Normally, (two days before the end of the month) I have already written my month in review post. With only a couple of days left, I am currently sitting in my bed eating sour patch kids and reflecting on the month of July. To be honest, the first week was rather rough as far as my personal life goes. I’m still dealing with the falling-in-love-and-getting-heart-broken thing. Rather, the still-in-love-but-single thing, all while running two businesses and trying to maintain a regular life.
To help me through this time, I have been working harder than I normally do. For the month of June, I was off and I’m not afraid to admit that. I didn’t meet my sales goals, and I just didn’t feel like doing anything productive. July is the store’s anniversary and my birthday month. With that in mind, I am putting everything back on track.
Old Navy Anchor Jacket | Topshop x Nordstrom Maxi Dress | Vintage Louis Vuitton Speedy 45 | Mossimo Wedges
Thanks of the Month: To my lovely copywriter, Myriah! She is truly amazing, and I adore her. Many of you might not know this, but I am dyslexic and grammar or better yet English is not my strong suit. Myriah has swooped in and saved ICB. She is a pleasure to work with and smart as I don’t know what. She has a bright future ahead of her after graduating this upcoming fall, and I look forward to working with her more. She has been my right hand man when it comes to the store’s ebooks, SEO and all that jazz.
Highlight of the Month: This month brought many exciting things! Currently, with the help of Myriah and Mary, the ICB consults website is well underway. A week or so ago, the cover art design finally came to me after months and months of work. If you follow the store on Instagram, you know I have been working ebooks for some time. By the time the website launches, there will be SEVEN ebooks to download. Are you amped? I know I am! I’m also working on behind the scenes partnerships with big brands that I love. I have to keep everything “hush hush” until all the signatures are on the dotted line, but I am beyond geeked and excited to share.
Pits of The Month: Coding. Yes, it has kicked my little butt. There is a wall that coders hit when frustration sets in and we just want to throw our Macbook Pro’s out the window. The second pit is being an adult. When I was in college, fiscal responsibilities were never on my mind. Now, there are days that I want to splurge, but I am paying off debts. This also cuts into the amount of money I can reinvest in my business. Four of my major debts should be paid off next month, so that means all the ideas and projects I had to put on the back burner are going to get their chance now. Thank goodness for that! I don’t want to cut checks every week for $250, but I’m thankful to have the funds to do so. Lastly, I have put off so many things from my goal list for 2013. For the rest of the year, I will be focusing on those things. Who wants to teach me how to play guitar?
Entrepreneur Roller Coaster Ride: I have been in business four years this month, and during that time I have learned so much. I am thankful for all the missteps and setbacks that led to better understanding. In the last month, many other small business owners have approached me for help with their businesses. I am thankful that others see me as an inspiration and want my help. During this month, two different calls had me excited about being a business owner. Innovation and creativity are two of my favorite things about running a business. Wearing many hats can be difficult, but having a copywriter and a graphic designer on staff has changed my business so much.
Furthermore, having Myriah and Mary is prepping me for the next step of having a complete staff. Learning legal jargon, health care benefits and researching salaries has been interesting to say the least. There is so much college does not teach you about running a business. College can give you graphs; pie charts, guest lectures, but it can never truly give you real world experience. Recently, I asked my friend Mr. Redwine, (we are around the same age I just prefer calling him that because he is beyond his years in wisdom) about scaling my business. He laughed at me. I see the irony in this after the conversation. When I have business questions, I ask him. He said that what I am doing is not in a book or website. My hands have to get dirty and learn. That’s what I am doing, learning.
One more final thought, thank you to everyone who loves the blog. It was created in order to be a source for others. When I started, sites did not cater to solopreneuers, and to be honest they still don’t. It’s more about the startups in technology. Even though fashion and technology have collided, if you are not backed by a venture capitalist or BFFS with someone at Mashable, Tech Crunch or INC, your needs go unnoticed. BlogICB is trying to be the voice for the little.
