain them. That was me for a while. Up until 2013 I was working on and off at full time jobs, part time jobs, freelance jobs until I started working at Ninong’s. When I first started working there I would be the first one there and the last one to leave. I’d come in at 7:30 am, stay past 10 pm, and then work from home after. There were weeks where I was really really stressed where I’d cry every day and there were weeks where things would go well. Point is: it’s just the nature of the beast.

You’ve got to learn how to do things you never thought you’d have to learn – how to be an accountant, marketing guru, social media manager, graphic designer, operations manager…the list goes on and on. You now wear a million hats, at least until you make enough where you can pay to have a professional lighten your load (trust me, it’s worth the investment). 

When you’re a business owner, a lot of times it’s all you can think about. It’s actually all you want to think about sometimes. If that’s the case and you haven’t started your business yet, then you should! Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t let fear take over your life to the point where you stop doing purposeful work. Do what you’re passionate about, work that gives you meaning and makes you happy!

I always tell people that come to me when they’re thinking about starting a business the real deal – it has its pro’s and its cons. But I always tell them that I would never have it any other way. If you’re the type that just isn’t happy working for someone else, or you have an idea that you just can’t get out of your head, then being an business owner might be for you! The great thing about starting your own business is that it taps into your unforeseen potential. The potential to make more money than working for someone else, the potential to come better than you ever thought you could be, and the potential to push yourself and learn how to want to do work instead of have to so work.

xoxo,

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I Have a Business Idea, Now What?

When I started doing regular meetings with my long time friend and fellow entrepreneur, Heather, I realized how often people come to me when they realize they want to start a business. I usually get questions like, “I have this idea but can you tell me what paper work I need to get this going?” or “What kind of business should I open up?” or “Can I pick your brain about this business idea I have?” or “Do you think this is a good idea?”

Well, let me tell you that if you have a business idea then I think it’s wonderful! Entrepreneurship and small business is my life. I love being a business owner. Through good days and really crappy days in the end I know being an entrepreneur is what really makes me happy – it makes me tick. So, you’re thinking of starting a business of you own? Great! Here’s my advice of what you need to do first before taking the plunge.

  1. Get prepared
    1. Do. Your. Research. I can’t stress this enough. A lot of businesses fail before they even begin because of lack of research. A couple questions for you:
      1. What do you need to start up?
      2. What kind of permits are needed from the county and/or state?
      3. What kind of monetary investment is needed for start up costs?
    2. Scope out your competition. And not in a creepy stalker way! Reach out to them as a colleague in a professional manner. Worst case scenario is they don’t respond back to you. But best case scenario you have a new friend that you can talk shop with!
    3. How can you differentiate the market? Basically, unless you’re an inventor you’re business idea is just reinventing something that has already been done. So how is your product or service going to be different from what is already out there?
    4. What can you bring to the table? This is the culminating question based on questions 2 and 3. Most of the time you and your personal brand is what is going to set you apart from the competition. Is there anything else? Maybe you have an innovative way to present your product. Or maybe you are going to utilize technology in a way that hasn’t been done in your industry. Or maybe, the exact opposite, you plan on going back to basics and minimizing the use of technology. Who knows? You should know 😉
  2. Figure out your costs. I know a lot of people don’t like to discuss money, it’s a touchy subject for some. But let’s be realistic here. You want to start a business for 2 main reasons: to do what you love and to make money, right? Now I’m not talking about start up costs anymore. I’m talking about operation costs.
    1. How much will it take to keep your business running after you’ve started? Create a budget of your monthly expenses for your business. That way, you know exactly how much you need every month to break even. Do you need to rent office or warehouse? Do you need internet? Do you need a website? Do you need a company phone line? How much will you pay yourself? Those are your monthly expenses.
  3. Create pricing for your product or service. Now that you know how much your business is going to cost you it’s time to think about making some money. A lot of people think you can just take the cost of your product or service and multiply it by 3. But that’s not true for everyone. In fact, it’s not true for most. Pricing your goods or services correctly is extremely important. Some things to think about when :
    1. What is your competition’s pricing? It’s very important that you don’t undercut your competition. Not only will you be sabotaging your colleagues but you’ll be cheating yourself on potential profits. Just because you’re just starting out doesn’t mean you have to charge 50% less than the competition. You have value, your insight is valuable. You are knowledgable and have something to contribute in your field.
    2. What can the market bear? There are numerous factors that can play into this. Yes, your competition..but also your geographical area. Where are you located? Who will you be servicing? What kind of added value are you including into your product?
  4.  Go for it! Lastly, don’t be afraid! Take the leap and invest in yourself. Whenever people tell me they’re thinking about starting a business I get extremely excited for them. Why? Because it takes courage, and most people won’t have the courage to go for what they want. I’ve noticed that a lot of people that people don’t know what they’re passionate about. But if you’re thinking about starting a business that means you must be passionate about something and that’s exciting! I ain’t gonna lie people – owning a business is extremely hard. You’ll learn things that you never learned before, put in more work hours than ever before, and you’ll wear so many hats you never thought you’d have to! But for a lot of people they wouldn’t have it any other way. Why? Because despite all the hardships, entrepreneurship will always have the biggest potential for more. And more I mean not just more earnings, but more life experience, time, and more getting to know what you’re really made of. So go out there and do it! I’m rooting for you!

In your corner,

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