Can I be honest for a second? Well of course I can, since this is my site, I can do whatever I want. Last week I discussed depression, anxiety, and the comparison trap. I received a plethora of great responses and feedback from this online space, in addition to, a few other sites I shared it on. Okay, back to the honesty part. I truly wish more people were honest in business. One of my biggest pet peeves is people not living their life the way they say they are. They give off a “rose-colored” glasses lifestyle via social media. Having their audience believe one thing and doing another. Oh another would be, people taking advice from fluff experts.
Fluff experts are people who pull things from others and they give out the advice to their audience as if it was their own. When in actuality they don’t know a thing. They just want to be important. Running a business is EXTREMELY HARD. I see bad advice on social media daily and I cringe. Telling someone not to get a LLC because it is “too expensive” is not cool. It’s too expensive to be sued too.
Well, that’s my mini intro or rant for this month. That topic has really been grinding my gears, as of lately.
Business Life
Honest moment #2: I have been struggling with focusing on business per se. I am currently in the process of launching three new businesses under the Imperfect Concepts Boutique, LLC umbrella. Currently there is ICB Consults and Imperfect Concepts under that umbrella. All businesses under IC have DBA’s set up in the city I reside in. Just in case anyone was wondering.
My soul purpose, in my opinion, is to help women run better businesses. Providing tools and resources to them that I didn’t have when I launched. In addition to, making a thriving community of brilliant women. I truly want to have an impact on a million womens lives in an entrepreneurship way. For me to do that means, I need to scale the business and cut back at the same time. I will be able to scale more by launching these new businesses. I am cutting back by taking a break from One on One Consultations I offer. I am keeping my current client roster but will not be taking on new long-term clients. When I go visit cities I will do mini sessions. For example, I will be in Atlanta next month, Mother’s day weekend. I set aside some time to do some coaching. I will do the same for Portland and Seattle when I visit.
I really do love working one on one with amazing women, but for my company to have a global impact I need to be able to reach more people in a quicker time.
Launching New Businesses
Well, back to struggling. Launching one business is hard but three amazing businesses is even harder. One business, I have decided to launch fourth quarter instead of third. This one has put me way outside my comfort zone. In addition, it was a high amount of content. Which was draining me. The other business I am very excited about. The trademark for it is being processed. There is some anxiety but after talking to Brandi, Jessica, Raquel, and Tiffany, I feel really good. What’s funny is Tiffany caught on to what I was trying to do without me even providing all the details.
A couple exciting parts about launching the new businesses, have been getting trademarks, DBA’s, and doing design mockups. All things that cost money excite me, isn’t that hilarious. In addition to, that I plan on making sure all the sites are cohesive. Which also cost money. I just love to spend money. lol
Personal Life
Next month I was planning on moving into a two bedroom apartment in The Domain. I dreamed of living in the one that over looks Neiman Marcus and sits on top of Tiffany’s. I could visually see me living there. Only issue was, when I sat down to look at my finances and budget. I could not justify $28K a year for an apartment. When I was 25 and just living my life, yes I surely could. However, now not so much. That is a lofty down payment on a house + property for IC HQ. I have become wiser in my opinion in the last year or so. I am more cautious of where my money is going.
Paying Off Debt
I always debate buying new shoes because that money could go to paying off my student loan debt. Oh yeah, I have gotten several emails regarding why, how, and what I am doing to pay off my debt. As mentioned before, I modified the Dave Ramsey Baby Step Program to do this. By my desk, I have all my debts listed smallest to largest. Paying off the smallest one first, then the extra money goes to the next debt. Causing a snowball effect. I pay double what is owed monthly on my student loans. So, if a bill is $80 I pay $160. 30% of my income goes to debt. 10% goes to savings. Yes, Dave talks about stop saving til your debt is paid off, but I want a safety net. A $1000 emergency fund is not it for me. I am not doing anything drastic to pay it off. No second jobs, as I said a couple paragraphs up, running a business is hard. No need to add a side hustle or part time gig to that. Furthermore, I have a separate bank account for this. I have a free Chase account, that all the debts are controlled from.
Things I Bought This Month
Loft had a 70% off sale. No point of trying to link stuff online, its gone. Maybe you can find some great things in store. Also, racked up at Gap in four different locations. Don’t judge. Jubilee (my niece) and I “needed” new clothes. Ha, to my realization as I write this I did not buy new shoes this month. Hits the running man.
Small Business Purchases: Sequin Hanger – Brownstone Closets, Girls Compete Tshirt – DSR Apparel (love giving as a gift) and Coffee Scrub – Frank Body.
April has been a really good month of learning for me. Being able to decompress in San Antonio last weekend was amazing, too. I came back that Sunday and went to Grace church. So much confirmation on leadership and trusting God. I know I am suppose to launch my new businesses. Hope you enjoyed reading this months long winded random musing post.
