Saturday APRIL 14, 2012 (8:30 pm)
OMG! I'm so excited about the launch of my new site. This is so exciting for me on so many levels. It's almost hard to breathe sometimes when I think about it. My company has come so far since it's inception last year. I guess a year in prep means I'm ready to roll out the carpet and take that journey! My company comes in full swing in less than 7 days. I'm nervous too.... But I've got a little luck and a good God on my side. This blog is meant to be informative as well as entertaining. Days when I'm happy you'll find me here. Days when I'm frustrated over work, you'll find me here too. When I stumble across information I feel my colleagues may find useful as well, I'll post it. And together... we'll take this journey....
BRITT
Tuesday April 17, 2012 (8:58 pm)
Today has been so stressful. The last page that needs to get done will not act right! I've tried more than one way to do it but it won't work! Frustrated is not the word! It took me almost 2 hours to design a simple ad and now my laptop is about to die! I guess I'll charge it and take a breather because working sometimes frustrates you so much that you have to walk away and come back. I'm excited about the page still even though things haven't gone my way today. Gotta roll with the punches.... I'm determined to launch this website by Monday reguardless so whatever negative forces are trying to surround me won't negate me at all! Taking a breather.... (sigh)
BRITT
Saturday April 21, 2012 (1:26 am)
I'm so excited. My website is complete! I'm so estatic! This is way bigger than I thought it would get- that is God's way of blessing me. I'm going to launch it tonight I think. I'm so ready to unveil the finished product. I'm so thankful to every last entrepreneur that made this such a success and to those reading I hope you enjoy what I have put together. It was truly a labor of love... drum roll please.....
BRITT
Yes, I'm still awake. Surfing the web... looking for small things to inspire me. I watch videos alot on youtube. I think that's what has become the past time of most Americans anyway. YouTube is filled with things to entertain, educate, inspire you... So I've been listening to my soothing folk music and surfing the web. Tomorrow I have brunch with a colleague and an event to attend. As I work, my calender seems to start filling itself. I honestly didn't think it would be like that. Today I did an interview and it went really well. I feel that I covered all the bases but I could have been more prepared. (To my readers- I'll always be honest with myself because it guarantees I'll be honest to you!) So I need to work on my camera presence and the nerves of it. The amazing thing about being in a business that you love is that you learn by accident and have fun doing it. You meet people that are inspired by you and you find inspiration through them and it pushes you forward faster than you thought you could go. Honestly I'm pleasantly surprised at the support I've received from this site. It's hard being an entrepreneur. It's so much easier to work for someone else because there is no effort for the most part. You are doing what you're told and it's just that easy. Being an entrepreneur means taking chances. And having faith is a big factor of that. I didn't know how much faith I had until I stepped out and started doing my business full time. The hardest thing is leaving what you know is promised money to do your passion. Sometimes it takes a long time for your passion to take root and for you to see a turn around on what your working towards. But it's hard and rewarding. Not the grueling type hard. It's the type of hard that molds and makes you into a more polished gem. I'm rambling but my thoughts have always come in bits and pieces. I write papers backwards. I do the conclusion and the body first and my opening last. How many people do you know that do that? I don't know of any! LOL I'm weird but my creative side is a constant jumping, moving force. I wake up out of my sleep with ideas pumping through my mind. But back to the topic at hand... (where was I...) umm... lol.... YEAH... I've always had it in my mind that I would have my own business and do what I love full time for the rest of my life but I never said when. I never gave myself a deadline... but I KNEW it was coming. In the back of my mind I would tell myself that I wasn't ready and that I'll know when to take that step and start establishing myself as an entrepreneur. Opportunity after opportunity walked in front of me and I continuously let them keep walking without me. I think I blocked plenty of blessings by not being able to have faith in myself and my gift and my passion. But I was scared. I used to have this section on FB every now and then where I would confess things like I still sleep with a teddy bear when my man is out of town (fact) and one of the things I would put up there is that I was AFRAID of SUCCESS.... I knew I was. I was scared to move forward. I was petrified. Deer in the headlights.... but a time came where I knew that I HAD to do this for myself.... I say now that You can't say what you can and won't do with your life... Soon as you say what you can't and won't you will be MADE. And each time I've been made my pride and ego have been hurt but it caused growth. Growing pains are real yall! So now I just listen to my gut more. I leave those nerves on the shelf. But getting to this point has shown me what I'm really made of. And I've come to learn that I'm tougher than I thought... GO FIGURE! lol
BRITT
Monday April 23, 2012 (6:50 pm)
Yesterday I experienced the most beautiful thing.... I went to a college friend's event yesterday. Her name Is Queen Aftan Williams and her company is called: I am A Queen Royalty Productions. The goal of her company is to empower young girls aged 10 to 18. Her theme focused around being entrepreneurs. This workshop was such a great event. I listened to all the ladies who were professionals. Published authors, P.R execs, personalities.... there were careers sprinkled in from all over. I watched as these little girls listened with their ears tuned in and their eyes were wide. They were learning. Programs like these need support. I wish as a kid I had someone to teach me the ins and outs of being a business woman when I was 10 years old. There's no telling how much different my life would have been! With me having a daughter I think people like Aftan are a Godsend for our children. The generation gap is now filled with more violence than when we were kids. The convenience and accessibility of the internet has given birth to cyber bullying and kids are now being driven to suicide. But I feel that people like Aftan make such a big difference in people's lives. Those girls can leave there with their heads held higher and no matter how much they may be an outsider at school, know that there is something bigger than the walls of the school. That the school is not the end. There are better, amazing things in the world. I encourage everyone to look her up. She so inspiring! After I left I felt like I had to do SOMETHING! It left a feeling of proactiveness and productivity.... I AM A QUEEN ROYALTY PRODUCTIONS is a great program if you have a daughter or know of a little girl that could benefit from this, PLEASE look her up!
BRITT
Thursday May 3, 2012 (2:43 pm)
Today is one of those days that I seriously get on the "SOAP BOX". I made my SOAP BOX tab to not only blog
about events and other socially positive things, I also created it for
the good, bad, and ugly side of being an entrepreneur. This week I've
had the unfortunate opportunity to be cut out by a "leading local
semi-public" figure. Now this FIGURE (we shall call them Individual X)
is in the same field of business that I am in- marketing and branding.
Catch this story: Individual X is someone that over the past couple of
years I had come to admire because I watched their steady climb to the
position they are in. Truth be told I initially had a type of healthy
envy of this person. I say healthy because this envy pushed me to start
my business with fierceness. Like any other entrepreneur I watch those
who are on similar paths as I. I watch, learn, and admire. That being
said this week I paid public admiration to Individual X in a humbling
post on facebook. The post verbatim was:
I fill my friend's list with those that inspire me to move forward, be better, and go after what I want. So I want to take the time to thank those who I watch from a distance but continue to inspire me to not keep up with "the Jones'", or be the Jones' but to do better than the Jones'! Thanks to my facebook friends for unknowingly encouraging me and contributing to my life!
I then proceeded to tag 17 people in the post. Later on in the evening I noticed that my tagged list went from 17 to 16. Now what kind of person untags themselves from a post that is paying homage to those before me that inspired me to be the "force" that I am now? And this isn't the first time this person did this. The first time I tagged Individual X in a picture of a flier that I created for a community service project that I am actively involved in. This community service event called for tents and sleeping bags for the homeless to be donated. Who untags themselves from a post that encourages others to lend a hand to the community? So at this point, not only has my respect for this person dropped a notch or two, now I'm upset and beginning to take it personal.As entrepreneurs it's important to remember that we had a beginning as well and we didn't get to where we are by mistake, happenstance, or luck. There came a point where someone BELIEVED in you and what you are doing and decides to help push you and your service/product further. Never has a entrepreneur made it on their own. Weather it is an investor, business partner, or first client, someone gave you a chance. I feel that it's necessary to "pay the piper" so to speak. Pay your dues and pay it forward. And paying it forward isn't something that you do selectively. Karma is serious and it is REAL... so it's not really a wise choice in my opinion, to "hand pick" where your blessing will come from. I feel that everyone deserves a chance and opportunity to grow their business if their business is ready to take off at that point. Where I draw the line is when you make it a point to pass up a budding entrepreneur because what they do is SIMILAR to what Individual X is doing. What I do is based on small businesses. What Individual X does is more national on a fortune 500 company type base. How can someone on that scale be threatened by lil' ole me? Our audiences are different and we focus on different things. I feel that we should all be able to work together... I feel that mentoring new entrepreneurs is something that all entrepreneurs should do. I would never turn my back to someone that not only is asking for my help but has decided that in this great big world of Do-it- Yourself tips and Google mania, to look to me for inspiration and help. It tells a lot about a person if they turn their back on the little man and forget that once upon a time they WERE the little man. I'm not the type of person to go on a Individual X bashing spree. Bad publicity is never good even on a FB or a blog.... but instead I will use my frustration to teach those who will be following behind me on the entreprenural trail should know to not forget where they came from and to not be threatened by those like you. They may be like you, but they AREN'T you. Pay it forward.... pass the buck... inspire and pick those up along the way that need help. Don't push yourself out front and shove someone else behind you... chances are you WILL see that person again, and when you do, more than likely you will be embarrassed and hate the fact that you passed up the opportunity to share your wealth of knowledge. When everyone is standing sipping drinks and ask how you know your figurative Individual X you can tell them a light hearted antidote on how this person tried their hardest to keep you from getting to where you are today... and now today he has to look you and your face while you tell people how you know them and lost a level of respect for them as a business person. You'll smile over the rim of your champagne glass and give Individual X that cool "I bet you hate yourself" wink and continue to shake hands with his comrades while they become nauseous and sink in the hole they belong in...... See you at the top INDIVIDUAL X! I'm coming for you! :)
BRITT
Friday May 4, 2012 (1:47 pm)
I am constantly seen as a novelty to people that I meet. That is
strange to me because in my world, what I'm doing is what everyone else
is doing. In my world, 80% of my friends, colleagues, and associates are
in business for themselves are in the stages of going into business for
themselves. For some reason it seems like everyone else in the world is
not trying to work for them selves? I don't know... I'm confused. But
when I tell people what I do, or I hand out cards to people and tell
them what I do they look at me in awe and say things like, I wish I
could meet a woman like you, or I could learn alot from hanging with
you.... I've been a business person at heart for years and it took me
years to learn things like the most important factor of being an
entrepreneur.... Knowing who to get into bed with.... or in plain terms,
knowing who you can and can't go into business with. It's been a very
hard lesson learned because when you look for business partners
sometimes when you are selling each other's dreams you get caught up in
the dream and not the actual machine behind the dream. The dream when
you think of it is the result of something. You have to work towards
your dreams. You do things to achieve goals leading to your dream. These
are normal necessary steps of the dream being the end result. However,
when you think of your dream think of how you got there. Did you work
hard, did you brain storm, did you fail and succeed? Did you celebrate? Did you loose sleep? Or did you cheat, steal, and manipulate your way to the top?
I won't say that it's a bad idea to go into business with close
friends. In some cases it does work really well. In others, not so much.
How can you tell that your friend is a partner of gold or a business
nightmare waiting to end up in small claims court is as simple as you
being honest with yourself about your friend.How do you and your friend
compliment each other. Do you love to write and hate math, while your
friend hates to write and loves math? How is your friend on being on
time for things? Are they always late for work or canceling
appointments? How is your friend about keeping records? Is your friend
honest? Is your friend trustworthy? Would you give your friend a spare
key to your safe that has a million dollars in it and know that your
friend would never steal or borrow from you unknowingly? Have you heard
your friend speak poorly of another person she is doing business with or
has told you is a close friend? Chances are if any of these questions
you answer did not turn out in favor for your friend or potential
business partner, then they aren't the ideal person for you to be going
into business with. I know that at times when we see an opportunity to
join forces with someone that may be a vessel for you and your dream, we
don't think about the long term benefits or things that could lead to
our business' detriment.
You want to be in business with a person that is trust worthy and
loyal. You don't want to have to wonder if your business partner is
selling your ideas or is stealing your money. You don't want to
misinterpret carelessness and manipulation for ambition. Ambitious
partners make carefully planned decisions that are not sneaky and seek
to undercut people they have built a trusting relationship with. They
are loyal to the business and to the brand they represent. They go after
what they want in a way that does not belittle or harm anyone else. They have serious ambition. Those are the people you want to work with. You want people that make things happen the right way.
When becoming an entrepreneur it is easy to catch an opportunity and roll with it because you see the good it would do for you and your business. That's great to want to jump at an opportunity to grow awareness about your business. However, it's good to know what else comes with that opportunity. Is the person reputable? Sometimes a person's life is a good indication if you should go into business with them. As well as their face book page. Is their time line filled with drama and negativity? That's a good indication to second guess working with them as well. A serious business person realizes that anything they attach their name to is a reflection of them. So keeping a clean professional profile is important as well. Every opportunity isn't a good one. So just think it over and research a person before jumping into "bed' with them.
BRITT
Tuesday June 5, 2012 10:05 pm
Today I got curious because there had been a little buzz lately about myspace. So I attempted to log in. Of course I don't remember the password because it has been forever since I logged in... I mean FOREVER. When I initially thought about forever, I thought that I may have logged in about a year and a half ago. The exact date that I logged in was November 29, 2009. So much was going on at that time. I had gotten married a year before, rejoined the military, and was on my first set of orders. I was in Korea. I was having the time of my life. I tell people to this day, that year was the best year of my life. I learned so much about myself while having the time of my life. My life was so much simpler than I realized. I would love to love to talk to myself on that exact date. I would only tell myself... it will get hard. You will want to give up, but you were strong enough not to and you came out on the other end of the battle a winner. I would tell myself that it gets better and nothing is ever as final as it seems. You will be a stronger wiser woman after the storm. It's better on the other end of the tunnel.I I would encourage myself to enjoy the parts of my life I selfishly took for granted. Meaning if I am so nonchalant about it- I should count my blessings instead. I would tell myself to look forward and that as hard as it may seem to take those steps forward, you eventually do. You almost perfect the art of not looking back. I would tell myself that I am proud of myself. I would smile and tell myself that almost four years from that date you will be your happiest. I would not attempt to alter my future like some would. The future that I have yet to see... I know it's gonna be great. :)
BRITT
