Entrepreneurship definitely requires a balance of managing creative output as well as having the ability to follow the principles of sustaining a successful business. For me, entrepreneurship is life, and life has always been about the experience of life itself. Life is not a routine, but rather, a cycle. Living my life to its fullest cycle means to make new mistakes in order to move forward and make the changes necessary to reach my goals. Every day I seek to improve myself in some form - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual - so that I can be a positive impact to those around me.
Recently, I hit a wall. I realized that I was sacrificing a lot of healthy habits in order to rapidly grow my business. I won't get into detail but trust me when I say that it got ugly. I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted at the peak of my business in 2018. I doubled my income from 2017, but I was so disorganized with my finances that the profit did not seem to give me a return for my investment (mainly time and energy).
Ultimately, this grand wall, in particular, relates to raising capital to scale my business without running myself into the ground. In the physical sense of scaling my business, means opening a storefront and hiring a full staff to run it with me. There are many ways of going about it and I’m currently figuring that out. You hear stories all the time about how one person turns $500 into 5 billion or something along the lines of that right? Well, it certainly does not happen overnight, most of the time, not even in the span of two years. On top of it all, every business is different - with different mistakes, different strategies, and different outcomes. Remember that part I mentioned about making mistakes? Well, I make plenty and now I’m coming up with a new strategy.
In the grand scheme of scaling my business, means reaching a wider audience so that I can impact institutions and innovate systems of how we define wellness, health and beauty in the world today. Yes, this too requires capital. However, it does not and cannot begin with solely having capital. It begins with creation and consistency in the implementation of ideas.
In 2019, I've transitioned from hustle-until-the-day-I-die #workmode #mentality to, I-need-to-rejuvenate-myself-with-art-and exploration-before-I-return-to-non-stop-grind-mode. I feel myself entering a new space coming March 2019 and I’ve got to admit that I feel extremely guilty for doing so. I feel guilty for re-entering my creative space. I feel guilty for focusing on digital media, film, photography, social media and marketing as a means to advance in my career. I feel guilty for "changing" again. Yes, it’s another financial investment, which means another risk. Perhaps it’s more of a fear of failure versus a feeling of guilt—or both. In truth, I feel the need to continue refining these skills regardless of the consequences because it not only rejuvenates me, but it restores my self-confidence and my love for life itself. It also means that I would revisit my past—the creative side of me that I was born with and that I know I excel at. It’s time to create art again, but, in a different way than before. This time, to connect what I create with all the skills and knowledge I have developed prior as a Painter, Web Designer, Personal Trainer, Chef, Fitness Nutritionist, Business Owner and so on.
The fact that my goals have stayed the same for over a decade and the fact that I have never stopped thinking about my goals means that I'm going in the right direction. Ultimately, I will continue to give into my guilty pleasure and further accept the fact that I feel this type of way. It's not wrong, or bad, it simply just is. I will tread on because I have faith in my self and my love for all the art forms, also known as, the root cause of everything I have created into abundance today.
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