Thinking Kinky : The Nappy Haired Diva

I lived most of my adult life believing I was meant to work for myself. I started off selling Avon. I would hustle my catalog to my colleagues at the investment firm I worked in and fill orders. I was building a decent client base and was receiving a small profit, however, I spent more than I earned to remain active as a distributor. Strangers had their own distributors and didn't want to purchase from me. I got tired of hitting up my clients for more sales and giving away trinkets with each purchase was dipping into my profits. Parties dwindled after the first one. Avon wasn't turning out to be the escape I needed from Corporate America. Fast forward to Arbonne. I was a beauty consultant or whatever we were called and I hosted a successful party along with developing a business selling gift baskets to peoples wives for holidays and birthdays. Again, I was obligated to have a base amount of sales so during slow months, I cut into my meager profit to meet the amount needed ...

Starting a business isn't always easy. Most times you need to spend money before you make money. The amount invested will hopefully be earned back within your first or second year of business. For a large span of time you may be working hard and paying everyone else but yourself. This is the life of a small business owner. You spend evenings examining spreadsheets until your eyes are crossed and write checks to everyone while you eat a $1 pack of noodles. Welcome to business ownership. Take off your shoes, get comfy. I recall my days of being thirsty for business ownership. I have signed up to do just about everything from selling cosmetics to legal services. There was no limit to the things I tried. Each time I entered these business structures I was told to spend money. When I would cringe, I would then be reminded that any and every business requires an investment. This is true. The difference is that these business structures ALWAYS required that I target my friends and f...

Many of us have had that defining moment, where we contemplate working for ourselves rather than toiling away for an employer.  This idea is typically fueled by the desire for freedom from a myriad of common office issues from paid time off to water cooler gossip. While employees indeed make a company run, it's another thing entirely to run a company.  Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road.  As an entrepreneur, there is a tremendous responsibility for all aspects of your business from marketing to accounting. The amount of time required to build a business from the ground up will easily discourage most people. If you believe that you're wasting away at a 9 to 5, you will surely rot while building your startup. Every moment will be spent marketing your business, negotiating deals with clients, and if you achieve growth you can count on navigating the hiring process as well. It gets really fun when you have to master the art of payroll.  So often we see blo...

It's 11:39pm and instead of spooning with my significant other or at minimum, sleeping I am up typing another blog for my business. Can I do this tomorrow? Of course, but why? Tomorrow will only bring new demands to my day and I will have to conquer those before the following day.  This cycle never seems to end and as fatigued as I become, my commitment to my goal to be successful in my start-up outweighs any relationship , logic, and lately food.  I casually graze all day rather than sit down and actually enjoy a meal.  I joined an online dating service and have no time to reply to potential love interests. When I tell them that I am busy launching my own business they all seem excited and no sooner than a few days they have long given up on me, due to my tardy and brief replies which only serve as obligatory echoes to their valiant attempts at capturing my attention.  No, I don't spoon with anyone at night. I don't have leisure conversation. I don't sp...

Social media is a fantastic way to market your business without spending a fortune. With the implementation of ad campaigns on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and more recently Linkedin even the smallest startup can throw their hat in the ring and try to get sales. I too decided to utilize this method when I started my business, Estwick Marketing . What I didn't know was that while social media can be a fantastic marketing tool, it can also have minimal yield if done incorrectly. A friend once told me that the path to success was paved with mistakes. He didn't actually word it that way but that was the gist of what he was saying. Anyhow, you have to learn what not to do before you learn what you need to do. Here are the top three things I learned along the way while marketing my startup on social media: Do your research: Find out where other businesses that are similar to yours are posting. If it's working for them, it will likely work for you. You won't be able t...

Everyone has a purpose. Life is a journey to realizing that purpose and sharing it with the rest of the world. Many times we seek the secret to success without realizing that the secret is no more than discovering to your gift and giving it to the world. We often interpret success to be financial. Financial wealth is no more than a blessing that is the fortunate result of sharing your gift(s). I once met a woman who told me that Oprah Winfrey was her best friend. While Oprah can't call this woman specifically by name, I'm sure she knows that she is often considered a friend or even best friend to thousands of people if not more. She would have never received the opportunity to play that role in so many lives had she not embarked upon a career as a news anchor. Eventually, she was turned away from the business because she didnt have the look. That rejection only allowed her to place her focus on other opportunities and after the start of a talkshow she was able to take her...