Fancy Life Secrets

Saturday, October 23, 2021

A Long Time Coming - Journey to Lathering Shampoo

I started Fancy Free Hair & Skin with one product, whipped shea butter that could be used on both hair and skin, because I couldn't find products heavy enough to keep my thick, kinky hair moisturized. It was a common problem with newly naturals back then. Dry hair. Brittle hair. After a few years, I realized that it started with "wash day". So many of us were using products that dried out hair out and then we were trying to put the moisture back in. That seemed kind of dumb, so I formulated the Clay Wash for Hair & Skin. I specifically created that product for thick, kinky hair that dries out as wash day approaches. The Clay Wash works wonders for people like me who don't use a lot of styling products in their hair but I quickly realized that we all needed a little lather from time to time.

The same goes for conditioners. There are a lot of reasons to need a little extra moisture, vitamins and protein on your hair. To help detangle after taking your hair down from a protective style. To prevent breakage from damaged hair as you await your appointment for a good trim. To prepare your hair for a protective style. I had always really liked the Sacha Inci oil from when I used a sacha inci oil Shea Moisture product back in 2016 when I colored my hair. Putting together a deep conditioner formula really wasn't as challenging as it was to formulate the shampoo. But back to lathering shampoo...

Our scalps need to be cleansed of all the gunk so that the hair follicle can move freely. We need to remove product build up from our hair strands because too much product can cause breakage. But a good lathering shampoo is easier said than done. There is sooooo much to consider. Sooooooo much to figure out. Then once I figured it out, I had to execute the considerations. And there's the conflict.

I started with a shampoo bar but it smelled bad and dried my hair out. Then I tried to make liquid soap out of oils (saponification) and that was a disaster. Turns out that the saponification process requires lye, a basic pH, but hair and skin likes an acidic pH. However, if you add an acid to the saponified oils, you will lose the lather. No easy feat. LOL! So, I took a few breaks. I even considered cheating by ordering shampoo from another private label manufacturer but the ones I tried just didn't live up to my standards.

Then, in January 2020, I got a product development client who wanted a beard shampoo and he was very specific with the ingredients he wanted in it. While the standards for beard shampoo is usually a little different than that of a naturalista approaching wash day, I had renewed hope that I could create an amazing lathering shampoo. So, I picked it back up and tried again. Because that's the first lesson I learned from Aaliyah. LOL!

After about 20 tries I was ready to send it out to my Fancy Friends for feedback. Mainly to decide on the scent because I knew that the product was bomb. Surprisingly, selecting the fragrance of a new product is always difficult for me. Probably more difficult than developing the actual product. I'm just not really into fragrances. I like what I like but I know that this is not about me so I have to consider what's popular. Sometimes I will choose a fragrance and it smells amazing in the bottle but doesn't do well with the formula. Like, the smell of all the ingredients react with the fragrance or essential oil and the product ends up stinking.

I love that my Fancy Friends keep it 100% with me. The feedback was very helpful because I didn't know that the shampoo was super thick. Too thick to easily pour from the bottle. Mainly because I package it while it's warm and it pours just fine then. I also didn't realize that the conditioner was leaving a waxy residue on the hair. Back to the lab with about 5 more variations and then, BOOM, she got it. Had a few manufacturing practice runs because shampoo has 3 phases and I've never had to have 3 pots going at once to make a product. By July 2021, I was ready. Labels were in. Packaging had been decided. I snuck and put it on the website but decided I needed a huge launch campaign. Photoshoot with models. The whole shabang. Even decided on a date that would coincide with a new look on my website.

Photoshoot went amazingly well. Products were all ready to go but then.....the website. *le sigh* Let's just say that I will write another blog, do a YouTube video, IG Live & Reel, Facebook posts and tweets about that little experience. Any. Way. When we realized that the website was not going to ready anywhere near our projected launch date, we decided to give the people what they wanted. And the people wanted the Lavish Lathering Shampoo and Deep Conditioner. There are several morals to this story....

Don't give up on finding a solution even if the process is way more challenging than you anticipated.
Take a break but don't quit.
Impossible could take a week, like Jay-Z said, or 3 years.
Always have your business contracts reviewed by an attorney and have the suggested updates made prior to signing.

Thank you for believing in me when I didn't think I could do it. It's only up from here, baby!

Shameless Plug Alert:

Fancy Free Hair & Skin manufactures quality products for hair and skin, as well as provides natural hair consults for women who would like assistance on their natural hair journey. Our motto is "Keeping you fancy and free of chemicals." Visit our website, www.fancyfreehairandskin.com, to see a full range of our products and services. Sign up for our mailing list to receive natural hair tips and stay up to date on sales and the latest happenings with Fancy Free.

Thursday, May 13, 2021

How Bath Bombs Changed My Life

Ok. So, that might be a little dramatic but maybe not.

Let me paint the picture. I've been a solopreneur since March 2020. I'm used to operating with a staff of at least 2 part-time employees. Sometimes 3. Since March 2020, my volume has increased by 60% and is showing no signs of slowing down. I am stressed. Yes, I am ready to hire but I want to get the Fancy Factory expansion completed first. It's in the works with lots of delays due to COVID and increased demand on contractors. What's happening in the meantime?

Current operations are in complete disarray. Well, organized chaos. There's stuff everywhere. I know where stuff is, for the most part, but I'm constantly moving things around and reorganizing to make space for incoming inventory, supplies and large manufacturing runs. But sometimes, when I'm really moving fast, it's a shit show. I don't know where a dayum thing is and I can walk in circles for 5-10 minutes at a time looking for something that's right in my face. I distinctly remember my previous employees constantly asking me where things were and that was before this increased demands, so I just don't feel like hiring someone right now would be the most productive move.

If you read my previous blog, you know that Black Friday Cyber Monday 2020 almost took me out. I don't think I fully recovered until like February 2021. Well. almost recovered. At the end of February 2021, I took on the mother load of all private label manufacturing contracts. A hemp farm. Based on our agreement, I would development CBD infused products for them to sell wholesale to start ups looking to get into the CBD industry. Some of product development was just me tweeking existing formulas. Others were custom formulas specifically designed for the company. I saved what I thought was going to be the easiest formula for last....bath bombs.

Now, I've never gotten into bath bombs because I'm a shower person. Quick and efficient. Even when I do soak in the tub, I still shower before or afterward. I've seen a lot of my apothecary colleagues host "Bath Bomb" making workshops. Everyone I've heard talking about bath bombs says "Bath bombs are easy." After spending 8 weeks formulating and scaling to manufacture bath bombs in bulk, I will say that bath bombs are the equivalent to that "Easy A" class you registered for in college and earned a B. Let me explain.....

The formula to bath bombs is simple. The procedure to manufacture is straight forward. No heat. No emulsifying. No immersion blenders. Just the powders and the liquids. But then there is the art of mixing and molding and drying. Very simple. But not easy. Not easy at all. It really is an art that takes time to perfect.

I bought a pneumatic bath bomb press in preparation for high volume bath bomb orders. To put things into perspective, the hemp farm has only done a soft launch private label manufacturing and I've already processed over 400 bath bombs. After spending 3 weeks trying to figure out what I was doing wrong with this bath bomb press, I realized that there was something wrong with the design. I wasn't doing anything wrong. But I had a pending order with a deadline quickly approaching. I did what I had to do. I hand pressed 100 bath bombs while dealing with second COVID vaccine symptoms. No small feat.

Whole time, I'm still running Fancy Free Hair and Skin as a solopreneur. My Fancy Friends are ordering, other private label manufacturing clients need their stuff and product development requests from other clients are rolling in. STRESSED!! Not complaining. I'm just saying. Also, I haven't figured out this bath bomb press but I know for SURE that I was not going to be hand pressing another 300 bath bombs. Stress starts to take it's toll on me, physically.

I'm noticing that even though I'm running 15-20 miles/week, lifting weights, eating right, drinking water and minding my business, the scale stuck and sometimes my weight is increasing. I'm even gaining a little girth on my waist again. How Sway? My feet are starting to smell bad at the end of the day. I'm constipated. My period is 3 days late for 4 months in a row. Although, I am not a total nutcase, my body is telling me that I need to slow down. Then, like a sign from Jehovah Himself, my sister friend posted a passage from a book she was reading called Sabbath by Wayne Muller, and a light bulb went off. The passage essentially said that by being busy, pushing my limits, not getting enough sleep, I was choosing violence because there is no way I could be at peace living this way. Profound. I took a step back and did some self assessments. Not just my work life but also my personal life.

First, my daily "self-care" routine. I had to ask myself if this is really self-care. #MorningsAreForMoms is what I call it. Waking up at 5a, no matter what I time I went to bed, so that I could meditate and exercise. Only to have to rush to make morning snack, lunch, aftercare snack and prepare breakfast for my children and rush out the door to try to make it to the carpool line before 8:45a. Chaos. Violence. And for what? To say I run 5 out of 7 days per week? Then I had 2 separate fitness coaches explain that sometimes rest and sleeping will help more with my fitness goals than actual exercise. And since I had only been getting, on average, 4-5 hours of sleep for the past 3 months, the physical stress of exercise was counterproductive.

Then business, I have a thing where I will work and work until I get tired. I stop working when I start making mistakes. Why? I don't know why I do this. There's always more to do. There is no finish line. I had to tell myself to make sure focused work time is focused work time. No need to stay up all night to get something done, then be tired and unproductive the next day. That's where the bath bombs come in. Let's get back to that.

I had a great formula and I was ready to scale. I thought I was going to be using my big industrial 20 qt. mixer to mix everything in, pop it in the bath bomb press and BOOM! bath bombs galore. But that's not how it worked:

I couldn't use the mixer

Mixing powders without liquid is an asthma attack waiting to happen with all the dust that kicks up.
The mixer whips do not break up the fine clumps you find in baking soda and you do not want clumps in your bath bomb mix.

The bath bomb press took lots of practice to get it right.
The mix has to stay damp enough to hold form but dry enough not to activate the fizzing.
Bath bombs really are an artform.

After an entire batch of about 75 bath bombs dried very crumbly and unstable, not suitable for sale, I realized that I would have to make the mix in smaller batches.

Got it. Small batches mixed by hand. No. Really, by hand. You gotta put them hands in there and mix it

up good. Think of making crab cakes. There's no utensil that will be able to pull the residual crab shells from the crab meat. Only your hands. That's what making bath bombs is like. Lots and lots of hand mixing. Gotta break up all those baking soda clumps. And mixing, you gotta mix it like when your auntie makes potato salad for the family reunion. Ain't no spoon gonna mix that up good enough. Can't keep re-wetting the mix when you're ready to press them out or they will end up cracked or not firm enough.

Moral to the story: Mixing bath bombs cannot be rushed. It has to be done by hand if you want them to turn out right.

And if you know anything about the Fancy Factory, they've gotta be right or they will not be released.

How did this change my life? With the theme of "Sabbath" and being intentional about rest fresh in my mind, I chose to listen to the audiobook "The Unhurried Life" by Alan Fadling while hand mixing and perfecting my bath bomb pressing skills. It's a spiritual book. And if I've learned nothing else in these 4 years of full-time entrepreneurship, it's that entrepreneurship is a spiritual journey. While the "Sabbath" talks about a period of rest, "The Unhurried Life" discusses work pace. The book reinforces God's timing and how being hurried and rushed often leads us to making costly mistakes that could have been prevented had we just taken our time. *looks at bin of 75 blooper CBD-infused bath bombs shaking my head*

Everything always works out as it should. The beauty is in the journey, not the destination. Bath bombs FORCED me to slow down. In order to get a quality end product, I had to use a slow, manual process. Unhurried.

I've applied this to my life by taking a break from my weekday morning workouts if I'm not in bed by 10p. Sleep is more important than miles. If I'm not outside by 6a, I already know the whole morning is going to be rushed and violent. So, I'll skip it. Five days in to this slowing down and I'm down 2 pounds. SMH. I'll keep this up indefinitely and adjust my wake up time according to my bedtime, instead of being so set in my rigid routine. Violence.

As far as Fancy Free Hair & Skin is concerned, sometimes order processing times are longer than some of my Fancy Friends are accustomed to. And that's ok. I will say that even when orders take longer than usual to process, I'm still at a 3-5 day window. Which isn't bad considering what I'm up against.

I will say that I am enjoying this journey. Having "ah ha" moments about myself, science, business, my family, all of it. I'm constantly having revelations. It's a beautiful thing. I am so thankful for this life. I am full. I give thanks because this is the life that I prayed for.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

The Stench Of Stress

We all know that Fancy Free Hair & Skin makes one of the better aluminum free deodorants on the market. The thing about aluminum free deodorant is that it works with your natural body chemistry. It does not mask anything. So, when your chemistry is off, the way you smell will be a little off too.

When I get an inquiry from a Fancy Friend about why their deodorant isn't as effective anymore, I ask a few pointed questions:

What is your water intake? Because water flushes waste out of your body.
What is your diet like? Processed and fast food or whole foods with ample fruits and vegetables? Because trash in means trash out.
How old are you? While adult hormone levels tend to have found a rhythm, teenage hormones are raging! Pregnant women too. That can effect the pheromones we release, which can be perceived as body odor but really the body is just doing what it's programmed to do.
Are you experiences more than average stress levels? Stress causes the body to release hormones which can affect the way you smell.

Stress was taking some of my friends out this year. Especially my Fancy teacher friends at the beginning of the school year. Fortunately, all virtual everything made pushing through the smell of it all easier.

Do not run back to anti-perspirant because you hit a rough patch in your aluminum free journey. Life comes at you fast but staying away from antiperspirant should be a non-negotiable. Aside from a few times when I was pregnant, I haven't had many "pheromone-y" days since I switched to aluminum free deodorant. But, honey, let me tell you. Owning and operating a product based business during the holidays in a pandemic when there are delays in shipping for EVERYTHING is a different kind of stress. It was not the underarm odor for me this time.

The Fancy Factory, where Fancy Free Hair & Skin products are manufactured, has been operating with a skeleton staff for 9 months. Online sales have increased by 134% and the post office is slow to deliver packages. I had modest goals for our Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. We kick our holiday sales off on Thanksgiving Day because people aren't doing anything but sitting around and scrolling on their phones anyway. Might as well shop with us. I call it Thankful Thursday. Well, I am very thankful but that Thankful Thursday sale almost took me out of here. We hit 90% of our income goal for the entire weekend in one day. My marketing team asked if I wanted to slow down on promoting the sales. I declined. I figured I could handle the influx of orders. And I handled it, like a champ.

On Black Friday, we got busy. Filling every order we filled until we started running out of inventory. Then back to manufacturing product, packaging, labeling then filling the orders again. For 5 days in a row, I was working until 4am. Stressed. I was playing it cool though. It's what I do during grind time, I grind it out. I didn't think I was stressed, until I took my shoes off. The smell. Lord. Have. Mercy. I really thought I was sick. Coming down with a bad cold or the flu or something. I have never experienced anything like that. Ever. My feet really smelled like I was dying. LOL! On the bright side, my husband and I both knew we didn't have COVID-19. But my foot odor was so pungent, I think even someone with COVID who had lost the sense of smell could have smelled that.

Anyway, I survived. Got all of the orders out with minimal errors. The foot smell subsided and I never got sick. Which made me realize that my feet were probably stinking because I was stressed tf out. LOL! I shared that so you know that you are not alone. Most people struggle with body odor from time to time, especially in stressful situations. Since we are all experiencing increased stress levels to some degree, be aware and give yourself grace. Take care of yourself. Get enough sleep. Drink plenty of water. Eat right. The odor will more than likely subside.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Saturday, October 31, 2020

The Recovery Period

Once I started running outside, it was very hard for me to go back to the treadmill. I have officially

become a runner since COVID-19 shut the gyms down. I love everything about early morning runs. Well, almost everything. I don't really like waking up before the crack of dawn and I don't like those gnat clouds I have to run through sometimes. Other than that, running outside is life.

The gyms shut down in March 2020, so I've been running outside for about 7 months now. I go out 4-5 days/week. I make it the first thing I do in the morning so I know that I accomplished at least one thing even if my whole day goes to shit. Which it often does with a husband, 2 kids and a business. LOL! Anyway, I am getting faster every day. My form has improved, with the help of my physical therapist and the coaching in MapMyRun app when paired with my HOVR running shoes (gifted by one of my early morning running friends).

I started walking in August 2019. I wanted to get more active. I was trying to

lose weight after having my second baby. Walking is actually great for weight loss but I ain't got time to be walking for no hour everyday. I needed to cover the same distance but faster, so I started jogging....and then running. I've found my groove. I have my little run routines that I alternate so that my body won't get accustomed to the same workout. One of those routines is my "Interval Run". It's like an HIIT workout for runners. If you aren't familiar with interval runs, it is when you run as fast as you can for a set time, like really push yourself, then slow down to catch your breath for a set time. Rinse and repeat. After about 4 months of adjusting my routines, I finally got into a good rhythm. I call it my "sweet spot". I found that I get my fastest pace when my recovery time is twice as long as my fast run time. So, if I run as fast as I can for 60 seconds, I need 120 seconds to recover.

The other great thing about my morning run is that I really have quiet time to think. Over the past 7 months, I have come up with the best creative solutions to my day-to-day challenges while running. I think it's because I really don't have anything else to distract me. The only thing I have to focus on is my breathing, my stride and my thoughts. One of the things that my running routines have taught me is to pace myself. It's no secret that operating a business during a pandemic is challenging. One would think that a small business like mine, that heavily relies on in-person vending events to generate revenue would suffer with most large festivals and events being cancelled. My challenge was actually the opposite. The pandemic coupled with racial injustice being highlighted caused people to go out of their way to support black businesses. Orders surged and I was faced with a new challenge to find a solution to, how to pace myself in work.

Traditionally, I am a go hard or go home kind of person. I shout "TEAM DO THE MOST!!" from the mountain tops. However, with so many unknown factors to consider, I knew that I'd have to pace myself, work smart and ask for help when I started feeling overwhelmed. That's where my morning run taught me invaluable lessons.

When I was faced with piles and piles of work that needed my immediate attention. I paced myself, like I do when running long distance. If I were to sprint like I do on interval runs, I wouldn't be able to go the distance. I'd tire out very quickly. Creating a schedule. Scheduling in breaks. One task at a time. Not trying to finish an entire manufacturing run in one day and stretching it out for 2-3 days. Processing 10 orders at a time instead of 30-40 at once. Pacing myself, so I can go the distance.

But sometimes I would need to sprint or work very quickly. I have a deadline. I have multiple deadlines. I go hard. Focused work. A sprint.

Then. I. Rest. The resting is the most important part. When I don't rest, when I'm tired, I make mistakes.

I mess up someone's order. That wastes money. I mess up a product. That wastes money. I start walking circles because I'm tired, wasting time. That wastes money.

The recovery period allows me to recovery. Physically and mentally. When I'm doing a manufacturing run, I need to rest physically. I need to sit down, maybe even soak in the tub, and get some sleep. Manufacturing is "back breaking work" as a former employee calls it. LOL! When I'm doing focus work like product development, generating content, updating my business plan, work that requires a lot of thinking, I need mental rest. I may zone out watching trash tv or play with my kids. Either way, the a recovery period is required.

No matter what you're working on. You need to rest. I don't know who started that "I'll sleep when I'm dead" movement but that is not a philosophy that fosters productivity. You need to rest and recover. Your brain needs sleep to remove toxins and so your neurons have time to communicate. Literally "connecting the dots". LOL! Your body needs rest to repairs damaged cells and fights infection. Rest is just as important to your health as food, water and exercise. It gives your body and brain a chance to recover from everything you've put it through during the day or whenever you're awake.

What's the secret to my "Super Woman"-like productivity? There are lots of little things that I do or don't do - I'll save that list for another blog. But a recovery period is essential. I am writing this blog from the comfort of a hotel room that I checked into for the weekend without my husband and children so I could recover. COVID-19 has me in a constant state "process improvement". How can I improve this particular manufacturing procedure so that we can increase output without increasing the amount of time? How can I keep my kids engaged and get any Fancy Free Hair & Skin work done while they're home from daycare and/or school that is closed due to a potential COVID-19 exposure? Why isn't this shampoo formula lathering like the last formula when I only made one little change? How can I improve my posture while I run? How early do I have to wake up to squeeze in "sexy time" with my husband? I mean, my brain is constantly going. That. Shit. Is. Stressful. More stressful than my normal stressful life. Monthly therapy sessions help but the recovery period is a huge part of how I handle everything. I know there's an end in sight. A period of rest.

Go forth. Do great things. Recover. Rinse. Repeat.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Winter Weather Styling

As the weather changes, so should the way you style your hair. I'm talking to my kinky curly girls. The summer humidity gives us a lot, even though it always ruins a good twist out and any curl definition you thought you were gonna have. LOL! The cooler weather gives us more flexibility with hair styles and they usually last longer with the cooler weather. Here are things to consider when styling your hair:

MOISTURE! MOISTURE! MOISTURE! There is less moisture in the air and if you live and/or work in a building that heats using "forced air" meaning the heat comes through vents, that air can be dry as well. You may want to consider co-washing, preferably using our Fancy Free Clay Wash, more often than using a clarifying, lathering shampoo - Fancy Free will be launching one soon, I promise. Deep condition. Especially when you're getting close to your scheduled trim time. Be sure to seal moisture into your hair while it's wet or damp with an oil, Fancy Free Castor Oil Blend or butter, Fancy Free Whipped Shea. If you need to moisturize in between wash days, try a water based moisturizer like Fancy Free Milk for Hair and Skin. Matter of fact, try the Fancy Free Hair Starter Kit to decide which product combination works best for you.
Protect your ends. The benefit of dryer air is that those twist outs and rod sets are going to be BOMB!!!! But if your hair is longer, be careful about how your rubs against your clothes. Even if you moisturize and keep your ends trimmed, friction with those winter fabrics can lead to damage and breakage. I have a few videos on YouTube on how to achieve a bomb twist out, as well as my favorite protective styles for longer hair. Or course, weave, wigs and braids work too. LOL!
Keep drinking water and eating whole, unprocessed foods. Your hair and skin are a direct result of what you put in your body as well as what you put on it. The winter holidays lead to drinking more cocktails, yummy ciders and comforting hot chocolate. Don't forget to get your daily quota of water in too. I use the "Drink Water" app on my phone to remind me to drink water. Keep the same thing in mind for fresh fruits and vegetables before you indulge in those baked goods. A daily multivitamin can help too.

Everyone's natural hair, lifestyle and hair goals require different kinds of care. It is important to figure out what your hair needs most. Once you find your routine, stick to it. Slight variations in your routine based on the weather and what you have going on in your life can make a huge difference. For me, I found that going longer than 3 weeks to shampoo my hair led to more breakage. I also tend to play in my hair when it gets close to time for a trim. I call myself untangling the fairy knots, those little single strand knots that signal it's time to trim those ends, but really I am causing more breakage than untangling. So, when my trim appointment approaches, I wear my hair in upstyles so I won't be tempted to touch my hair. That's just how I manage my thick, kinky hair. If you'd like some assistance figuring your hair out, book a Natural Hair Consultation. I'd be happy to work with you to meet your hair goals.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Friday, May 22, 2020

Don't Knock It 'Til You Try It

There isn't a place on this earth that hasn't been impacted
by COVID-19

We're in the middle of a pandemic. I don't see it ending any time soon. Just assume that everything will remain closed for the rest of 2020. As an eCommerce business owner, I have experienced an increase in sales as more people are shopping online. However, not everyone is experiencing an increase. Millions have lost their jobs or had to shut down their businesses. Some shut downs were temporary, but as the death toll from the pandemic rises and prolongs the estimated date for "re-opening", these temporary shut downs are becoming permanent. How are people shifting? I've noticed that more people are becoming open to the idea of starting a multi-level marketing business. It's interesting to see the shift, especially for influencers and celebrities.

Nobody:

Me: You know that starting a direct sales business is what opened my eyes to living as an entrepreneur.

Award received at a
5Linx Convention

I started a direct sales business in 2013. I had success with it too. I made money, built and maintained a team. It wasn't about the money for me. I was doing well with my healthcare professional salary but I quickly realized that there were limits to where my career path could take me. Essentially, I had mastered my job and was getting bored. LOL! The biggest thing I gained from building a multi-level marketing team was a change in perspective. At the time, I was a youngin'. I was a "boss", or so I thought. I had a title. I was earning a decent salary. But at what cost? Direct sales put me at the same table with people who were earning my annual salary on a monthly basis, from their couches and by their backyard pool, no less. It definitely had me re-evaluating my life choices. I stopped caring about my title at work and took a good assessment of the way I was living.

Imagine sacrificing a lot of "wants" and being broke for 4 years after buying a house with a pool to only realize that you don't get to actually enjoy the pool because you're AT work earning money to pay for the house with a pool that you don't use. No one ever posed the question to me before direct sales. It was just a way of life that people had succumbed to. I decided that I did not want this to be my life for the rest of my life.

I really had to "observe" nurses
administering transfusions, only
for nothing to be done if I wrote
incident reports for mistakes made

Being a Transfusion Medicine Specialist was really gratifying work. I really enjoyed it. HOWEVER, the bureaucracy, red tape, politics and lack of REAL concern for process improvement was weighing me down. Who was I really helping? Was I making an positive impact on the people who mattered the most to me? I couldn't really say that I was. A lot of those high earners in my direct sales company do amazing work in the community. They have a very flexible schedule with more free time than most as well as more income than most. I wanted to eventually be able to have the kind of impact they had. So I set out to "Fire My Boss", as they say in direct sales trainings.

I knew that I wanted to retire by 35 but I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to do it. I thought my direct sales business was going to be the path but Jehovah had something else in store for me. Even in 2014, I would have never thought that whipping shea would become my main gig. But here we are.

What Direct Sales Taught Me

Humble yourself and be coachable.
Monthly earnings can be as much as an average annual salary. People do it. Average people with no degrees, just a work effort.
You don't need a job, you just need money.
Have systems and automation in place so you can duplicate yourself without having to be there.
You're going to be rejected and laughed at, it's inevitable, keep working.
Build a re pore. Find out how what you can help relieve a potential customer's pain point. Sometimes you have the answer for sale, sometimes you give a referral that doesn't involved them buying from you....at that time. People respect that and usually come back to buy at some point.
Don't take it personally if your closest friends and family do not support you. Everyone is fighting their own battles. It's not about you.
There are reasons and then there are excuses. Be able to recognize when you are making excuses.
Move on. Just keep moving forward.
The Law Of Attraction is a thing but you still have to actively market your products. If no one knows about your great product, it's still trash.

While Fancy Free Hair & Skin started "accidentally", I will say that I wasn't completely new to running a business. I honed my technical laboratory skills while running a medical laboratory, but building a business...I got dat from direct sales. Team building, team engagement, professional/personal development, all from direct sales. I learned that entrepreneurship is a mind game and direct sales trained me to continuously adjust to "get my mind right".

Most people who have success with a direct sales company will be successful with almost any other business venture they touch. If you are NOT a business person but want to start a business, start a multi-level marketing business that sells something you like or are interested in. Make sure the team you're on has a good leader that hosts trainings and encourages personal development. If you're coachable, the training will have a lasting impact on your business life no matter where it takes you.

Don't knock it until you try it. If you don't want to join a team, support someone close to you who is building. You have no idea how gratifying it is to get one "yes" when all you've been getting is "no". LOL!

Shameless Plug Alert:

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Self Made Netflix Series: Fancy's Commentary

Let me just start by saying, I know that everything in this series was not true. Netflix kind of made that disclaimer when it was marketed as "based on her life" and not a "biopic". But whatever, I was entertained. As a woman. As a woman in business. As a woman in business in the beauty industry, I could relate to her struggles and triumphs. Here's my two cents...

People will deflect their own fears on to you

Poor C.J., the husband. He just didn't have the vision or the ambition. Our people are scared now, in 2020. I can only imagine how deeply entrenched the slave mindset was as the child of a former slave. He just wanted to get by and be comfortable. He meant well by encouraging his wife to take a job when things got tough. As a man, he probably didn't want to see his wife hurt. I can admit,

set backs can be discouraging and sometimes the feeling of defeat can be overwhelming. However, successful people get back up, assess the damage and learn from the mistakes. I can admit, had it been my husband trying to sway me from my dreams I wouldn't been irritated. Understanding but irritated.

Beyonce said it best...

It's MY shit! BOW DOWN, BITCHES!!! I've never been one to brag or talk a lot about what I've accomplished or the things that I have. However, it is super annoying when people assume that your lifestyle is because of your husband. The man always gets the credit. I am blessed that my husband actually gives me credit for my accomplishments and business acumen. While my husband helps me with heavy lifting, literally, he lifts the heavy stuff, and sales, he would NEVER try to take any credit for Fancy Free Hair & Skin. That's my baby. He helps and invests in me but it's mine. If I thought C.J. was weak for trying to encourage Madam to get a job, he was SUPER weak for trying to take credit and ownership for her company. Very annoying. Would not recommend.

Marketing makes a difference

There are sooooo many trash products out there that are successful because they have a great marketing team behind them. Madam C.J, may have stolen the formula for her "Magical Hair Grower" product but she had a story that sold which is why she is more prominent in the history books and not her mentor. I realized this early on in my business and hired a marketing team to help me tell my story in a way that is relatable and compelling. Watching this series made me realize that I I can do better with sales. I am no where near as aggressive as she was portrayed in the Self Made series. Her sales team was lit. Since hiring a sales force isn't quite in my budget yet, EYE gotta go harder myself. Noted.

You can get a $1 Million order and not make a dime

It seems that everyone who has a product wants to get placement in a big box store. I'm glad that this series showed that isn't the only route to success. I thought that's what I wanted early on. But then I got some mentors and learned the truth about those deals.

I'd have to make changes to my formulas. My customers are attracted to the natural ingredients of my products. However, natural products mean shorter shelf life. Which means, products should be used almost as soon as they are manufactured. Product placement in large stores almost always require longer shelf lives which means....adjusting the formulas and possibly adding a few more preservatives. I'm not necessarily interested in doing that.
Your product placement on shelves is at the whim of the store. If your products are placed anywhere other than eye level...forget about it. If they decide they don't want to carry your products anymore....forget about it. If stores are closed because of a pandemic or war....forget about it.
Filling that $1 million order is the first step but then you have market downs, charge backs and charged off goods, you might no make ANY money. Imagine doing a million dollars worth of work and going home with nothing. Heartbreaking.

In the end, I was entertained and inspired. I think that's what the Madam would have wanted. That's all I have to say about that.

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