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Archives for May 2016

5 Reasons Why You Should Blog for Your Business

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miarmarioenventa.com

During the month of May, we are accepting guest posts from the Womeneur community and this has been republished with permission from Charrish Ferguson of Bout Your Biz.

Nowadays it seems like everyone has a blog, whether its for personal or professional purposes.  For that reason alone you might think it doesn’t make sense to have a blog for your business.  After all, if the internet is flooded with blogs then it’s not like yours will make a difference, right?  WRONG!

Blogging is still effective and I see no signs of it ceasing.  If you don’t believe me here’s five reasons why you should be blogging right now.

1.  Blogging is an easy way to connect with your customers/clients

This is one of the most obvious reasons as to why you should have a blog for your business.  A great entrepreneur should want to connect with their followers and a blog is an easy way to do it.  You don’t have to stick to words alone on your blog, if you’re worried about becoming too stale you can add videos or galleries, interviews and so much more.

Also, every time you publish a post you’re boosting your presence online.  Each blog post transforms itself into content that people can share on other social sites like Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter.  If you’re supplying great content and you build a following of people who love to share, you can literally sit back and watch as your readers help you expand your reach online.  It’s a little circle that never stops rolling once it starts.

2.  Blogging establishes you as an expert in your field

Having a blog forces you to stay current and educated about your particular field.  The last thing you want to do is share incorrect or outdated info to your readers.  Think about it, for someone out there you are becoming their ‘go-to guru’.  The last thing you want to do is let that person down, or steer them in the wrong direction with bad info.

I’m currently drafting a few blog posts on Periscope (follow me to catch my live weekly scopes!).  In order for me to give accurate information and ensure my readers are confident in what I’m sharing with them about this trending app, I have to educate myself about it.  For all the topics I cover (Social Media, Blogging, Branding) I have to constantly research, review and try new things to give valuable information to my followers.

BE BOUT IT:  Think of three topics you could write about if you were to start a blog today.  Write them down so you have a head start when you’re ready to begin.

3. Having a blog helps you sharpen your focus

If you’ve heard me talk on Periscope you know I talk a lot about strategies and knowing your audience.  When you get serious about blogging you get serious about who you’re blogging for – that’s part of your branding basics!  I often tell people if they’re still unsure of who they’re targeting and who their key audience is, a blog is a will force them to find out.

4. A business blog can lead to more opportunities

No matter the focus of your blog, if you’re committed and doing it right it could lead to some amazing opportunities.  A few ideas that I can think of are:

  • Speaking opportunities
  • Sponsors for your business
  • New business partners
  • Endorsement deals for you
  • New clients

5. A blog makes you face your fears

This might not seem as serious as the other reasons but sometimes the truth is we just punk out.  So stop being a punk.  It’s not as hard as you’re convincing yourself.  If after you’ve given it a legitimate try and you realize blogging isn’t for you, aim to hire a full time blogger.  Oh you thought I was going to tell you to give up?  You really don’t know me.

These are things entrepreneurs dream of, regardless of what field their business is in.  So if you own a gym, a blog can help bring new customers in.  If you a stylist, a blog could connect you with a celebrity or it could help you decide to raise your prices.  I wouldn’t focus on when it the opportunities will happen, but more onensuring you’re blogging correctly to make them happen.

Womeneur’s Founder to Facilitate Interactive Workshop at She Leads Africa SheHive NYC Event

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She Leads Africa SheHive Accra BootCamp: Bella Naija, Januray 2016

Calling all professionals, startups and entrepreneurs who want to learn tips and strategies from today’s established and leading women. She Leads Africa is bringing their 4-day professional boot camp event to New York from June 2nd to June 5th. SheHive brings together young female professionals and entrepreneurs to learn new business skills, network with their peers and connect directly with potential mentors and investors. SheHive NYC also aims to reconnect participants with the continent, providing a space for them to meet and network with fellow young ambitious African women living in the US.

We’re delighted to inform you that our founder, Sharon Beason, will facilitate an interactive workshop on Saturday, June 4, 2-3pm. Her workshop will revolve around the key steps to launching, branding and pitching your business. If you want to learn smart strategies from Sharon and other established women, then grab your tickets here asap before they sell out! They’re going, going, going and you definitely don’t want to miss out on this not-to-be-missed event.

Confirmed speakers for SheHive NYC include:

  • Sharon Beason, Founder, Womeneur
  • Vanessa De Luca, Editor-In-Chief, Essence Magazine
  • Lola Ogunnaike, former CNN presenter
  • Thelma Golden, Director Studio Museum Harlem
  • Ngozi Opara – Founder, Heat Free Hair
  • Asmau Ahmed, Founder, PlumPerfect – one of only 11 black female founders to raise above $1mn in outside funding
  • Adiat Disu, Director, African Fashion Week New York
  • Lola Coker, Founder, Resource Nigeria – a recruitment firm that specializes in placing Nigerian diaspora returnees with competitive companies in Nigeria

Speaking about the #SheHiveNYC, She Leads Africa co-founder Afua Osei said: “In the US and UK, men dominate the business and corporate landscape but with so many new industries being created in Africa and for communities in the diaspora, we have the opportunity to change things now. Young women should be encouraged to take leadership roles in startups and corporate organizations and supported along their journey towards professional success. It doesn’t matter if you’re first generation, a recent expat or African American, we all have a shared history and opportunity to make things better.”

Some of the topics being covered at SheHive NYC include:

  • Building a multicultural brand
  • Marketing, especially social media marketing
  • Capitalising on the black beauty industry
  • Pitching to investors
  • Rising up the corporate ladder
  • Building a cosmopolitan and international career
  • Business development
  • Networking
  • Goal setting
  • Moving back
  • Getting into a top MBA school

#SheHiveNYC is part of the SheHive Tour which will take the bootcamp to 7 cities in 2016. Previous editions have been held in Lagos (September 2015 – video here) and Accra (January 2016 – photos here), Abuja (May 2016 – photos here photos here). Former participants have described it as a life changing experience. One participant described how implementing a marketing tactic she learnt at SheHiveAccra helped her close a sales lead the very next day.

Tickets for #SheHiveNYC are going, going, going! Don’t regret not buying your tickets and missing out on what will be an amazing event! Buy your tickets today!

#SheHiveNYC is supported by BellaNaija, Facebook, AfroElle Magazine, Womeneur, WomenWerk, OkayAfrica, Face2Face Africa, Applause Africa, Royalty Lifestyle, Innov8tiv and District Co-work.
She Leads Africa is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting young African women and their journey towards professional success. The organization has been featured on CNN, CNBC Africa, Black Enterprise and Fox Business and has more than 30,000 members across Africa.

Empower Yourself In Your Business and Know Your Worth

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shentonbooks.com

During the month of May, we are accepting guest posts from the Womeneur community and this has been republished with permission from Lakeshia Williams of Be Empowered Now.

If you don’t understand your worth and the value you bring to others, why should anyone else?

1. Tell that inner voice in your head to kick rocks

improve the way you talk to yourself. Stop the inner dialogue that you are not good enough or that you must repeatedly prove your worth to friends, family and your customers. That causes you to not be truly authentic and to over-function. If no one has told you let me tell that you are a fierce and fabulous business owner. Yes, you can run a successful business and live the life that you truly desire but only once you get out of your head and out of your own way. Stop over analyzing, over thinking, and take action. Trust your instincts.

2. Know your worth

If your worth is dependent upon pleasing others you will come up empty. Nothing you do for others will be enough to make you feel valued and appreciated in the way you desire. Knowing your worth has to come from within. Your worth is determined by the treatment you accept or expect for yourself, not by how much of yourself you give away. You simply cannot gain the skill of developing your own self-worth if you expect others to constantly soothe you, build you up and make you feel like you are a success. Measuring your worth by how important others make you feel makes your sense of self to dependent on other people.

To know your worth take charge of yourself and see how it feels to experience your own power.

3. Create your own success and happiness

Neither success or happiness are givens. They are creations. If happiness is not developed from within, you will naturally start looking for happiness from outside sources. This makes you needy. Your expectations, driven by insecurity, will drain others or push them away. Trust that you deserve success and happiness. Figure out how to self-soothe and make yourself happy. When you enjoy your own achievements and success your sense of worth will attract new opportunities and the recognition you deserve from your customers and your industry.

4. Be Proud of Yourself

Do things you are proud of. Take care to dress nice. Be nice, be calm, be loving and have boundaries. Work hard, achieve all you can, and be kind. Kindness will take you further in life than any other human characteristic. Walk tall. There is so much about you that is good, regardless of what you have been told. Choose to believe in who you are and be proud of that. Do not compare yourself to others. Like the snowflake, you are not repeatable. no one has access to your heart, your gift, your knowledge or the core of who you are

5. Slay Hard

Happiness is a by product of achieving and having a purpose. Hard work trumps genius, so let go of the idea you have to have a stellar IQ to be successful. The hard workers in life, are the people who succeed at the highest levels. There is nothing that can make you feel better about yourself then being committed in life, to your life, and to yourself through hard work. With hard work, success is a guarantee. Success naturally brings us self-love, self-respect, self-esteem, recognition and happiness.

6. Choose Healthy Connections

It only takes one toxic person to destroy your entire sense of self. Choose customers, partnerships and employees that treat you with dignity and respect. Refuse to participate in business partnerships where you have to constantly prove your worth to keep their interest. When you are trying to figure out who you want to target your services or products to make sure they are people that you would enjoy doing business with. They may have a similar lifestyle, hobbies, etc.

7. Let others be themselves and be okay with hearing no

If you are needy, insecure, entitled or demanding you become controlling. When you are controlling you compromise the freedoms of the important people in your life through fear, abandonment or engulfment. When you love yourself, you will not need to make demands because you will already have your needs taken care of. This makes you easier to work with and for. People will respond to you the most when you give them the freedom to be themselves. If you offer your services or products to someone and they don’t buy that’s okay its not for you to overthink that you need to decrease your prices or get upset with them there could be a million reasons why they couldn’t or chose not to do business with you at that moment. Don’t haggle or sell your worth to get a customer

8. Be happy for others

People who know their worth seldom feel jealousy or envy because they are satisfied in their own lives, careers and relationships. They are satisfied with who they are as people. Be happy for other people and their happiness. This shift will fundamentally change your life and only serve to bring happiness your way.

Trust there is enough love, money, happiness and success for everyone. When you see there is no such thing as lack, other people’s success or happiness will no longer be a threat to you and your view of yourself. Your self-worth is YOUR business.

How to Write a Business Plan in 20 Minutes

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If you’re reading this, then I’m more than sure your time is money. As a Womeneur, your life is consumed with your to-do list and you don’t have time to add another long, drawn-out task , so I’ve complied a way for you to create your business plan in 20 minutes or less.

Say, what?! 

Yeap! Gone are the days of hiring someone to write a business plan for you. You can totally do that yourself for the going price of free.

But how can I write a business plan in 20 minutes? 

It can be done and I’m a witness. When you’re first starting out, you need a plan to make it all real instead of being abstract. If you’re serious about starting a business, you’ll need a plan because:

  1. it’ll give your guidance to reach milestone in your business
  2. it’ll keep you on track with new ideas
  3. it’ll decrease the feeling of you being overwhelmed
  4. you can clearly track your progress

“ACTION IS THE FOUNDATIONAL KEY TO ALL SUCCESS”

-Pablo Picasso

A traditional business plan will take you longer than 20 minutes. No, I didn’t lie about the 20 minutesbecause you have to start somewhere and this is a good way to get you rolling.

Okay, I know you’re anxious to get started so here’s how it’s done.

CREATE YOUR BUSINESS SUMMARY

Mission Statement – a mission statement is the core purpose and value of your business.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

  • What does my business offer?
  • How is it unique?
  • What problem am I solving?
  • What’s my responsibility to my customers or clients?
  • How will I reach my goal in my daily operation?

 

IDENTIFY YOUR IDEAL CLIENT

Know who you’re selling to and what they want because, of course, your product or service is not for everybody – and it shouldn’t be.

Questions to Ask Yourself: 

  • How old is my target market?
  • Where is my target market located?
  • What is the gender of my target market?
  • What is the income of my target market?
  • What is my target market relationship status?
  • What is the education level of my ideal client?
  • What does my target market do for fun?

 

WRITE YOUR GOALS FOR YOUR BUSINESS & BRAND

Yes, you have a ton of goals to but you want to narrow down and focus solely on the message your brand is conveying to your ideal client.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

  • What pictures will I use?
  • What colors will I use and stick to for branding?
  • What font will I use?
  • What feeling would I like to create for my client/customer?
  • What uniqueness will I show from my personality?
  • What feeling do I want my client/customer to have?

KNOW YOUR OBJECTIVES

Objectives are short-term goals that can be achieved relatively quick within 6-12 months and can be measured. Ideally, you should start with 5 but for the sake of the 20 minutes, you can start with 3.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

  • How many subscribers do I want in 6 months?
  • How many subscribers do I want in 12 months?
  • What is your target engagement rate in 3 months on Instagram?
  • How much do you want your website traffic to increase?

 

MAKE A MONETARY GOALS 

This is one you probably already know the answer to which means all you have to do is fill in the blank. If you don’t know, now’s the time to think about it how you will bringing the dough and list it out.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

  • What products will I offer?
  • What services will I offer?
  • Will I sell ads?
  • Will I offer memberships?
  • Will I get involved with sponsorships?

 

COMPOSE A MARKETING STRATEGY 

This is probably the most important aspect of your business. Yes, you may have a great product or service but how will people know about you and all your ahhhh-someness?!

Questions to Ask Yourself:

  • How can I grow my email list?
  • How can I market offline?
  • What social media platforms will I use?
  • How much time will I spend a day on social media?
  • Will I delegate or run my own marketing?

“SOME PEOPLE DREAM OF SUCCESS WHILE OTHERS WAKE UP AND WORK HARD AT IT. “

– Winston Churchill

Now all you have to do is compile each list to create your business plan.

Ta-da! See, that wasn’t that bad. 

In less than 20 minutes, you have created your first business plan. The idea is you will continue to add to this list which will make it more efficient. Be sure to place your plan in a working document that can be edited and retrieved quickly. For your convenience, I have created a business plan template that you can save to any program.

Remember, to always review and edit this plan to help you stay focused on growing your business. No excuses!

Today is the day! Now get to it!

Until next time….

 

Amber Dee

Seneca Dunmore

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Womeneur Spotlight” google_fonts=”font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Take a walk down the path of these entrepreneurs, business owners and progressive women.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”vc_default” bg_type=”image” parallax_style=”vcpb-default” bg_image_new=”id^3691|url^https://www.womeneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/womeneur-spotlight-seneca-dunmore-motivational-speaker_650_650_90_ffffffgrayopac-7_s_c1.jpg|caption^null|alt^null|title^womeneur-spotlight-seneca-dunmore-motivational-speaker_650_650_90_ffffffgrayopac-7_s_c1|description^null” css=”.vc_custom_1465354165567{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1465354197094{margin-bottom: -2px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

SENECA DUNMORE

Motivational Speaker[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” border_width=”5″ accent_color=”#e3672b” css=”.vc_custom_1460496937176{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Website: 

Social Media: [dt_social_icons animation=”none” alignment=”default”][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”facebook” link=”http://facebook.com/SenecaDunmore” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”twitter” link=”http://twitter.com/SenecaDunmore” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”instagram” link=”http://instagram.com/SenecaDunmore” /][/dt_social_icons][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”3690″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This beauty and brains – otherwise known as Seneca Dunmore – is a Motivational, Inspirational and Transformational Speaker, College Professor, International Philanthropist and Ambassador of Self-Mastery and Empowerment. She has traveled the world to master what she teaches and additionally, received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Tuskegee University, a Master of Science in Management Information Systems, and she’s currently completing her doctorate in Higher Education at Texas Southern University.

This Womeneur lives to liberate and her daily mantra implores women to live by design not by default, while unleashing the shackles of self-sabotage by shifting the paradigm of thinking from fear to fearless! Her first book – a memoir of her personal health challenges, will be released July 7, 2016.

What inspired your journey into business?
After struggling with digestive issues for over a decade, lying in a hospital bed blind for 3 days, being overdosed on morphine by a negligent nurse and dropping to 72 lbs because of a medical procedure gone terribly wrong, I decided to lift the veil of shame and finally tell my story in hopes of liberating other women. That is how I became a motivational speaker.

What steps did you take to start your business?
I found mentors and people in the business that I aspired to be like and I studied them thoroughly on social media, through seminars, conferences, books etc. Instead of reinventing the wheel I just learned how they got their wheels spinning and added my own “rims” to it.

What are your biggest fears?
My biggest entrepreneurship/business fear is not recognizing a golden opportunity right in front of me because I was moving too fast and forgot to take time to enjoy the journey.

What do you do to stay motivated when you feel like giving up?
I strongly believe that, “The Greatest Among You Will Be a Servant” (Matthew 23:11). When I feel like giving up I go out and serve others less fortunate than myself. It keeps me humble and helps me to realize that my purpose is so much bigger than me.

What are your weaknesses in business and how have you worked past them? 
My greatest weakness is over exerting myself. I have to remind myself often that even God rested on the seventh day and in order to perform at my highest potential I must take time to rest and rejuvenate.

What’s been most rewarding?
When women take the time to tell me how my personal story has changed or impacted their lives…that is the best reward in the world.

Who were you before you started your business?
I was a recruiter and business consultant with an Information Technology staffing company.

If you had to do it again, what (if anything) would you do differently?
I would have started sooner!

What’s one good software or application you cannot live without?
My calendar app and Evernote. I can’t function without writing everything down and adding everything to my calendar. It keep my goals and daily task in front of me at all times.

What’s your secret to cultivating a relationship between you and your customers?
Gratitude! Gratitude! Gratitude! Its nice to be important but it is more important to be nice. I always send personal thank you cards to every customer I do business with to let them know how much I appreciate them for considering me.

Where do you see your business in 5 years?
In 5 years I see myself on a global platform, doing international conferences and speaking engagements around the world. I will be a multi-million dollar enterprise!

What are 3 tips you can share with budding and current entrepreneurs/business owners?

  1. Get a gratitude journal and start each morning by telling God what you are thankful for.
  2. Temporary failure is not permanent defeat.
  3. Ask for help.

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My Journey Is Mine to Take

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I’d like to address my elephant in the room. She’s sitting atop the table in the center, throwing shade when I dare look. Ugly and snarly and judgemental,she is able to swallow me and feed me to the parasites at the bottom of the barrel. Her name is Envy.

There are signs everywhere that I should look the other way. Even as I scroll through the gems dropped on social media, I see the warnings. Life lessons disguised in colorful words and brainy quotes

“ How to be successful: Mind your own.”

And a new favorite: “Envy is the art of counting another’s blessing instead of your own.”- Harold Coffin

But still I’m ashamed of my struggle with reality. Some mornings, I preoccupy myself with throwback moments when I should have made another decision, worrying about the what ifs.

Bad move.

It was time to take responsibility and snatch myself together. I had to figure out a formula to help me focus more on my passion and journey, away from the distractions streaming through social media.

Admitting is the First Step

I’m ashamed of my habit. The fact that I could easily dismiss my achievements against that of my peers because theirs seem more polished is almost a sin. But I have learned to praise what may appear as my shortcomings. To embrace the things that life has chosen only me for. The hiccup in my laugh, the easy strides of my steps, these are all mine. I have struggled to find balance of who I am becoming with who I used to be but it always came from deeper.The real me. No funny business or shiny filters. What I like and don’t, agree with and won’t, all a part of me that contribute to the diversity that is the universe. It makes it easier to believe. And I believe in me.

There Is Happiness In The Struggle

My mother used to tell me to suck it up. “Well that’s how things work’” she would say. “You just have to move it on.” There have been times when my struggle has been real. . But my faith has taught me that there is a dynamic of the universe that can spit out the good that I’ve somehow managed to spare. So in change, there is a light at the end of my darkness. And always there is solace. Always there is a moment of clarity when I feel as though the world is leaning on my side for a change. Times change and things keep moving but remembering to keep a solid mind can be gold in these changing times.

Remember Why You Started

I started because I wanted my four year old to see what dreaming was. He will understand that hard work is dedication and consistency. That his momma is a fighter and he in turn can naturally be great. I have every human bone in my body working against me at some point or another. But it’s the why that keeps me in check. I’m never sure where my next step can lead me but if I can remain positive and focus on what my endgame is, then there is hope that I can find my way.

Have you had moments when you get tired on your journey? What are some tips you would like to share about keeping motivated?

4 Running Principles That Can Boost Your Business

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In the past four months, I have logged over 230 miles on my mobile running app. Not to toot my own horn, but – beep, beep! All jokes aside, I have been training for a ten-mile race that my beautiful city of Philadelphia hosts every year. It’s a glorious sight – over 40,000 runners running down Broad Street and what feels like the entire city cheering us on.

I actually hate training but I really love the solitude of running. It’s just me, my ragged breathing, my motivational podcasts and my thoughts.

One of my recurring thoughts was the correlation between my progression as a runner and my progression as a business owner. I saw that I could apply the principles I learned as a runner to running my business.

Principal 1: There are no shortcuts.

Training for a race is grueling. Day in and day out, you have to show up – regardless of how you feel. It doesn’t matter if you’re tired or if you are discouraged. You show up, put in the work to get the results you want.

It should be the same with our businesses, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case. This is a painful lesson for me. If I was tired, I wouldn’t make any additional calls or emails sharing my business or product. If I was discouraged, I’d spend my time doing something else to take my mind off the situation. You can’t grow a business like that.

Like my Nana used to say, “Don’t nothing work but the work.” In order for us to get to the finish line, we have to do the things we don’t want to do.

Principal 2: Schedule time when you are productive and focused.

When I first started running outdoors, I was so embarrassed by someone I knew seeing me run that I would schedule my runs after work…in the dark. For a while, embarrassment was my motivator. Needless to say, it was a very reactive, unproductive way of motivating because, after an intense day at my 9to5, my brain was fried, I could not focus on my run.

It took me a while to understand my body clock; morning is when I am most productive and focused. I had to “pull up my big girl panties” and deal with insecurity.

As Entrepreneurs, we are guilty of this. We force ourselves to work, even when we’re not being productive, and we accomplish nothing. Like I said, I am most productive in the morning, so I block time for the hardest tasks after my morning run. When are you at your most productive? If it’s the afternoon, block out time for those hard tasks then. When you understand your body clock, you’ll become more productive.

Principal 3: Keep going. Do not stop.

I spotted a spray painted sign on my run this weekend and it was like it was there just for me. I was about 7 miles into a 10-mile run and was not feeling it. I was flooded with negative thoughts and very ready to give up on my sweat session when I saw the stop sign spray-painted with the message: “Don’t stop.”

Aw damn. It was right, though. I did stop to take a picture, giving myself a quick breather.

Being an entrepreneur is hard. There are days we wake up and we don’t want to do a darn thing, but this is where the mental toughness comes in. We have to tell ourselves to keep going, don’t stop.

If you don’t hustle, you don’t eat.

Principal 4: Run your own race.

Comparison is the thief of joy.– Theodore Roosevelt

 

Picture it: You rocked your business, signed up three new customers, and added a business partner. You are filled with excitement and ready to post your awesomeness on social media. And then you see someone posted their super business news of Oprah holding their product.

Suddenly you don’t feel so awesome, and you start second-guessing your decision of becoming an entrepreneur.

See? Comparison = joy thief.

Be happy and celebrate where you are. When we compare ourselves to others, we’re comparing our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.

LYNETTE-LASHAWN

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Womeneur Spotlight” google_fonts=”font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Take a walk down the path of these entrepreneurs, business owners and progressive women.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”vc_default” bg_type=”image” parallax_style=”vcpb-default” bg_image_new=”id^3682|url^https://www.womeneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/womeneur-spotlight-lynette-lashawn-of-off-the-hanger_650_650_ffffffgrayopac-7_s_c1.png|caption^null|alt^null|title^womeneur-spotlight-lynette-lashawn-of-off-the-hanger_650_650_ffffffgrayopac-7_s_c1|description^null” css=”.vc_custom_1465353035330{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1465353013953{margin-bottom: -2px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

LYNETTE-LASHAWN

OF OFF THE HANGER[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” border_width=”5″ accent_color=”#e3672b” css=”.vc_custom_1460496937176{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Website: 

Social Media: [dt_social_icons animation=”none” alignment=”default”][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”facebook” link=”https://www.facebook.com/BOUTIQUEOFFTHEHANGER” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”twitter” link=”https://twitter.com/off_thehanger” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”instagram” link=”http://instagram.com/off_thehanger” /][/dt_social_icons][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”3681″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Meet Lynette Lashawn, a enterprising woman who consider herself to be a SUPER woman who wears the most fabulous and fashionable hats at times. Lynette owns and operates a successful boutique called . Over the course of her career, Lynette has worked as a paid Stylist, Blogger and Correspondent during New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week. Six years ago, after being laid off from her former career as a paralegal, Lynette launced Off The Hanger with the mindset that she would help women look fabulous at any age, one hanger at a time. That same mission remains to this very day but she has come to the realization that with each year, she is able to turn up the volume in her professional career.

With 10+ years in the fashion industry and being inspired early on in life by her mother and grandparents, Lynette has found a way to gravitate towards her passion. Throughout her career, Lynette has been feature in publication such as Essence Magazine to websites and blogs. Off the Hanger represents a type of style that focuses on Fashion-Forward, Curated Vintage Pieces and Designer Consignment.

This Womeneur took the time speak with us about her career journey and what’s next for Off the Hanger and the next adventure!

What inspired your journey into business?
Inspired by the fashion my Mom and Grandparents wore, its fair to say I developed an interest in Fashion at a very early age (4 or 5). For me fashion was an outlet and a way to be expressive. I’ve always wanted to be different, look different and hang with people who visually thought and existed outside of the standard metrics way of life. Fueled by my obsession with all things CHIC’LY FASHIONABLE, a brand (OFF THE HANGER) was born.

What steps did you take to start your business?
Off The Hanger started as an e-commerce boutique with many unique services. It was an online brand that stepped outside of the .com perimeters. I hosted style parties (with cocktails and fashion for girls night in), I vended at Fashion events, offered styling services and via my website customers could schedule closet edits. Four years later, O.T.H. transitioned to a storefront in Bloomfield New Jersey and after one year the brand expanded into a Fashion & Furniture Boutique in Newark, New Jersey with 1000 sq ft.

What are your biggest fears?
That’s a tough one because I can honestly say I am not afraid of failing at this point. I don’t know if its because my faith has grown or if its because I am humble enough to understand that what is for me will be mine or if I am content with trying and failing than not trying and failing as a result of. If that makes any sense.

Fears? Hmmm not meeting my own expectations. You know we all have this place where we think we ought to be, but when something happens and we are not there at our own set time than its viewed as a failure or let down.

What do you do to stay motivated when you feel like giving up?
I pray. I surround myself around other dream chasers and I reacquaint myself with my vision board. I remind myself that giving up is not an option and that I’ve come too far to surrender to my fears.

What are your weaknesses in business and how have you worked past them? 
My weaknesses? Social Media. From trying to figure out the best hashtags to the best time to post. Honestly it becomes too much at times because we live in a society that has grown to crave frequency. So as a business owner with a storefront on a busy street I have to design windows, shop for the store, update our website for those outside of the state/country, order supplies and mail out packages.

Currently we have help and will enlist the help of college interns soon to ease the load. The verdict is still out. LOL!

What’s been most rewarding?
I am thrilled when I get social media tags, text messages or calls from customers saying …”Girl, I was the talk of the party” or “Girl my husband couldn’t keep his hands off me” or “Girl this chick flagged me down to ask where I got this shirt from.” That is where my reward comes from, as it helps me understand my audience and force me to strive to keep them coming back for more. There’s a beautiful cop that I have styled for years. Guess where is lives? Florida and I live in Jersey. She will not let anyone dress her but me.

Who were you before you started your business?
I worked for the City of Newark and State of New Jersey as a Paralegal, as I completed my Masters degree.

If you had to do it again, what (if anything) would you do differently?
I would have started sooner.

What’s one good software or application you cannot live without?
Hmmmm, tough tough tough to answer. I need them all like I need shoes and skirts. LOL

What’s your secret to cultivating a relationship between you and your customers?
Its all about timing. My secret is being honest, straightforward, relatable and sensitive to each woman that walks through our doors to shop.

Where do you see your business in 5 years?
I see an expansion on the rise. I see myself making TV appearances, running several commercials for the brand, becoming fashion ambassador and gaining sponsorship with well known brands.

What are 3 tips you can share with budding and current entrepreneurs/business owners?

  1. Do your research
  2. Do the opposite of what others people are doing
  3. Stay the course, when you find your own uniqueness

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As Within, So Without: Are You Checking In With Your Health?

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Health and balance

As an entrepreneur, you have a lot of things to check and follow-up on. Emails, event invites, ongoing clients, business meetings, and the list goes on. But there’s one more thing that needs to be checked on. YOU.

In one of my previous posts, I gave you some tips on how to check-in with yourself every morning before picking up the phone, as well as some ways to be more mindful and slow up your chatter in your brain. This time around however, I want you to dig deeper into your checking into your health.

If you’re reading this, you’re already “about that life”. The life where you find yourself up at the wee hours of the morning working on content to keep your audience engaged while also working on redesigning your business cards. We all know how it goes. Working for your business is something that you LOVE to do, so you always have the energy for it in some way. But are you burning yourself out in the process? I can relate!

Last year, I was working my entire butt off trying to officially launch my second business while making sure that my first business stayed afloat. You read that right, I was grinding to build the foundation for not one, but TWO businesses. At the same time. On TOP of still working a 9-5. With the addition of usual life things, such as family matters, relationship matters and the like, feeling quite crazy and out-of-body couldn’t even fully describe what toll this took on me. Towards the end of the year, I felt personally led to seek out a naturopath doctor; one who could not only give me the “medical” side of things but that could also use other modalities of natural healing to help me rebalance myself. I was really proud of myself for listening to my intuition, because after getting initial bloodwork and blood nutrition reports done by the end of the year, I realized that I had literally and quite physically drained myself and my levels were pretty low in a number of things. As a matter of fact, my naturopath doctor called me an “anomaly” because she honestly didn’t know how I kept going with my levels as low as they were. I was going so fast that I didn’t even realize that some things needed major attention. Wile E. Coyote had nothing on me! Now I’m a huge health nut and take pretty good care of myself, so to discover that I had really slacked on some things internally was a shocker.

Just because you don’t immediately feel it while running around doesn’t mean that you’re running around without the proper balance within is NOT affecting you.

I am here to tell you that there is absolutely nothing cute about being constantly burnt out all the time. Neither is there anything cute about having dark circles around your eyes that concealer can’t always fix. There is also nothing cute about not having any down time, constantly rushing to the next gig or event. How can you see what’s happening right underneath your nose? Yes, owning your own business requires a tremendous amount of energy that serves to be the fuel keeping everything going, but how would your business reach its full potential if you break down with an ailment that puts you on your back for an extended period of time? Where’s the beneficial production in that?

It’s time to listen to your body more.

For me, it’s been months later and I’m still listening to my body more to see how I can best honor it so that it can best honor me by keeping me going. It’s a journey and an adjustment but every day I’m learning how to keep a healthy balance. I’m learning that it’s okay to slow down sometimes and sit down somewhere. I’m always right where I need to be.

Always remember that a car can’t run on orange juice or fumes without eventually malfunctioning. 

Mood swings can be caused by hormonal imbalances from the lack of sleep, as well a drainage of energy being caused by low iron. That’s just to name a few. Challenge yourself by asking some reflection questions: When’s the last time you had a quick checkup or blood drawn to see what minerals and nutrients you have been lacking in? What new things can you incorporate or change within your daily routine that ensures that you are always at your most optimal health? How can you keep yourself accountable to yourself?

5 Qualities of Amazingly Successful Entrepreneurs

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thinkpynk.com

I recently had the opportunity to meet with and work with an amazing group of female entrepreneurs in Karachi, Pakistan through the World Bank-funded WomenX Program. It’s a program where existing female entrepreneurs are given intense business training at a local university to help them grow their businesses to the next level. Their stories of passion, drive, and determination, in spite of extreme hardships, are testament to their dedication and business visions.
Through my interactions with them I was able to both teach and be taught. Their attitudes were contagious and their souls courageous. Here are a few lessons I learned from these women who are working so hard to make a name for themselves and their businesses in a very patriarchal society.

1. Impervious to pain

Entrepreneurs have a greater tolerance to pain than most. They are able to work long hours, go without food and drink longer than most can handle, and push their bodies to the limit as far as travel is concerned. Forbes notes that “Entrepreneurs have a greater capacity for pain and discomfort than most. They can stay up later, work longer hours, stay more focused and, somehow, are able to set so much aside in deference to their dreams and visions.”

But there’s much more that sets them apart.

2. Bird in hand

What makes most entrepreneurs truly entrepreneurial is that they can look at their available resources and determine a way to fill a need and pin point for their customers, even by using very limited resources. This is known as the “bird in hand” approach. Entrepreneurs see a need and then look at the resources they already have around them to fill that need – coming up with creative uses and solutions to the problems they see.

Most entrepreneurs start out with very limited resources – and it can take years and even decades to grow their businesses into the brands we know them as today.

Roxanne Quimby, the co-founder of Burt’s Bees line of products, got her start in 1984 selling candles that she made from discarded beeswax. She traveled around Northern Maine and sold the candles at local fairs and a few loyal customers out of the back of a beat up pickup truck. She used to net a few hundred dollars in profit per load.

Ms. Quimby used the resources she had in hand to create a new product using mostly free and easily available raw materials and resources. Even as she grew she refused to buy raw materials on credit for decades. It was a strategy that served her well until she grew her business into a multi-million dollar enterprise, finally selling it for $925 Million in 2007.

3. Affordable loss

Another quality that entrepreneurs have is that they always know, seemingly instinctively what their affordable loss is in any situation.

Having an intimate knowledge and understanding of their growing business helps them make quick and intuitive business decisions when needed – and in the world of business they are needed often. It’s a quality that many more calculated businessmen and women may not quite understand. In many businesses accounting sheets are king, and reports are needed before any important business decision is made – bringing all the facts and figures before the board members and allowing them time to deliberate and weigh in on any decisions.

However a true entrepreneur, usually also the lone decision maker, operates on instinct. She goes with her gut on important business decisions, but she also knows exactly how much she can lose in each twist and turn of her business and still keep moving forward. This concept is known as an affordable loss – how much a company can afford to lose and keep moving forward towards their long-term goals.

4. Cultivating patience

All entrepreneurs need to possess immense patience. It’s difficult and challenging to at the beginning and it’s also true that many businesses fail to take off. Some women have willingly chosen the path of entrepreneurship. Others were forced into it by a series of challenging life circumstances like job losses or a chronic illness of themselves or a family member. Other hardships may have included things like overwhelming student debts, something a disproportionate amount of women face, that were affecting their credit score, and making traditional nine-to-five employment impossible.

5. Embracing creativity

No matter how we got to this point, and despite the risks, entrepreneurship is an option for those forced out of, or fed up with, corporate ladder climbing. For those who choose this path it’s heartening to remember that entrepreneurship also allows for more intense creativity, especially when we are developing a healthy competition in existing markets and industries. In fact, creativity is the most important quality an entrepreneur can have.

When entrepreneurs play to their strengths, and fully embrace their high tolerance for pain, their resourcefulness, and tap into their innate intuition and creativity, they are sure to overcome both their own self-doubts and their competitors as well.