tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11071550098935292892024-03-13T13:13:41.145-04:00Fancy Life SecretsJust a small business owner on the journey to greatness with a husband and kids in tow. Life is teaching me many lessons. So I thought I'd share.Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-77363622788401206852021-10-23T17:29:00.002-04:002021-10-23T17:30:57.352-04:00A Long Time Coming - Journey to Lathering Shampoo<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RE6YhmIr2R0zAjitUfFHjilRdrtL8moioJDoPfNKMH47qav4-e-mLGM15Kp8GHGuMBMwt9vjVEZYZm3TQW7Q0OziYdMlM8cbBIjl9aHggaeUQcXDnfw0C_EYy60WB9K9R7SbzxsaeNs/s698/IMG_9295+MIB+resize.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="698" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RE6YhmIr2R0zAjitUfFHjilRdrtL8moioJDoPfNKMH47qav4-e-mLGM15Kp8GHGuMBMwt9vjVEZYZm3TQW7Q0OziYdMlM8cbBIjl9aHggaeUQcXDnfw0C_EYy60WB9K9R7SbzxsaeNs/s320/IMG_9295+MIB+resize.png" width="320" /></a></div>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 <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/for-hair/products/clay-wash" target="_blank">Clay Wash for Hair & Skin</a>. 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. <p></p><p><br /></p><p>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 <a href="https://fancyfreelifesecrets.blogspot.com/2018/01/my-struggles-with-colored-hair.html" target="_blank">2016 when I colored my hair</a>. Putting together a deep conditioner formula really wasn't as challenging as it was to formulate the shampoo. But back to lathering shampoo...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnzf5nbnVk1h4WCVYlYb0Wlh55E64Lrdl529bmLQAEIsZ-lqLGPqn1siAMG8FxaHSfWHWJpEeOlPtkk410Y1jSMHGeHI9jSSdZUkyU995ye1crokRxnyQ0KwSVmauKlhxnt_D-wBNq_I/s1800/IMG_20211021_110156_646.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Shampoo Bar" border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnzf5nbnVk1h4WCVYlYb0Wlh55E64Lrdl529bmLQAEIsZ-lqLGPqn1siAMG8FxaHSfWHWJpEeOlPtkk410Y1jSMHGeHI9jSSdZUkyU995ye1crokRxnyQ0KwSVmauKlhxnt_D-wBNq_I/w256-h320/IMG_20211021_110156_646.jpg" title="Trial Shampoo Bar and Shampoo" width="256" /></a></div>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. <p></p><p>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.</p><p>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!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx8dGZK-YxGPgSE7N1BKk5GyDzSDn4J4B8SbRGePO77eQHZJYJh-ccEXZVL8SKqgc7ZvfYPquJm1XLV7sHI6Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtcOjaxgtEE4CdKOVsJOWg3xzZchuSZm8tK279Bh1AF1P7wsltLz4OFN5ocAH9328GiCxbHzy9yu_HvHpbddfq9muf2RCA0DxOwlK-MMC-gqje8rN4fgj0x3e_TBPAb9abJtihdAttRY/s2048/KFP_2171.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Shampoo and Conditioner" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1676" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtcOjaxgtEE4CdKOVsJOWg3xzZchuSZm8tK279Bh1AF1P7wsltLz4OFN5ocAH9328GiCxbHzy9yu_HvHpbddfq9muf2RCA0DxOwlK-MMC-gqje8rN4fgj0x3e_TBPAb9abJtihdAttRY/w262-h320/KFP_2171.jpg" title="Lavish Lathering Shampoo and Deep Conditioner" width="262" /></a></div>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 <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/for-hair/products/fancy-free-lavish-lathering-shampoo-and-deep-conditioner-set" target="_blank">Lavish Lathering Shampoo and Deep Conditioner</a>. There are several morals to this story.... <br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Don't give up on finding a solution even if the process is way more challenging than you anticipated.</li><li>Take a break but don't quit.</li><li>Impossible could take a week, like Jay-Z said, or 3 years.</li><li>Always have your business contracts reviewed by an attorney and have the suggested updates made prior to signing.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Thank you for believing in me when I didn't think I could do it. It's only up from here, baby!</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Shameless Plug Alert:</span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="color: #333333;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="mc_embed_signup"><form action="https://fancyfreellc.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=fdd2e604dd7e948fbb0a7112a&id=4341b90bfe" class="validate" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" method="post" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" novalidate="" target="_blank"><div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><label style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Visit <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a> to subscribe to our mailing list. Become Fancy's Friend to receive a code for 10% off your next purchase.</span></label></div></div></div></div></div></form></div></div></div><div><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><br /></div></div><p></p>Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-23166143741657668722021-05-13T22:27:00.001-04:002021-05-13T22:27:16.839-04:00How Bath Bombs Changed My Life<p>Ok. So, that might be a little dramatic but maybe not. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8jJpiCR6R2IpO4X_lhBzPlcImAM9VLuKNhU9RRyXb3niQ4wIbcCV3uLn7ZKGV_dXdhr7tTKCnUZPBVi0bcjdofzFnu2QyPVQnnxfizFHlFQFczkvNwZBK_S2x7bvh2QzvtZClV_WoXs/s2048/20200611_165627.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8jJpiCR6R2IpO4X_lhBzPlcImAM9VLuKNhU9RRyXb3niQ4wIbcCV3uLn7ZKGV_dXdhr7tTKCnUZPBVi0bcjdofzFnu2QyPVQnnxfizFHlFQFczkvNwZBK_S2x7bvh2QzvtZClV_WoXs/w137-h200/20200611_165627.jpg" width="137" /></a></div>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? <p></p><p>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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ubQFizx4uhRHZjFxDWJI75DcogDtGZELTOLVz0Xl3TLf4TZyeYWlpKAySqUo1k2RSYQVWtzyFCe36EqYswhJWPFx339CBhNJYpVWptGyDD3Lqg8Y8yeM5GQUpgnnuuuE-IZZIxLetjI/s2048/20210407_113723.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ubQFizx4uhRHZjFxDWJI75DcogDtGZELTOLVz0Xl3TLf4TZyeYWlpKAySqUo1k2RSYQVWtzyFCe36EqYswhJWPFx339CBhNJYpVWptGyDD3Lqg8Y8yeM5GQUpgnnuuuE-IZZIxLetjI/w113-h200/20210407_113723.jpg" width="113" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>If you read my previous <a href="https://fancyfreelifesecrets.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-stench-of-stress.html" target="_blank">blog</a>, 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 href="http://whfarms.co" target="_blank">A hemp farm</a>. 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.</p><p>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.....</p><p>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. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC07XfJcfdOZjmvxVbKmVWhQq-_YbIb_qLSlRfmMSTrEUGd1sGt_IlcAwrgwSEf2t0kAHQDYoWI7EYwfelG-zFtin8K-iAY7bD8gdKgoNT5taFqdb3QBEhDHV47tHyzP0n83wcxTiKSH4/s2048/20210417_114735.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC07XfJcfdOZjmvxVbKmVWhQq-_YbIb_qLSlRfmMSTrEUGd1sGt_IlcAwrgwSEf2t0kAHQDYoWI7EYwfelG-zFtin8K-iAY7bD8gdKgoNT5taFqdb3QBEhDHV47tHyzP0n83wcxTiKSH4/w113-h200/20210417_114735.jpg" width="113" /></a></div><br />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.<p></p><p>Whole time, I'm still running <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" target="_blank">Fancy Free Hair and Skin</a> 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.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3fluiSEUBwakhO-OJPgoLLwEi0o7QcxP1CQ9sMsEbv06FcljqA5fxd3JduSLT_QBJq-4D9V8EYOemNoXHoJDTMK6eOMNK_Dr1oA-Smd-5sYNlk20PAp-LRuTqKnCLSOTUL7q7yP05Xc/s1920/IMG_20210428_073019_337.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3fluiSEUBwakhO-OJPgoLLwEi0o7QcxP1CQ9sMsEbv06FcljqA5fxd3JduSLT_QBJq-4D9V8EYOemNoXHoJDTMK6eOMNK_Dr1oA-Smd-5sYNlk20PAp-LRuTqKnCLSOTUL7q7yP05Xc/w113-h200/IMG_20210428_073019_337.jpg" width="113" /></a></div>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 <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sabbath-Finding-Renewal-Delight-Lives/dp/0553380117/ref=asc_df_0553380117/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312143170987&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1279889355427787822&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007907&hvtargid=pla-436584554375&psc=1" target="_blank">Sabbath by Wayne Muller</a>, 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.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScekgUOZgILcxRtXU_y8yUOClDSrm2Pj-3Cz3rlx05FuyP1mwJcV4RelNoIsZeGbuED11rbv6q4ujeci9cRPOUk8jcQCcmBvrQAhMvVcH8MKBjNTXVvfJiPRrnVjsln9V6KY-7ywa98A/s673/sabbath+screenshot+%25282%2529.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="673" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScekgUOZgILcxRtXU_y8yUOClDSrm2Pj-3Cz3rlx05FuyP1mwJcV4RelNoIsZeGbuED11rbv6q4ujeci9cRPOUk8jcQCcmBvrQAhMvVcH8MKBjNTXVvfJiPRrnVjsln9V6KY-7ywa98A/s320/sabbath+screenshot+%25282%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />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.<p></p><p>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.</p><p>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:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I couldn't use the mixer</li><ul><li>Mixing powders without liquid is an asthma attack waiting to happen with all the dust that kicks up.</li><li>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.</li></ul><li>The bath bomb press took lots of practice to get it right.</li><li>The mix has to stay damp enough to hold form but dry enough not to activate the fizzing.</li><li>Bath bombs really are an artform.</li></ul><div>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. </div><div>Got it. Small batches mixed by hand. No. Really, by hand. You gotta put them hands in there and mix it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2Sn9VuAiaVlsJsrn7DcmHDovrn7yc5vt7Fw25fNo0x9ibJw4TSAUM3JqkRWs_t72ViO2NFmCe9xU005EPMCJ-i2X_coV4ecth1gMLW9mn6AlKBjhnJrIAjgeBAjkFLz48h-hrtJb0vs/s1472/20210513_165220.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2Sn9VuAiaVlsJsrn7DcmHDovrn7yc5vt7Fw25fNo0x9ibJw4TSAUM3JqkRWs_t72ViO2NFmCe9xU005EPMCJ-i2X_coV4ecth1gMLW9mn6AlKBjhnJrIAjgeBAjkFLz48h-hrtJb0vs/s320/20210513_165220.jpg" /></a></div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>And if you know anything about the Fancy Factory, they've gotta be right or they will not be released.</div><div><br /></div><div>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 <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unhurried-Life-Following-Jesus-Rhythms/dp/0830835733/ref=asc_df_0830835733/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312400961658&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2813852423337014469&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007907&hvtargid=pla-494512039908&psc=1" target="_blank">"The Unhurried Life" by Alan Fadling </a>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*</div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Shameless Plug Alert:</span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="color: #333333;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="mc_embed_signup"><form action="https://fancyfreellc.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=fdd2e604dd7e948fbb0a7112a&id=4341b90bfe" class="validate" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" method="post" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" novalidate="" target="_blank"><div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><label style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Visit <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a> to subscribe to our mailing list. Become Fancy's Friend to receive a code for 10% off your next purchase.</span></label></div></div></div></div></div></form></div></div></div><div><br /></div></div><p></p>Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-68522108266950389762020-12-16T22:53:00.001-05:002020-12-16T22:53:42.485-05:00The Stench Of Stress<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx9OuCxDgQLnNmBbsahKGFMW2ZYJow3MRZIihF1PxM1TUkRskbNVYWr8SMueMI9An35Bgo1HmK8GyT78E8usc2z-jmZTcZO2tmZeslJ5AZKtrhQco83gYpSJ-CEhnu08oBeKZxndk-wI/s2048/V7A2541.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Aluminum Free Deodorant" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx9OuCxDgQLnNmBbsahKGFMW2ZYJow3MRZIihF1PxM1TUkRskbNVYWr8SMueMI9An35Bgo1HmK8GyT78E8usc2z-jmZTcZO2tmZeslJ5AZKtrhQco83gYpSJ-CEhnu08oBeKZxndk-wI/w200-h200/V7A2541.png" title="Fancy Free Aluminum Free Deodorant" width="200" /></a></div><br />We all know that <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com" target="_blank">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> makes one of the better <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/aluminum-free-deodorant" target="_blank">aluminum free deodorants</a> 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. <div><br /></div><div>When I get an inquiry from a Fancy Friend about why their deodorant isn't as effective anymore, I ask a few pointed questions:<p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>What is your water intake? Because water flushes waste out of your body.</li><li>What is your diet like? Processed and fast food or whole foods with ample fruits and vegetables? Because trash in means trash out.</li><li>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.</li><li>Are you experiences more than average stress levels? Stress causes the body to release hormones which can affect the way you smell. </li></ul><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYZ9ObKCWzHhzPDtmDWrmkLGpNcv6EuUtr8TeGU2Oh4tKytxYzqINu9842f6Kd-HbqI41lCv7gfEpGjWQftBrhp_jBkKcm6gyMzwiSRV-e3yDtaPIF-LC-5SXyswpC4YY-mQ3av634vA/s2048/20201112_193633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYZ9ObKCWzHhzPDtmDWrmkLGpNcv6EuUtr8TeGU2Oh4tKytxYzqINu9842f6Kd-HbqI41lCv7gfEpGjWQftBrhp_jBkKcm6gyMzwiSRV-e3yDtaPIF-LC-5SXyswpC4YY-mQ3av634vA/s320/20201112_193633.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />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. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn-b.medlife.com/2018/04/smelly-feet-in-summer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Stinky Feet" border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="696" height="283" src="https://cdn-b.medlife.com/2018/04/smelly-feet-in-summer.png" title="Smell of death" width="320" /></a></div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Shameless Plug Alert:</span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="color: #333333;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="mc_embed_signup"><form action="https://fancyfreellc.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=fdd2e604dd7e948fbb0a7112a&id=4341b90bfe" class="validate" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" method="post" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" novalidate="" target="_blank"><div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><label style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Visit <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a> to subscribe to our mailing list. Become Fancy's Friend to receive a code for 10% off your next purchase.</span></label></div></div></div></div></div></form></div></div></div><div><br /></div></div><p></p></div>Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-43844912724963149032020-10-31T19:35:00.006-04:002020-10-31T19:35:51.205-04:00The Recovery PeriodOnce I started running outside, it was very hard for me to go back to the treadmill. I have officially <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbko1_eXxb2OcJUfP02L9XWD_8PBnc_zlLCIEzrVBQnjheho9H99kh0us20_MMUW114at4UYVqWqbSo3VrEd5JW-Rm3k-Xqg8cVYmQ4FDWZdXrkZ78oL_Mc0hgwpXzff0a97sGVhyphenhyphenrMak/s2048/IMG_20201006_113149_241.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1638" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbko1_eXxb2OcJUfP02L9XWD_8PBnc_zlLCIEzrVBQnjheho9H99kh0us20_MMUW114at4UYVqWqbSo3VrEd5JW-Rm3k-Xqg8cVYmQ4FDWZdXrkZ78oL_Mc0hgwpXzff0a97sGVhyphenhyphenrMak/w160-h200/IMG_20201006_113149_241.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>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.<div><br /></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9m8JIsPDBk_BSaTeNS7SM0UgWwINts-v-F0hQWW-ILAefRNtf-HBE_O9WNAIwHmt5qMYKDTlfih195BQPYJDGue9mG0MSXrAoaqzpMCe9Jfdb5af6oR3FoIuWnnH6mA584mfuWlbK3o/s2048/20200108_065435.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9m8JIsPDBk_BSaTeNS7SM0UgWwINts-v-F0hQWW-ILAefRNtf-HBE_O9WNAIwHmt5qMYKDTlfih195BQPYJDGue9mG0MSXrAoaqzpMCe9Jfdb5af6oR3FoIuWnnH6mA584mfuWlbK3o/w150-h200/20200108_065435.jpg" width="150" /></a>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). </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I started walking in August 2019. I wanted to get more active. I was trying to<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4A6_CyhhO1c5RFr4oiXg9_jLHrMazGXL8cnB_yiE86OYe5s4xXtchq_G5whS8Ch9oTO2Kf77-erGUmZ0j_fXs7se4pFSn5ynAwAu97q5BbxoCGoPUT9Hp5Y872yHOmrTtA_IgZKiKBAc/s2048/20181117_132000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4A6_CyhhO1c5RFr4oiXg9_jLHrMazGXL8cnB_yiE86OYe5s4xXtchq_G5whS8Ch9oTO2Kf77-erGUmZ0j_fXs7se4pFSn5ynAwAu97q5BbxoCGoPUT9Hp5Y872yHOmrTtA_IgZKiKBAc/s320/20181117_132000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinebv_4I7XTIVivSELUfGrc4rgKvhMqk8l74fUzcy23EYCZL9ScGTAm8kwASvoWS3uSVwEFtZRdM2weQCY4nXVUXhqmF7JkgVnf5JpdLyvbiqSbqFeSYzpkYktUEhxP68f4eJhbCrF9ZM/s1857/20201009_182938.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1857" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinebv_4I7XTIVivSELUfGrc4rgKvhMqk8l74fUzcy23EYCZL9ScGTAm8kwASvoWS3uSVwEFtZRdM2weQCY4nXVUXhqmF7JkgVnf5JpdLyvbiqSbqFeSYzpkYktUEhxP68f4eJhbCrF9ZM/s320/20201009_182938.jpg" /></a></div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3jH0m90A-BcV9mjIEJIN_Ek96WP6TMTkvCuOBj6cCSbArUvgXrR_pI7jnp-go_oePU6kC8NOpuMQskYIkPbNYLLCTJuLZ2-eR4pS8yMnMJdbQkzvN06MeiUjrjhDtmN6t71lbPAIEIE/s2048/20200721_140858.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3jH0m90A-BcV9mjIEJIN_Ek96WP6TMTkvCuOBj6cCSbArUvgXrR_pI7jnp-go_oePU6kC8NOpuMQskYIkPbNYLLCTJuLZ2-eR4pS8yMnMJdbQkzvN06MeiUjrjhDtmN6t71lbPAIEIE/s320/20200721_140858.jpg" width="320" /></a>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.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>Then. I. Rest. The resting is the most important part. When I don't rest, when I'm tired, I make mistakes.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbs1dwco9KRizZ98S7J3Biggsg9YfUqrB8DxBW8E4VUgJn33mZDJAaAYBoG4ovLt9scAk7dS-TYLQXocDDHq5FByEA98YlQDk_H7Fn2rtljBrARRbWJEWbNjkjPOwkgeluR54buvj9pJE/s2048/20200609_205320.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbs1dwco9KRizZ98S7J3Biggsg9YfUqrB8DxBW8E4VUgJn33mZDJAaAYBoG4ovLt9scAk7dS-TYLQXocDDHq5FByEA98YlQDk_H7Fn2rtljBrARRbWJEWbNjkjPOwkgeluR54buvj9pJE/s320/20200609_205320.jpg" /></a></div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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 <b>recover</b>. 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 <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com" target="_blank">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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. </div><div><br /></div><div>Go forth. Do great things. Recover. Rinse. Repeat.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Shameless Plug Alert:</span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="color: #333333;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="mc_embed_signup"><form action="https://fancyfreellc.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=fdd2e604dd7e948fbb0a7112a&id=4341b90bfe" class="validate" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" method="post" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" novalidate="" target="_blank"><div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><label style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Visit <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a> to subscribe to our mailing list. Become Fancy's Friend to receive a code for 10% off your next purchase.</span></label></div></div></div></div></div></form></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-37575855919874147982020-10-18T11:32:00.002-04:002020-10-18T11:32:24.709-04:00Winter Weather Styling<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghX_LUQTD5ITUWZnebnXPcmYQv_1FtQRgDeDiP5GygGX9LOs4adtAdg_0PMNGjCkH1MFo-l9Yb-LvWJgvGPsTGudISaGVm5msgUQuYfQ3C1Xc8rNW8WUunPd1xjk7ProJusFBEQnfY-IM/s1920/20150801_141700.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghX_LUQTD5ITUWZnebnXPcmYQv_1FtQRgDeDiP5GygGX9LOs4adtAdg_0PMNGjCkH1MFo-l9Yb-LvWJgvGPsTGudISaGVm5msgUQuYfQ3C1Xc8rNW8WUunPd1xjk7ProJusFBEQnfY-IM/s320/20150801_141700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />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:</div></span></div></span></div><p></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdmnycwcyyQa9ZxXxhd1hJXciTZhvpPduFwWXboHsEuw3QKTaxZ6Uvn4VevdYrhOwyZtwZBbCrhNRbvOPxt2X4h68wKhd4qGYqsIhfa56HJyrzy7mf5JoeOYigUcAWFn7Z_Ucghrz088/s2048/IMG_9604+website+resize.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdmnycwcyyQa9ZxXxhd1hJXciTZhvpPduFwWXboHsEuw3QKTaxZ6Uvn4VevdYrhOwyZtwZBbCrhNRbvOPxt2X4h68wKhd4qGYqsIhfa56HJyrzy7mf5JoeOYigUcAWFn7Z_Ucghrz088/s320/IMG_9604+website+resize.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">MOISTURE! MOISTURE! MOISTURE!</span></b> 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 <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/for-hair/products/clay-wash" target="_blank">Fancy Free Clay Wash</a>, 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, <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/for-hair/products/castor-oil-blend-for-hair-skin" target="_blank">Fancy Free Castor Oil Blend</a> or butter, <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/for-hair/products/shea-pomade-for-hair-skin" target="_blank">Fancy Free Whipped Shea</a>. If you need to moisturize in between wash days, try a water based moisturizer like <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/for-hair/products/milk-for-hair-skin" target="_blank">Fancy Free Milk for Hair and Skin</a>. Matter of fact, try the <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/apparel/products/the-hair-starter-kit" target="_blank">Fancy Free Hair Starter Kit</a> to decide which product combination works best for you.<br /></li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWp6KOzdHee7UDc6c0FIqAcveh4QDqA1Tr0121CYvQAz4uY2dJTWK6-Pccte_nwVU7jWai0hX3k45jTyWFAs1CNvOFLBl6v_BKgyM74cOqHta6Uf7E1Pbs3gaf86uddKArJifqxTnQY0c/s2048/20151212_200943.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWp6KOzdHee7UDc6c0FIqAcveh4QDqA1Tr0121CYvQAz4uY2dJTWK6-Pccte_nwVU7jWai0hX3k45jTyWFAs1CNvOFLBl6v_BKgyM74cOqHta6Uf7E1Pbs3gaf86uddKArJifqxTnQY0c/s320/20151212_200943.jpg" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Protect your ends.</span></b> 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 <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/pages/tutorial-videos" target="_blank">YouTube</a> 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!</li><li><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Keep drinking water and eating whole, unprocessed foods.</span></b> 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.</li></ol><div>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 <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/apparel/products/fancy-free-natural-hair-consultation" target="_blank">Natural Hair Consultation</a>. I'd be happy to work with you to meet your hair goals.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Shameless Plug Alert:</span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="color: #333333;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="mc_embed_signup"><form action="https://fancyfreellc.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=fdd2e604dd7e948fbb0a7112a&id=4341b90bfe" class="validate" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" method="post" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" novalidate="" target="_blank"><div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><label style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Visit <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a> to subscribe to our mailing list. Become Fancy's Friend to receive a code for 10% off your next purchase.</span></label></div></div></div></div></div></form></div></div></div><p></p>Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-55183734627910807012020-05-22T12:33:00.000-04:002020-05-22T13:25:56.828-04:00Don't Knock It 'Til You Try It<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bioworld.com/ext/resources/Stock-images/Therapeutic-topics/Infectious/Coronavirus-pandemic2.png?1588893047" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://www.bioworld.com/ext/resources/Stock-images/Therapeutic-topics/Infectious/Coronavirus-pandemic2.png?1588893047" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There isn't a place on this earth that hasn't been impacted<br />
by COVID-19</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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.<br />
<h2>
Nobody:</h2>
<h2>
Me: You know that starting a direct sales business is what opened my eyes to living as an entrepreneur.</h2>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-xmgTfSxFFNizhFabzn4B3FHyE0udrOatf5a4zYTjWQePkbRSBI53U26_3V593q7UlBKMdNh9lQevhvQl7J8CFKf2uch1olZIqHupiwT6dYq4kPfqLA7tiWp0JVe219qdSeNCMdtjxM/s1600/20140124_223915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-xmgTfSxFFNizhFabzn4B3FHyE0udrOatf5a4zYTjWQePkbRSBI53U26_3V593q7UlBKMdNh9lQevhvQl7J8CFKf2uch1olZIqHupiwT6dYq4kPfqLA7tiWp0JVe219qdSeNCMdtjxM/s320/20140124_223915.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Award received at a<br />
5Linx Convention</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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.<br />
<br />
<div>
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. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlFD6l8t5GIppTxG2KLJAIyHZKxnMCwuCwcRDKeeREYe17VBbQkXBdk_tth61agg8EDBtNUSLxuuCCPMpy8f8NiMUuFbRdT4SVso714bIYMkPf9ULQlFX7Od5xkNtoI4NMad-JFyD8pE/s1600/20140625_164600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlFD6l8t5GIppTxG2KLJAIyHZKxnMCwuCwcRDKeeREYe17VBbQkXBdk_tth61agg8EDBtNUSLxuuCCPMpy8f8NiMUuFbRdT4SVso714bIYMkPf9ULQlFX7Od5xkNtoI4NMad-JFyD8pE/s320/20140625_164600.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really had to "observe" nurses<br />
administering transfusions, only<br />
for nothing to be done if I wrote<br />
incident reports for mistakes made</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
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.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What Direct Sales Taught Me</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Humble yourself and be coachable.</li>
<li>Monthly earnings can be as much as an average annual salary. People do it. Average people with no degrees, just a work effort.</li>
<li>You don't need a job, you just need money.</li>
<li>Have systems and automation in place so you can duplicate yourself without having to be there.</li>
<li>You're going to be rejected and laughed at, it's inevitable, keep working.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>There are reasons and then there are excuses. Be able to recognize when you are making excuses.</li>
<li>Move on. Just keep moving forward.</li>
<li>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. </li>
</ol>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
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".</div>
</div>
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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. </div>
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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!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</span></span></div>
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-12851474625807971622020-05-06T14:34:00.003-04:002020-05-06T14:34:39.224-04:00Self Made Netflix Series: Fancy's Commentary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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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...<br />
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People will deflect their own fears on to you</h3>
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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,<br />
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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. </div>
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Beyonce said it best...</h3>
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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 <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a>. 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.</div>
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Marketing makes a difference</h3>
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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.</div>
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You can get a $1 Million order and not make a dime</h3>
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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. </div>
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<li>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.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>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.</li>
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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.</div>
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<br />Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-47887079953753130982020-03-26T14:27:00.000-04:002020-03-27T00:29:49.072-04:00Five Years of Fancy FreeI am a scientist. I am also a natural hairstylist. I grew up in a salon. I styled natural hair in my college dorm room while in undergrad and I worked as a natural hairstylist in a salon while in graduate school. I had a relaxer though. But in 2010, all of that changed. I decided to grow my relaxer out. And that is how Fancy Free Hair & Skin got started.<br />
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If you haven't heard the story, here ya go....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyEXh0sB9iZ1QcL_gf4Mem00USOtROmTqsuBZi_PtYVwlCxsM3-OmMWOv3gr_ODYUsZtSnGThWMAeGkPQhZ72Ul847rJg4unGcL6xnwGKG2n4rbnz2hMQKS0CGHq9xwhD0lJv4M4RZDVY/s1600/250010_10150188682968323_7498509_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyEXh0sB9iZ1QcL_gf4Mem00USOtROmTqsuBZi_PtYVwlCxsM3-OmMWOv3gr_ODYUsZtSnGThWMAeGkPQhZ72Ul847rJg4unGcL6xnwGKG2n4rbnz2hMQKS0CGHq9xwhD0lJv4M4RZDVY/s320/250010_10150188682968323_7498509_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>In 2011, I cut the last few inches of straight ends off of my hair and ran to Target to pick up a jar of Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding to the tune of $29.99. I hated it. It left my hair sticky and flaky. I returned it for a refund the next day. I spent the next few months trying different products and styling techniques until I figured out that a wet twist out was what worked for me. There was one problem, my hair would still feel dry and brittle using what was available to me. From my natural hairstylist experience, I knew I needed a heavy, shea butter based product. Not waxy, pure shea butter or beeswax. That was too difficult to work with. I also didn't want it to smell like Dax Hair Grease. I wanted to smell like juices and berries. LOL! In 2012, I ventured to a Natural Hair Expo and found a product made by a natural hairstylist out of North Carolina. The texture was perfect but the smell was overwhelming. And she took forever to ship. And it was kind of pricey. So, I looked at the ingredients and decided that the ingredients list was simple enough for me to make something similar. So, I started making my own "pomade" to use for my wet twist outs.</div>
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The Whip Technique</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7UQPXLZDzabBydkTTsjVc9iB47n8RtUn2-h2Dw_xpuvSoqckrnaUfQzWBje8TWbZa7moe1k7tOQ3xoU9oQWvqEIL4zcI9lj1kfbDXlHDpT3oq1UNBwWEihNowT-DCyoFEt_znl0Eqdk/s1600/20150513_070621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7UQPXLZDzabBydkTTsjVc9iB47n8RtUn2-h2Dw_xpuvSoqckrnaUfQzWBje8TWbZa7moe1k7tOQ3xoU9oQWvqEIL4zcI9lj1kfbDXlHDpT3oq1UNBwWEihNowT-DCyoFEt_znl0Eqdk/s320/20150513_070621.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The only problem was that I was using a "melt and pour" manufacturing technique, which required a waiting period to allow the product to cool and solidify. This is only a problem when you live with a clutz who can accidentally spill your precious hair product all over the refrigerator and kitchen floor while looking for a snack. During a lunch time, husband bashing session at work, I told my work aunties about my husband wasting my hair product and my favorite work auntie said "Girl, I know. My daughter is 4 and makes messes too. Just whip it so you don't have to worry about melting and it's ready to use immediately." That was 2012. I've been whipped ever since. I whipped for me. I whipped for my newly natural sisters. I whipped for my close, close friends. All my peeps' hair and elbows were flourishing. The result, flourishing hair. I started getting a lot of questions about the products I was using and my styling techniques while out and about.</div>
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The Hair Consultant</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4E-610ZOBBZ8CC-ApFqRhlIdNdT4Dx4X0n9jBB71JGgYO56L53KS2sQY8V5ltYTpbEvxeIg2N6Zsb-lML84ZTimcpdPgBK5r-hd6fNK2Apk4mIblIdgM8xR1QR-h_RxvSAN5AQL4hl0U/s1600/Fancy+Hair+Consults+Biz+Card_LI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="650" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4E-610ZOBBZ8CC-ApFqRhlIdNdT4Dx4X0n9jBB71JGgYO56L53KS2sQY8V5ltYTpbEvxeIg2N6Zsb-lML84ZTimcpdPgBK5r-hd6fNK2Apk4mIblIdgM8xR1QR-h_RxvSAN5AQL4hl0U/s320/Fancy+Hair+Consults+Biz+Card_LI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Keep in mind that I am a scientist. At this time, I was spending about 6 hours/day in an office, <br />
looking at paperwork and a computer, cultivating my inner introvert. I didn't need to talk to my staff much, so when random women would approach me asking really detailed questions about my hair routine, it made me uncomfortable. I wanted to help but I needed space and time to mentally prepare to shift into Natural Hairstylist mode. In 2014, Fancy Free Natural Hair Consults was born. I made business cards. I'd answer up to three questions while out and about. If they asked a 4th question, I'd give them a business card and suggest that they schedule an appointment for a consultation. Cuz ain't no free "pick your brain" sessions in the grocery store line. All jokes aside, Fancy Free Natural Hair Consults was not established to make money. I did not promote or market services. This concept was birthed to create boundaries for my introvert self and establish the value I had to offer. </div>
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I still offer consultations. We discuss hair routine, hair goals, hair care and hair products. In the early days, I'd give my clients a sample of my whipped shea butter concoction WITH THE RECIPE (I've since improved the recipe and manufacturing technique) and send them on their way. Except, my clients didn't want to make the product themselves, they wanted to buy it.</div>
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"Sell this" - Chezia, the fixer</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEICQEUVVf0Nm-lvMmPvy8g8KzFag4U72JThBW_9Xdhrx7Ppydkovo42Yvk4eAf2IxlZl5H3IuOg7YFl-DHu8BF6Wi3ka535JU5p8EQ760zPlVlocngMVl1RFA5Ejch9JsnmP2J_MCJI/s1600/20150313_081646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEICQEUVVf0Nm-lvMmPvy8g8KzFag4U72JThBW_9Xdhrx7Ppydkovo42Yvk4eAf2IxlZl5H3IuOg7YFl-DHu8BF6Wi3ka535JU5p8EQ760zPlVlocngMVl1RFA5Ejch9JsnmP2J_MCJI/s320/20150313_081646.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
February 2015, my girlfriend, who is like a sister, was at my house. We were getting dressed to go to a gala. She knew I was whipping shea butter but had never tried it. She saw me dipping my hands in this tupperware container and using the contents as body butter. So she did the same. Her response was "Sell this". If you have ever met Chezia, she is very even tempered. She doesn't get excited or emotional about anything. I interpreted "Sell this" as "This is good. Really good." So, I decided to make some samples to put in the swag bags for a gala we were planning for the next month, March 2015. I didn't know what sample containers were supposed to look like and ended up ordering jars that looked like pill bottles. I printed at work. No graphic designer, just the logo I was using for my umbrella company that housed my multi-level marketing business and some other ventures my husband and I were working on. Fancy Free Hair & Skin was up and running.</div>
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<h3>
Unofficially Official</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpo5y_xZqFRTwL7KsYUIPcFT1LyPSCklNXfZ-p6PVoVlSgO1G1nyMtL9HsocrttZZxbtjLgnVgRvLjCZ8nyS9pkoHVzPS1pfHgpxEJ4iUHDX_kPw5ML8BNPDujtOoOCLtrSEa7EJUce4s/s1600/IMG_20150406_210121+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1079" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpo5y_xZqFRTwL7KsYUIPcFT1LyPSCklNXfZ-p6PVoVlSgO1G1nyMtL9HsocrttZZxbtjLgnVgRvLjCZ8nyS9pkoHVzPS1pfHgpxEJ4iUHDX_kPw5ML8BNPDujtOoOCLtrSEa7EJUce4s/s200/IMG_20150406_210121+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was legit selling product in a clear tub</td></tr>
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I didn't make any official announcement, have a launch party, or make a big reveal. I was just taking orders by phone and sending a PayPal invoice. If you know me, process improvement is my passion, so I swiftly made an improvement on that by launching an Etsy page for just the one product. That's all it took to be in business. A quality product and a platform to sell. No business plan. No huge start up team or investors. I never set out to start a business...it just happened. Now look at me.<br />
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In 2016, I took on my first private label manufacturing client and started the Product Development and Private Label Manufacturing division of Fancy Free Hair & Skin. I support other small businesses looking to create a product line. I am a firm believer in collaboration over competition. Black people have it hard enough. We don't need to be so hard on each other. But that's another blog for another day.</div>
<h3>
2020 Vision</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6XlKh-dkIguw6J2mpFzW1bBFMOnTJEeMM_Hew-o3RjYB66VzGSQOwMeMUGGzkHTF2_nC61nf1s0qgW4OymVNN5sW-0tQrDg_fEH69RYiRyPjZuNnL_LTGoHe9TYKVR4r3xXEU_XHyjw/s1600/IMG_20140820_113026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6XlKh-dkIguw6J2mpFzW1bBFMOnTJEeMM_Hew-o3RjYB66VzGSQOwMeMUGGzkHTF2_nC61nf1s0qgW4OymVNN5sW-0tQrDg_fEH69RYiRyPjZuNnL_LTGoHe9TYKVR4r3xXEU_XHyjw/s320/IMG_20140820_113026.jpg" width="320" /></a>My life plan was to be the manage of a Blood Bank for 10-15 years and then get promoted to <br />
Laboratory Administrator where I would retire. But Jehovah had other plans for me. Building a multi-level marketing company opened my eyes to lifestyles that I never considered. I became open minded on how I made money and wanted to get more out of my daily life than sit in an office. I started Fancy Free Hair & Skin on a whim and it grew 500% on it's own in the second year. I was shocked but I recognized the potential it had if I actually put effort into growing it. Earning potential and positive impact on my Fancy Friend's health. (I've researched the data on carcinogenic ingredients used at a higher percentage in personal care products marketed to African-American women compared to other groups.) </div>
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Each day, I get to do what I love. I took a leap of faith in 2017 and Jehovah has blessed me abundantly. I am in a space where I am creating the life I want to live everyday. There are challenges. I have good days and bad days. Some months I turn a profit, some months I don't. Every year, my company grows. I am able to provide employment opportunities to the Q-munity and live by example. If you show love to the hood, the hood will love you back.<br />
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These last five years have been the most challenging and invigorating five years of my life. Thank you for taking this ride with me.<br />
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-72442932484067302652020-02-28T14:55:00.000-05:002020-02-28T15:20:27.445-05:00I Stopped Eating Like A Fat @$$<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFh8RZDshUc_73E3GLqVfpJiMZWwvA4FjRM9EmexlCaImPkmOEUkCh1n0gEDeKr5NkPbNX9gmw1STB04aLGgltuZj-flp1z1vUA9w2kp79icIQSbJoV6bct19zxabTIJsd9RDKZJKBFLQ/s1600/20181117_132000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFh8RZDshUc_73E3GLqVfpJiMZWwvA4FjRM9EmexlCaImPkmOEUkCh1n0gEDeKr5NkPbNX9gmw1STB04aLGgltuZj-flp1z1vUA9w2kp79icIQSbJoV6bct19zxabTIJsd9RDKZJKBFLQ/s200/20181117_132000.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three Days After Giving Birth</td></tr>
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Losing weight after having a baby is hard. Let me count the ways:<br />
<ol>
<li>Losing weight starts in the kitchen, not the gym.</li>
<li>From the moment that I found out I was pregnant, I was eating ALL OF THE FOOD! </li>
<li>After close to 36 weeks of eating whatever, you spend another 12 months or so eating about 2000 calories each day to support your milk supply.</li>
<li>Losing weight may require restricting carbs but my breast milk supply dwindles without carbs. So I had to eat carbs.</li>
<li>I work at home, in the kitchen, where I live with 2 little mousies (husband and son) who like to snack and never put their snacks away after the partake. Of course, I'm gonna have a mini oreo or two or three before I put them back in the snack cabinet.</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2XWgH_toEilckxm3bQ_i81nxpGbCVWDjviFCw3hlB5ebD4qmSh3HL8Sr2fbYTBjdgbC42pyfaA1mSZwBjGZbvzLyeCo4kc6lVEo5UXJ1Frh0i0mL6WBR-l9Rcj_prPWlhOEgFzFGoyU/s1600/20181212_165328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2XWgH_toEilckxm3bQ_i81nxpGbCVWDjviFCw3hlB5ebD4qmSh3HL8Sr2fbYTBjdgbC42pyfaA1mSZwBjGZbvzLyeCo4kc6lVEo5UXJ1Frh0i0mL6WBR-l9Rcj_prPWlhOEgFzFGoyU/s200/20181212_165328.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Favorite Snack</td></tr>
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You get my drift. The odds are not in my favor here at the Fancy Factory. So, how did I do it? I just decided. I decided that I was tired of not looking how I wanted to look in my clothes. I was tired of not feeling my best. I was tired of squeezing my brains out with spanx and seeing my FUPA anyway. I was tired. It's just like being an addict who needs to kick the habit. Only the addict can decide when it's time. I decided. I decided that I wasn't gonna eat like a fat ass no mo'.</div>
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<h3>
Fitness</h3>
Working out has never been a problem for me. I've always had a regular fitness routine, even in college when my average weight was about 120 lbs. I just never had to really watch my diet. I ate pretty healthy but never felt like I had to restrain my sweet tooth. Give me ALL of the chocolate chip cookies, brownies with ice cream, molten chocolate cake, and sweet tea. LOL! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_O6gY22ZMPb4JSzCaYB2qnocMhMF8YMlBF9mNn4U3Gusp3O9Fmqko3wo4AEPIMuSMz9x6Dk3YuaWy4IsR5zywEyra5LHoYan6jjamK8WcBSlxoHkHzcDsi2rxuRrbJkUBX51nACIEoH8/s1600/20190711_132946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_O6gY22ZMPb4JSzCaYB2qnocMhMF8YMlBF9mNn4U3Gusp3O9Fmqko3wo4AEPIMuSMz9x6Dk3YuaWy4IsR5zywEyra5LHoYan6jjamK8WcBSlxoHkHzcDsi2rxuRrbJkUBX51nACIEoH8/s320/20190711_132946.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Felt Cute But Wasn't Excited<br />
When I Look At This Picture</td></tr>
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After having my first kid, I came home from the hospital weighing roughly 200 lbs. But he was a spring baby so I started walking 1 - 2 miles per day when he was about 3 weeks old. The weight dropped quickly but then I went back to work, sitting at a desk, I was stuck at about 175 lbs. Womp. At 9 months postpartum, I got serious and adapted the <a href="http://p413life.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/21-Day-Fix-Eating-Plan.pdf">21 Day Fix meal plan</a>. I dropped 11 lbs in 21 days and kept going. The down side to that was my milk supply suffered so I ended up weaning my son at 10 months when I really wanted to nurse him for a year. I eased up on the dietary restrictions but was able to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and maintain it. If you have a husband, you know how they can be haters sometimes. I got knocked up again. SMH</div>
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I weighed in at 215 lbs. before I delivered my daughter, the second child. I came home from the hospital weighing 198 lbs. This time I knew what to do, it was just a matter of doing it. What I didn't realize was, I wasn't as active as I was with my son. I was doing my little 25 - 30 minute Beach Body on Demand exercises but I was feeling like it wasn't enough. What was I missing? Aaaahhhhh, the walking. Since my daughter was born in November, getting outside to walk wasn't ideal and I had given my treadmill away to make room for Fancy Factory operations. Plus, having two kids takes a longer adjustment period. Shit. We're still adjusting 15 months later. LOL!</div>
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Once my daughter hit 8 months, I was over being fat. I got serious about my diet.....again. I had to be careful though because I didn't want my milk to dry up.<br />
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<h3>
Food</h3>
Here's is what my daily menu looks like:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Drink 90 - 100 oz. of water with lemon slices per day (I refill my 24 oz. container 4-5 times/day and refresh the lemon slices daily)</li>
<li>Breakfast</li>
<ul>
<li>Green Smoothie with protein: Handful of spinach, half a banana, scoop of <a href="https://fancyfree.le-vel.com/">Thrive protein</a>, water (any kind of milk, including non-dairy, has a rack of carbs)</li>
<li>Accompanied with</li>
<ul>
<li>Flax & Oats Oatmeal (for milk production, I stopped eating this after I stopped nursing. Oatmeal has a rack of carbs.) <b>OR</b></li>
<li>Avocado toast with fried egg (Ezekiel toast, guacamole, fried egg on top) <b>OR</b></li>
<li>One boiled egg</li>
</ul>
<li>8 oz. of Coffee with flavored creamer only. No sugar.</li>
</ul>
<li>Morning snack (cuz you've gotsta have a snack)</li>
<ul>
<li>Celery with peanut butter OR</li>
<li>One serving of fruit</li>
</ul>
<li>Lunch</li>
<ul>
<li>4 oz./One chicken tenderloin (seasoned and frozen, cooked in the air fryer for 8 minutes at 380 degrees)</li>
<li>Salad</li>
</ul>
<li>Afternoon snack</li>
<ul>
<li>One serving of Fruit <b>OR</b></li>
<li>Popcorn</li>
</ul>
<li>Dinner</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw1NJLq2lX7GjxpZNcUtGvmxUp5XiW3l2dQMdRpy5xHeuakKManH6ZYYcD4e-7HtRQ_gEbr7gZxP9UdKKZDJRofm8fXeNMdx55zadqM1blQYF7-n8G33olIZwN118fr5I3-kaW8vfoAw/s1600/Screenshot_20200225-231628_Instagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1079" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw1NJLq2lX7GjxpZNcUtGvmxUp5XiW3l2dQMdRpy5xHeuakKManH6ZYYcD4e-7HtRQ_gEbr7gZxP9UdKKZDJRofm8fXeNMdx55zadqM1blQYF7-n8G33olIZwN118fr5I3-kaW8vfoAw/s320/Screenshot_20200225-231628_Instagram.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 2019 vs. November 2019</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li>Protein</li>
<li>Veggie</li>
<li>Glass of red wine (sometimes. Gimme a break. I have two toddlers that drive me crazy.)</li>
</ul>
<li>Dessert (usually under 200 calories) This can get tricky but I keep dark chocolate around the house for those chocolate cravings. Dark chocolate is healthier for you than milk chocolate. Like red wine compared to white wine.</li>
<ul>
<li>One <a href="http://undrarmr.co/1TNqU7J">Chocolate Peanut Butter Bite</a> (Using dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate chips) <b>OR</b></li>
<li>A little sliver of cake <b>OR</b></li>
<li>One or two squares of dark chocolate <b>OR</b></li>
<li>One fresh baked chocolate chip cookie <b>OR</b></li>
<li>One or Two Mini Oreos <b>OR</b></li>
<li>Brush my teeth and go to bed. (When I've had a bad day and couldn't stick to the meal plan)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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Dassit! The weekend can get pretty sketchy. If you get a stomach virus or flu, that helps. I'm laughing but serious. I have started doing a quarterly <a href="https://blueprint.com/blueprint-og-renovation/BPR+84010001.html">2 day juice cleanse</a>. The juice cleanse is a healthy substitute for a stomach virus or the flu. Hahahahahaha!!! I also drink some Smooth Move tea each night just to get the waste moving out, ya know. If you are holding onto waste, you are holding on to weight. Let it out! The tea is very helpful when I didn't quite drink enough water the previous day.<br />
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Document! Document! Document! Just like with anything, what gets measured is what gets done. I use an app to document everything. <a href="https://www.myfitnesspal.com/">My Fitness Pal</a> is a great app that tracks, documents, charts, and reminds you to eat, workout or whatever you need help with. I use it to document my meals to monitor my calories and nutrient portions, water intake, daily weight, waist measurements, and daily steps.<br />
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I eat the same things everyday. This works for me. I eliminate decision fatique and it's easy for me to pack my lunch and snack when I'm in deez streets. Packing my lunch and snacks prevents me from eating out....sometimes.<br />
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<h3>
Fitness</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JiZZkYwNyb8EVSn-Tjr-i9xj_G226kpLzOId6DrvWdk68WI8j-qypL5yG_EBKJLYG291w3sNn1kJWnbHcksGBeHWhY2vQc1kbuqLwnjkTX4MxeDLrlnQ9hL4Mmravp84Irh3m6JMKmk/s1600/IMG_20200225_072620_354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="833" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JiZZkYwNyb8EVSn-Tjr-i9xj_G226kpLzOId6DrvWdk68WI8j-qypL5yG_EBKJLYG291w3sNn1kJWnbHcksGBeHWhY2vQc1kbuqLwnjkTX4MxeDLrlnQ9hL4Mmravp84Irh3m6JMKmk/s320/IMG_20200225_072620_354.jpg" width="166" /></a>If we are friends on social media, you probably get tired of seeing my work out pictures #MorningsAreForMoms. While I know that I don't have to workout everyday to be healthy, I NEED that time to myself. Going to the gym is really the only time of the day that I get to myself. I'm not interrupted by phone calls, emails, staff calling my name, kids crawling all over me, a husband asking me questions. Just me and my music or audio book. I COULD work out at home but husbands and kids can be haters. It's the best $10 I could spend on myself. I post my daily workout to hold myself accountable and to encourage my Fancy Friends. It's amazing how showing that you're working on yourself can encourage someone to work on themselves as well. I see improvement in my stamina and strength everyday. I feel better about my day when I've worked out in the morning. I know that if my whole day goes to shit and I don't get anything done as planned, at least I exercised. I got ONE win for the day.<br />
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I hope this helps someone who is feeling discouraged. Some days are easier than others. PMS is the hardest for food. Getting to the gym is hardest when I'm on my cycle. But I give myself grace and rest when my body gives me signs that I need to rest. However, I don't let rest day turn into rest week, so I even workout on vacation. I don't let one bad food choice turn into a bad food week. I take it day by day. I get excited for the small wins because the small wins add up to losing. Losing weight.<br />
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-27576643691420180582020-01-12T23:31:00.000-05:002020-01-12T23:31:11.708-05:00Let Me Get My Attorney on the Line<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPMvIw_tYlGukt8pLjlnAcFu3IVKJUREt5sybAiqLH8PUi_-ZcruR5Sp3_S1JDYjzGtR-CKiuIZ1ZZvALyWhViVYEgIKggAF4VhMmFvLjidRbo5wpejB2VgaJl-_k17n948ZeHMX1MeM/s1600/014.IMG_4303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPMvIw_tYlGukt8pLjlnAcFu3IVKJUREt5sybAiqLH8PUi_-ZcruR5Sp3_S1JDYjzGtR-CKiuIZ1ZZvALyWhViVYEgIKggAF4VhMmFvLjidRbo5wpejB2VgaJl-_k17n948ZeHMX1MeM/s320/014.IMG_4303.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doing fake lab stuff for the camera.<br />
I was really measuring though so maybe it was real lab stuff.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> has officially been in business since 2015. I didn't actually start taking it seriously until 2016 when my revenue increased by 500%. If you don't know by now, I am a scientist. I am good at this lab stuff. Real good. It's my jam. Starting, running and growing a business....well, that's another story. So, I've been educating myself. Enrolling in programs. Building relationships with more experienced business owners so they will mentor me. I don't know what I don't know and you can't always rely on Google. I mean, there's a lot on the interwebs but there comes a time in business where you need real business help from real business experts in order to grow.<br />
<br />
I said all of that to build up to my story line. LOL! Every training program I've been to talks about having your advisory board or something like that. It should consist of a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsaepeele/">business banker</a>, a <a href="https://www.wattbizsolutions.com/">business accountant</a>, and a business lawyer. I am so blessed to be surrounded by black girl magic in my family, so business attorney was one of the first positions that I was able to fill. My cousin is an attorney and her business is to provide legal advice and services to small businesses, <a href="https://www.thebossyapproach.com/">Be Bossy, LLC</a>. Well, would you look at God. So, I've had a business attorney since day one. Ms. Bossy got me all set up with trademark and copyrighting. Most importantly, she has been instrumental with contract reviews.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://compote.slate.com/images/d2552f5a-b6ef-488f-ae36-4760156fe697.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="590" height="228" src="https://compote.slate.com/images/d2552f5a-b6ef-488f-ae36-4760156fe697.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">I love womens more than him though.</td></tr>
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Let's get to the nitty gritty. The hardest part about growing a business is branding and marketing. If you are a creative, this is hard because you want to create and you have all of these great ideas. You probably don't communicate well, so how will you concisely communicate how great your creation is? You hire a marketing professional. Some marketing companies specialize in branding, others in creating content for social media. I have both. Once I was solid on <b>what</b> I wanted to communicate (Thanks to <a href="https://audacitygroupllc.com/">The Audacity Group</a>), I was good to go with hiring a social media manager to generate and post content. The first two weren't necessarily a good fit. I did a quick google search and selected a third. Based on my on-boarding process, I thought I had it right with the third company. Third times the charm, right? I should've known from the beginning when #3 - as I will refer to them from this point forward - boasted of being a black owned company and then assigned a white woman to be my account manager. Let me jot that down again...<br />
This black owned company assigned a white woman to manage my social media for my black owned company marketing products to black womens - with an s. 😒<br />
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After some delay, I got my content from #3 and it was just okay. Some typos. Some things I would've<br />
done differently with font but whatever, just start posting cuz I had been doing it myself for 3 days and I was exhausted. Then I noticed that 3 days had gone by with nothing posted. I went to look at the calendar I approved and it was only through the November 15. So, I'm like wait, did I miss an email on the 12th, 13th or 14th? Did they send something for me to approve and I missed it? No. Nothing. I get an email from my account manager telling me about a connectivity issue with my Facebook Business manager, which is what is used to manage paid ads. Ummmm.....that's fine but what does that have to do with you generating content for posting? 👀<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.tenor.com/images/99c8ce7a626a51c5feb7dbe5cfcebfda/tenor.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="498" height="178" src="https://media.tenor.com/images/99c8ce7a626a51c5feb7dbe5cfcebfda/tenor.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual photograph of me reviewing that content</td></tr>
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Let's look at the timeline, no posting for November 16, 17, 18. Also, there is no content to approve. Seems like there was no intention to even post or resolve the connectivity issue IF that had anything to do with actual posting.<br />
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I can't call my account manager directly so I schedule an appointment to talk with her. We speak on November 19. We work through the connectivity issue together. She explains that she is working with a Facebook specialist but they are slow. Ok. She also tells me that I will have content to approve for posting on the next day, Nov. 20. After our call, I spent 2 hours playing around with Facebook Business manager and fix it. Nov. 20 comes and goes. No content. Nov. 21 comes and almost goes and I shoot her an email asking for my content. Nothing. Nov. 22 comes, I get the content. This time it has maaaaaaddddd grammatical errors. They used pictures of old products I don't use any more from a folder marked "old Product Pics". Come one y'all. I started to correct, make comments, and then I'm like "Fcuk this! They're fired. I don't have time to deal with this a week before Black Friday." And to add insult to injury, none of holiday deals were included in the calendar. At that moment, I knew it was over for #3.<br />
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We're now at day 8 of #3 not posting on my social media. My response to the content was "I'm very disappointed in the amount of grammatical errors. This content looks low quality and thrown together. Thank you for your time." My account manager asks to allow her team to fix it on Nov 25. "No thank you. I'm going to end this relationship. I will no longer be using this company".<br />
The account manager responds on Dec. 2. THE SECOND DAY IN DECEMBER! Which means I've been having to manage my social media on my own for over 2 weeks and, most importantly, through the holidays. Her email read "I'm sorry but I can't let you out of your 3 month contract." LET ME?!?! *Drake vc* Ma'am....ma'am. You don't have to let me do anything because you didn't do what you were paid to do. What she didn't know was that I had already called the bank on Nov 26 and stopped payment on their ACH withdrawal. So, when my phone started ringing on Dec 6 all I could do was laugh. I check my email "I tried to call you a couple times today...."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOGZkZjM5YzgtMGI5OS00MzljLTk0MjMtNDc1MmFmZTk2OTYwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTg0NjYxOTY@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,562,1000_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOGZkZjM5YzgtMGI5OS00MzljLTk0MjMtNDc1MmFmZTk2OTYwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTg0NjYxOTY@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,562,1000_AL_.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Picture taken of me while on<br />
that call....unbothered.</td></tr>
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First of all, bitch. Make an appointment. The same way I made an appointment when I needed to speak to you after you didn't post to my account for 3 days. I am very busy and I don't just take random phone calls that I'm not expecting. Second of all, I said what I said. IDGAF about the length of the contract. I DO know that you ain't do what you were supposed to do so I'm not gonna KEEP paying y'all. Only an idiot would pay for the third month.<br />
So, we make an appointment and she calls with her director on the line. I'm "ok"-ing them to death cuz there's really nothing to talk about. I could tell that her director, another white woman, was more pissed about me stopping payment than anything. Girl, what part of "I said what I said" don't you understand? The director decides to "research" how my account was handled to decide if they will continue to pursue the third payment. Ok, girl. You do that. No matter what you find, I still ain't paying. The director emails me the next day, saying that she didn't find any wrong doing on my account manager's part and that they were going to pursue payment for the third month. That's when the lawyer comes in....<br />
<br />
My lawyer's drafted response "It's clear that you don't have a full understanding of the culpability of the account manager....." followed by an outline of dates, highlighting time lapses on my account manager's part, complete with screenshots. Tuh! The final sentence is what took me out "A<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">s you can see, services were not rendered as promised. Hence, the reason I did not allow for the third payment. Moreover, I believe my proposed resolution of terminating our agreement and allowing you to retain the funds already remitted was more than reasonable. If you continue to feel otherwise and wish to discuss this further, you can contact my attorney, Krystle Myers directly, she is copied to this email."</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Done and done. It goes without saying that #3 decided that it was best to release me from their lor janky contract without paying for the third month. When I completed the contract termination form, my account manager's name wasn't available in the drop down for me to select. I'm assuming she was fired, possibly for the gross mismanagement of my account. Or maybe it was because she lied about it. Either way. My attorney handled it.</span></span><br />
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I knew what #3 did wrong but I wouldn't have been able to communicate the way Krystle did cuz...I'm not a lawyer. Plus, there's something about "speak to my attorney" that sounds so boss and "STOP PLAYING WITH ME" LOL!<br />
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I will say, I messed up by not having the contract with #3 reviewed BEFORE I signed it. Usually, Krystle reviews contracts that I produce for my clients, I just didn't think about it for a social media marketing company that showed up so high up in my Google search. They should've known what they were doing. But...they didn't.<br />
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Lesson: Document all communications cuz screenshots don't lie. Don't accept BS work just because you're desperate. Stand you ground. And most importantly, have a business attorney on deck.<br />
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<a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</div>
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<br />Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-76203504968914323322020-01-07T20:19:00.000-05:002020-01-07T20:19:30.740-05:002019 Round Up2019 was an interesting year for me in business and my personal life. I spent the first half of the year trying to figure out my life with a colicky baby, a rambunctious 2 year old and a workaholic husband while battling post partum depression. I did a lot of investing in my business. So much that it made me anxious. I ain't used to debt or being in the red. But I finished strong and I didn't die. So I am alive to tell the story.<br />
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<b><u>Fancy Life Accomplishments</u></b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Survived 3 months of colic</li>
<li>Overcame postpartum depression</li>
<li>Got my husband to take over handling dinner</li>
<li>Got approval to increase frequency of housekeeping service</li>
<li>Decluttered my house</li>
<li>Made a little bit of money off of selling my kids' baby gear</li>
<li>Lost over 30 pounds</li>
<li>Created a self care routine</li>
<li>Maintained a self care routine for 7 months</li>
<li>Produced breast milk for 12 months</li>
<li>Set personal boundaries to maintain sanity</li>
<li>Maintained said boundaries</li>
<li>Removed a curse from my bloodline</li>
<li>Renewed my spiritual journey</li>
<li>Enjoyed my husband</li>
<li>Found a school for my son</li>
<li>Loved on my family</li>
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<b><u>Fancy Free Hair & Skin Accomplishments</u></b></div>
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<li>Got my back office in order</li>
<li>Established more automated systems</li>
<li>Hired 3 new employees</li>
<li>Fired 2 employees</li>
<li>Hired a marketing company</li>
<li>Figured out the voice of my brand with the help of a marketing company</li>
<li>Rebranded the look of my products</li>
<li>Added a seasonal scent milk to the roster</li>
<li>Added two new products to the roster</li>
<li>Added 3 new deodorant scents to the roster</li>
<li>Added 2 new product kits to the roster</li>
<li>Hired a social media management company</li>
<li>Fired a social media management company</li>
<li>Hired a second social media management company</li>
<li>Fired the second social media management company</li>
<li>Lawyers on deck to clap back on raggedy second social media management company when they tried to pursue payment even after being raggedy</li>
<li>Added two retail stores</li>
<li>Added one more wholesale buyer</li>
<li>Hired a business tax accountant</li>
<li>Increased revenues by 35%</li>
<li>Increased spending too (typing the percentage increased hurts my feelings)</li>
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I'm far from my goals but I am making progress. Progress is important. Typing it out like this made me realize how much I was able to accomplish with a baby strapped to my back and a toddler hanging on to my legs. There were definitely days that I cried. But there were also days that I felt like I could conquer the world. Just know, when I cried, it was only for like 5 minutes. Then I wiped my tears and got busy. Crying is therapeutic, it's a release. Just don't live in a state of sadness where you can't be productive. </div>
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I learned that being vulnerable makes me strong. I learned that it's ok to not be ok. I learned to listen to my intuition. I learned to look inward, to my ancestors, and upward, to God. I learned to be in the moment and pause sometimes, especially when it comes to having fun with my children because business building will always need my attention but they will not be little forever.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vuTmIAo4xNk8dV2CEkneq8100mrSNHDlizswU4XdBI7jWxfUW_ZZ2bvW3W0PsSpipSD1nJH1yAiO-ryt-ON9d85J9kBUiuLrx9xmkd6QCt8v35xm_CBIeMUU06Ol6RjUtJNNfw7YqCE/s1600/IMG_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vuTmIAo4xNk8dV2CEkneq8100mrSNHDlizswU4XdBI7jWxfUW_ZZ2bvW3W0PsSpipSD1nJH1yAiO-ryt-ON9d85J9kBUiuLrx9xmkd6QCt8v35xm_CBIeMUU06Ol6RjUtJNNfw7YqCE/s320/IMG_0069.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-84459337571515967092019-12-05T16:20:00.003-05:002019-12-05T16:20:49.957-05:00Why I Don't Participate In Holiday Charity<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QEtmSLjgbOU/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QEtmSLjgbOU/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Yes! I am in the retail business and I offer holiday specials and gift sets because who am I to deny my Fancy Friends that want to bless their loved one with the awesomeness of <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a>. I also do a little something special for my Fancy Free team at the end of the year for dealing with my crap over the past 365 days. However, something in my soul doesn't sit right with holiday toy drives. I don't just. I just don't support because it's not in line with what I believe. Now that I've gotten that out of the way.....<br />
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I'm just going to jump right in there and state the unpopular truth. Christmas is a holiday that has <br />
been deliberately marketed directly to children with all of the lights, decorations and most importantly....gifts. Once retailers realized how far people were willing to go for their children they increased the marketing appeal to children so that consumers would increase spending at the end of the year and they could potentially make up for revenue losses before the end of the year. with this one holiday. There. I said it. I am a scientist, I have done the research. If you do your research, you will find that all of the data agree with the statement.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLjdWLb7C0KspHigYlFptGeYRGri7sLfc9UusRBTFkdK2OlfQ6SoW-JgceIJ_Mc7L5ZuNiHEuHBjes8b7E3jSpaWjfk7MvFuI_r6oFr77uss2B0TSnRrqM4TAJzz6hdR_mSQL45bkjwU/s1600/20171224_175056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLjdWLb7C0KspHigYlFptGeYRGri7sLfc9UusRBTFkdK2OlfQ6SoW-JgceIJ_Mc7L5ZuNiHEuHBjes8b7E3jSpaWjfk7MvFuI_r6oFr77uss2B0TSnRrqM4TAJzz6hdR_mSQL45bkjwU/s320/20171224_175056.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2017 Christmas Eve crab feast. Where is this selfie stick anyway?</td></tr>
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However, I am not anti-Christmas. I really enjoy being with my family. I am a generous person. I like to give. I love to see the joy on a recipient's face when they receive a gift from me. I love the good food and sweet treats. It warms my heart to see people going the extra mile to do something nice for someone during the "holidays". After doing our research, my husband made an informed decision that we would no longer celebrate "Christmas" by buying gifts for our loved ones.<br />
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While we are blessed and have abundant resources, there are many who blessed differently and do not have money for extra things, like Christmas gifts. Aside from loved ones not being around for the holiday season, not having money to buy gifts sends a lot of people into depression. Or worse, robbing, stealing and scamming so that they have something to give. I love the giving spirit but I hate that it has this effect on some people. I'd rather people not feel bad for what they don't have. I prefer for people to feel like they can give what they can afford and not out of obligation. Now, on to the receiving part...<br />
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If you know me, you know I do not encourage any activity that encourages or reinforces a sense of entitlement. There are no "participation" trophies. You get what you deserve. You earn you keep. You reap what you sow. You do not get an A for just showing up. You get the point. I feel like Christmas encourages a sense of entitlement in children. Most of our children are well behaved and do well in school, so we want to reward them. Why wait until Christmas? Why not do it year round? Because the calendar says buy gifts?<br />
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We want kids to feel good about themselves. We don't want them to be sad or traumatized because of a situation they didn't create but have to deal with. We pull together to give to the less fortunate so they will "have something to open" on Christmas morning. Ok. Now what? Does that actually help their circumstances? Some children may learn that there is someone who cares about them. I feel like most are actually learning that they should give gifts because it's a holiday. I feel like we are teaching <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We started with the envelope system.<br />It worked wonders.</td></tr>
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them that they are entitled to receive something because it's a holiday. Is that really helping them?<br />
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When my husband finished residency we were all set to ball out of control. When we were making the most money, we were spending the most, which means we were broke. It wasn't until we sat down and got disciplined about our finances that we were able to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle. We had to set a budget and stick to it. Which meant, no more frivolous spending. We had to tell people no. Most importantly, we had to tell ourselves no. It was hard for our egos because we were the big time doctor and laboratory manager. How is it possible that we can't afford to buy certain things and go certain places? Listen. It happens if you don't get control over your spending habits and establish a healthy relationship with money.<br />
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I strongly believe that African-Americans have a hard time establishing generational wealth because we have not established a healthy relationship with money. Our community encourages giving when we don't have it to give and buying when we can't afford. Christmas is no exception. I can't tell you what a relief it was when we stopped buying our loved ones gifts for Christmas. We explained why and our family understood. We still give to our family but when it's in the budget. The gifts are even more appreciated because they come at an unexpected time. We call them "any day gifts". By doing this, we set an example for budgeting and fiscal responsibility. If the hot shot doctor and his wife can say "That's more than we budgeted for." and "We can't afford that right now.", there's no reason that everyone else can't do the same.<br />
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Because I don't feel that toy drives and holiday gift donations are in line with my personal views about finance and entitlement, I shy away from them. I do support plenty of charities and non-profits that focus more on experiences than giving material possessions for the sake of giving. Hit me up for the school supplies, field trips, professional attire, book drives, etc. I definitely love the kids. I'm just not buying toys cuz it's Christmas time.<br />
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<br />Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-88759685064263779662019-10-21T14:58:00.000-04:002019-10-21T14:58:24.570-04:00Just in One Year<div dir="ltr">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9IgZJB0fB-Vp4yOJq4virKeLVcincSDjy6mSXGazcQitEQvhe7MN6bfe5_NEn61EO0PYj6iwoNXW-8X2ym4L5jJjd4UXRzwxjiJvpxBobK7tHNSAHrGarv_wNux8rfBkO5CuQ22_LPA/s1600/20180616_202246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9IgZJB0fB-Vp4yOJq4virKeLVcincSDjy6mSXGazcQitEQvhe7MN6bfe5_NEn61EO0PYj6iwoNXW-8X2ym4L5jJjd4UXRzwxjiJvpxBobK7tHNSAHrGarv_wNux8rfBkO5CuQ22_LPA/s320/20180616_202246.jpg" width="180" /></a>I finished out a journal last night. And by that, I mean I wrote on the last page of a book that I write my daily journals in. I make a practice of going back and reviewing old journals to compare and contrast. I see what I still struggle with and what I have overcome . The first page of this journal was when I found out I was having a little girl and that she was healthy based on the genetic testing. I was elated. I made a note about how Jehovah gives us the desires of our heart.<br />
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I also made note of how I knew that my days were less productive when I skipped my evening planning period. Most notably was a constant theme of how my lack of income stressed me. How was I going to continue to contribute to our household budget and me documenting different strategies for diversifying my streams of income while building Fancy Free Hair & Skin. It consumed me. Then on top of being pregnant, trying to figure out how a maternity leave plan (which proved to be difficult since I'm self employed), I got hit with a $80,000 lawsuit. Talk about tears. I was a stressed out, emotional wreck! But the lawsuit actually was the catalyst for things beginning to turn around.<br />
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I talked to real estate lawyers, bankruptcy lawyers, I even tried to negotiate but the plaintiff wouldn't budge. We met with our financial adviser who gave us different options on how we could pay it. We finally decided that I would file bankruptcy. I was sad about it because my credit score, which had taken a hit in 2017, had starting to bounce back. However, bankruptcy was the most productive option.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xl-e3h_eXFbXhZdZwdOtqvLpmXt_MZbcE-OyaV-WbmKwIZwIWXFCnd1DZKLuWBcEim3pWTRzczc5KsM_1RAElaNOJgxzDv9x_-bLOveyCKr7QQGi7pZ8M7XOWHyW7YqY6hNkL3WX3Iw/s1600/_V7A2170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xl-e3h_eXFbXhZdZwdOtqvLpmXt_MZbcE-OyaV-WbmKwIZwIWXFCnd1DZKLuWBcEim3pWTRzczc5KsM_1RAElaNOJgxzDv9x_-bLOveyCKr7QQGi7pZ8M7XOWHyW7YqY6hNkL3WX3Iw/s320/_V7A2170.jpg" width="320" /></a>Anyway, since June 2018, we have become a family of four. I've conquered postpartum depression. Fancy Free Hair & Skin has hired, fired and hired again. My husband has found a way to increase his income by 30%, relieving me of having to consistently contribute to our household finances while building my business. Nothing is perfect. But we have been able to push through and see the light at the end of the tunnel.</div>
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Moral of the Story: Life is going to throw you curve balls. It's not the actual curve ball that can change your life, it's how you respond to it. I chose to turn inward and focus on what I needed to learn from each situation. I focused on solutions instead crying over things I couldn't control. Let's be clear, I shed lots of tears. But I was working on solutions with tears in my eyes. LOL!<br />
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-3032608070826236812019-09-16T17:51:00.000-04:002019-09-16T17:51:58.662-04:00Be Careful What You Wish For<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfp_2Gkr1pbadmfz5AfBZ8hyqyBxseRfthbdRCD6Ng1v2q0Yn3vEQuMlBlQxh530W4l9OcS1jlMCYDEt-hPHehgYEEoPvK6GxO9RU0GPY0bRQhLK1CI4gAp-LiEtD_IkhxgobkVhlENws/s1600/IMG_7270+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfp_2Gkr1pbadmfz5AfBZ8hyqyBxseRfthbdRCD6Ng1v2q0Yn3vEQuMlBlQxh530W4l9OcS1jlMCYDEt-hPHehgYEEoPvK6GxO9RU0GPY0bRQhLK1CI4gAp-LiEtD_IkhxgobkVhlENws/s320/IMG_7270+%25282%2529.JPG" width="214" /></a>As a business owner, I have goals for the growth of my business. There is a long term vision for what the company will provide for our customers. I have a 5 year plan for what I want my life to look like as a CEO. Most importantly, there are income goals. Everyone wants to make a million dollars but few think about what that looks like. I mean, we can all imagine having a million dollars in our bank account. I'm talking about the amount of work it takes to make the money.</div>
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Fancy Free Hair & Skin has been growing gradually. We have had time to adjust our work flow as the sales volume increases. I've had particular monthly income goal for about 2 years that we haven't been quite able to hit. I've been making slight adjustments to our business model and marketing, testing what works and converts to sales. There's nothing worse than not being prepared for a sudden influx of customers commonly referred to as the <a href="https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/oprah-effect-definition-meaning/">Oprah Effect</a>. Gradual is good. You can adjust with minimal consequences while keeping your customers happy. </div>
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Then it happened. I hit my goal and surpassed it. It was surreal. Almost as if I didn't think I could do it and that number had been some pie in the sky, unrealistic goal all this time. So, of course, I wasn't prepared. I wasn't expecting so many of our Fancy Friends to be interested in the <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/products/clay-wash">Clay Wash</a>. I mean, I expected a few who would want to try it but not as many orders as I got. It's different and it takes time for people to shift from what they've always done. Orders were delayed. I spent designated family time fulfilling orders and manufacturing product. <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://giphy.com/embed/Lcn0yF1RcLANG" width="300"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/food-ahead-upcoming-Lcn0yF1RcLANG">via GIPHY</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual photo of me trying to make sure all of those orders got filled</td></tr>
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As a Virgo or Type A person, I do not like scrambling. I do not like disorganization. I do not like feeling like I don't have everything I need. Once the dust settled, I had to do a real self assessment and then an assessment of where I went wrong in the process. Because I've been asking for this for almost 2 years now. Now I got it and I'm walking around looking crazy. LOL!</div>
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Now that I know the number of orders and sales attached to my goal revenue, I can certainly learn from my mistakes and improve the process before things start getting out of hand. Here's what I learned:</div>
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<li>Have about 8 weeks of planning before your launch date.</li>
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Have label designed at least 6 weeks prior to launch date.</li>
<li>Confirm all new labels and packaging orders have shipped at least 3 weeks prior to manufacturing date.</li>
<li>Calculate ingredients required for manufacturing 4 weeks in advance.</li>
<li>Have supplies for at least 2 batches on hand.</li>
<li>Stock the freezer with whipped shea to prevent any shipping delays when there is the possibility of a heat wave.</li>
<li>Double check packing slip with actual order</li>
<li>When processing more than 30 orders at once, have a second person check that the order was filled accurately (Although my team only missed something in 3 orders out of the 80 that were processed in one weekend)</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmH9xDmhDXvhjNSHC1tJSUl1e0VRpsMJOopwpVtC8S0WQZSv6IhdzFe-DiNQBHRsAnSrzmiXYMjsP965q4svPOgdZIfe8XSTWfmKzcehckayvlhl05pC41HzoXQrjjEFFSZmVeUtaluZQ/s1600/088.IMG_4377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmH9xDmhDXvhjNSHC1tJSUl1e0VRpsMJOopwpVtC8S0WQZSv6IhdzFe-DiNQBHRsAnSrzmiXYMjsP965q4svPOgdZIfe8XSTWfmKzcehckayvlhl05pC41HzoXQrjjEFFSZmVeUtaluZQ/s320/088.IMG_4377.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
I prayed for this life. The desires of my heart have manifested with lots of prayer, work and consistency. I'm not going to lie, this is hard! Some days, actually a lot of days, I am not sure how I'm going to get it all done. Especially when getting it done is even more crucial now with three people on payroll. This life is not easy. There is always some fire I have to put out. But I would not change it. Not one bit of it. I am so thankful for my life, my family and my Fancy Friends for believing in me enough to trust Fancy Free with your hair and skin.<br />
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<a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</div>
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-84002085698677740942019-08-23T01:03:00.000-04:002019-08-23T01:31:24.453-04:00Why Is My Hair Dry?<a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/sundial-kccm-prod-uploads/uploads/2013/09/dry-hair1-378x282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="378" height="238" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/sundial-kccm-prod-uploads/uploads/2013/09/dry-hair1-378x282.jpg" width="320" /></a>The most common question I get about hair is how to combat dryness. It's no secret, kinky hair is known to be dry. Let's go back to the evolution. People who have kinky hair are of African descent. Kinky hair is designed to protect the head from UV rays of the hot African sun. Our ancestors had resources to care for their hair in our natural habitat. But then...there was this thing called the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and everything that came along with that. A lot of grooming practices were lost and we also did not have access to resources to care for our hair like shea nut butter, palm oil, and other oils. But what did we do? We improvised. Like we always do, using lard and other cooking greases as moisturizers.<br />
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Prior to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, African women took great pride in their hair. Hair grooming was communal, used as bonding time among women in the tribe. They took great care to style and adorn each other's kinky tresses. Fast forward, those traditions are still a huge part of our culture. The hair salon is a place women go to, not only, care for their hair but to spend time with other women. What's the difference? The products we use given to use in our hair are made in a laboratory instead of coming from the earth.</div>
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As a student of the industry, I've found that hair products are not designed with the needs of African-Americans. They are marketed to us. They may have our faces on the packaging but what's in the bottle is not for us. Trust me. It was developed with the needs of straight hair in mind. Kinky hair tends to dry out when it is time to shampoo while straighter hair gets oily when it's time to shampoo. With that in mind, shampoos are meant to remove the oils and build up from the hair as well as the scalp....leaving kinky hair feeling dry. Then we are searching for a product to replenish all of the oils we stripped from our hair during the shampooing process. EXHAUSTING!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://image.slidesharecdn.com/shampoo-150209130209-conversion-gate02/95/shampoo-14-638.jpg?cb=1423487465" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="638" height="240" src="https://image.slidesharecdn.com/shampoo-150209130209-conversion-gate02/95/shampoo-14-638.jpg?cb=1423487465" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lather is designed to take the oil away with the dirt</td></tr>
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I've been making hair products to counter the drying effects of shampoo for about 5 years. It wasn't until the past 2 years that I had my "Ah ha!" moment. IT'S THE SHAMPOO!! My hair was much more manageable when I used a moisturizing shampoo or no shampoo at all. So, I started doing the research. How can I cleanse the oil and build up from my scalp and hair without stripping my hair of the moisture it needs? After trying many shampoos, conditioners, co-washes and other apple cider vinegar concoctions, I came across a clay wash. </div>
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When I first heard about clay wash, I had my concerns but I had no doubts that I had found "the one" after the first use. My hair was soft and manageable. My scalp was clean and free of "I work out 4 days/week" build up. You don't need to focus on deep conditioning, hot oil treatments, leave in conditioners, LOC method and all of these other post shampooing methods of moisturizing if your shampoo doesn't strip your hair in the first place. Although, there are times when you may still need them. Now don't beat me up, I know there are times that your hair needs a clarifying shampoo but if you are experiencing extremely dry hair, I wouldn't suggest clarifying shampoo for every wash day.<br />
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Granted. There are lots of reasons, aside from products, that can cause kinky hair to be dry:<br />
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<li>Dehydration</li>
<li>Undernourishment</li>
<li>Medication</li>
<li>Split Ends</li>
<li>Color/Chemical Procession</li>
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I ask a lot of questions before I make product recommendations for dry hair. Once all of the other factors are ruled out, it's probably the shampoo that's drying your hair out. Most definitely. If you're willing to do a little experiment, I can guarantee that you will agree with me. </div>
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Is Shampoo Making My Hair Dry?</div>
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<li>Discontinue using any shampoo</li>
<li>On your next wash day</li>
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<li>Do an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse on your scalp</li>
<li>Use a conditioner that you already have like a shampoo</li>
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<li>Style your hair as usual</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdongujaYBALl_0JaZsshVgmHbZ0Ho3JFguZJL5KpQ5Hu6KwsB6T1_8NBY6SfA6saOcSyefh7YkimEURNYQiMwII2s5PuB8U2YZZqAPxNupZlmhG_liTr3qGZO3_h65oOT1CcOVUzRZ4/s1600/CK2_0897+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1159" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdongujaYBALl_0JaZsshVgmHbZ0Ho3JFguZJL5KpQ5Hu6KwsB6T1_8NBY6SfA6saOcSyefh7YkimEURNYQiMwII2s5PuB8U2YZZqAPxNupZlmhG_liTr3qGZO3_h65oOT1CcOVUzRZ4/s320/CK2_0897+smaller.jpg" width="320" /></a>What do you think? Hair less dry? Hair more manageable? I figured. Now try <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/wash-day/products/clay-wash">Fancy Free's Clay Wash</a>. Wet your hair. Massage the clay wash on to your scalp and length of your hair. The clay wash does not lather. The clay and apple cider vinegar lifts residue from the scalp and hair follicles allowing it to be rinsed away. Detangle. Rinse and repeat. Let the clay wash sit for 2-5 minutes. Rinse. Style as usual. Even my hair stylist liked that it didn't require an extra step of conditioning.<br />
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NOTE: If you have a lot of scalp build up, try an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse prior to using the Clay Wash. This will assist with cleansing the scalp thoroughly.<br />
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We recommend applying <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/fancy-free-for-hair-skin/products/milk-for-hair-skin">Fancy Free Milk for Hair & Skin</a> to help with further detangling before styling. For styling wet hair (twist outs, braid outs, etc.), comb a little <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/collections/fancy-free-for-hair-skin/products/shea-pomade-for-hair-skin">Fancy Free Whipped Shea for Hair & Skin</a> concentrating on the ends. You will probably need less product after using the clay wash because....your hair isn't being dried out at the shampoo stage.<br />
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Clay Wash has been a game changer in our household. My son's cornrows last longer, my daughter's wash and go isn't as frizzy, my husband has noticed less dandruff, and my twist outs have been flourishing. We tested 16 different trials of this formula before offering it to our Fancy Friends. Give Clay Wash a chance. Let us know what you think.<br />
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<a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</div>
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-14275854515756726142019-07-02T12:21:00.002-04:002019-07-02T12:21:42.302-04:00Iontrustit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I started making Fancy Free Hair & Skin's signature product, Whipped Shea for Hair & Skin, back in 2012 because there weren't many options for my thick, kinky hair. The list was short. Miss Jessie's 😕 Kinky Kurly 😝 And Ashea 😐 I called headquarters of Miss Jessie's to ask about the mineral oil listed as the first ingredient (meaning that was the main ingredient) and they assured me that they only use the finest of organic mineral oil. 😦 As a scientist, I was appalled by this response because mineral oil is a by product of petroleum. How can you have organic vaseline? BYE MISS JESSIE'S!!! The Kinky Kurly clumped my curls nicely but left my hair sticky and sometimes flaky. The ingredients of the Ashea was what I needed but it was waxy and I had to microwave a little so it would be soft and not leave clumps of product in my hair. I eventually said "Forget this" and started whipping my own. The rest is history.<br />
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So before I get into what I don't trust, let's get into some data because....well....I'm a scientist and I like numbers and data. African-American women spend 9 times more than any other group on haircare products. Relaxer sales have dropped almost 40% between 2012-2017. The natural haircare industry is valued at $2.54 billion. That does not include extensions and other haircare products. Let that sink in. Forty percent of the group that spends the most on haircare products are no longer spending their money with companies that sell products for relaxed hair. That leaves the door wide open for small, apothecary businesses like Fancy Free Hair & Skin.</div>
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Most businesses assess sales and revenues to adjust marketing as needed. So what do you think those fortune 500 companies who were selling trash products to the largest consumer of haircare products noticed? You've got it. A decline in sales. So they made changes to their products added "natural hair" product lines. A few claimed to hire some African-American cosmetologists to their research and development teams. At the very least, they changed the labeling and packaging to be more in line with what "naturals" are attracted to. Don't be fooled. Fancy doesn't trust it and neither should you. Here is my assessment of the whole ordeal.</div>
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THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT US, OUR HAIR, OR OUR HEALTH! ONLY OUR MONEY!!! They've been knowingly using carcinogenic ingredients and chemicals in our products for decades and only claim to have made changes recently. Let's take a closer look, shall we. </div>
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Here are the ingredients for Suave's for Natural Hair Moisturizing Curl Conditioner. </div>
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<span class="subTitle font-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "bogleweb" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;">Ingredients: </span><span class="aboutModuleText" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #6d6e71; font-family: "bogleweb" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Water (Aqua), Cetearyl Alcohol, <span style="background-color: #e06666;">Petrolatum</span>, Dimethicone, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Hydroxyethylcellulose, <span style="background-color: #ffe599;">Cocos Nucifera</span> (Coconut) Oil, Dipropylene Glycol, Lactic Acid, Amodimethicone, Potassium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, PEG-7 Propylheptyl Ether, Cetrimonium Chloride, PEG-180M, <span style="background-color: #f6b26b;">Butyrospermum Parkii</span> (Shea) Butter, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool</span></div>
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Petrolatum is the third ingredient. Look how far down on the list coconut oil and shea butter are. That essentially means they threw a little bit in there so they could say it's in there but nothing significant. A lot of products use petrolatum and mineral oil because it's cheap and effective. But let's call it what it is. Water, vaseline, 3 drops of coconut oil, one teaspoon of shea butter, emulsifier to hold it together and some preservatives. There aren't any huge changes to the formula. How else can they sell this for $5 with a shelf life of however many years?</div>
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I'm not going to get into the hazards of a couple of these ingredients, just know that they're in there.....still. Marketed to us. Black women. We're just trying to maintain our black girl magical hair and health. DASSIT. Fancy Free Hair & Skin puts a lot of thoughts and love into our formulas to offer the highest quality ingredients that are effective and low cost because we care. THEY just want your money. That's why iontrustit.<br />
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-34964673787325920122019-06-03T16:37:00.000-04:002019-06-03T16:37:20.491-04:00"Take A Knee"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes you have "a day". What is "a day"? "A day" is when everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. Simple tasks that should take less than 5 minutes, drag on for hours. Information seeking conversations do not yield any information. It's so frustrating. Productivity can be delayed. Not just because of the extra time require but because you cannot get your mind right to move on to the next task. You find yourself wanted to scream and ask WHHHYYYY?!?! But that wouldn't be productive, would it?<br />
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I had a day last week. I was very annoyed. I knew I couldn't get back to work feeling that way. What do you do in those moments? You "Take a knee".<br />
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<a href="https://thunderclam.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/after-earth-jaden-smith-volcano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="800" height="184" src="https://thunderclam.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/after-earth-jaden-smith-volcano.jpg" width="320" /></a>My husband and I always use that phrase when talking about having to deal with a stressful situation. There was this movie called After Earth, starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith. Will's character, Cypher, a leader in a peace keeping organization on a planet that humans escaped to after having to abandon Earth. Cypher became a legend because he was able to defeat an alien weapon, Ursa, on this new planet that could detect fear in it's opponents. The plot of the movie is "meh", not worth me trying to explain. The movie received horrible ratings and didn't do so well in the box office. However, a pivotal moment in the movie is when Cypher's son, Kitai, played by Jaden Smith, had to face the Ursa alone, in order to save his own life and ultimately his father's. In typical dramatic fashion, Kitai was at a point in the battle when he felt defeated and he heard his father's instruction, "Take a knee". When Kitai took a knee, he was able to refocus and re-evaluate his situation, which eliminated the fear and the Ursa could not detect him. He won the battle. The ending was happy. Blah. Blah. Blah. Even though we aren't battling Ursas. The internal battles we fight can be just as scary as Ursas. Especially resisting the urge to spazz out and "knock all the crap over".🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣<br />
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Being frustrated. Angry. Annoyed. Flipping the table over. Yelling at people. It doesn't accomplish anything. It actually makes you look unprofessional and out of control, probably deterring people who may want to work with you or help you out. Press the pause button. Get out of your emotions and start looking for solutions. One thing that I've learned in therapy is that it's ok to acknowledge our emotions but living in our emotions is not productive. When you feel yourself bubbling over with emotion, take a knee, refocus, realign, gather yourself and get back to business.
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<a href="https://fancyfreellc.com/" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration-line: none;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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, <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration-line: none;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a>, 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.</div>
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-71064708340572943272019-05-08T14:14:00.000-04:002019-12-05T15:44:15.343-05:00"Delete All Dis Ish, Piggy!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_puw6EM8hTkyE-yIl5EQxEWnygh7V6Lu3TkekGf29rzGviLc9o8X_JZmdcQCbTxiFB1cvhzROvdv6AR3Xs-ELGKMvw6MCuKtJummYVyj8Vy1suxQG9thmnmBvM3mjhq2zJ-aN5WVOCY/s1600/284.IMG_4579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_puw6EM8hTkyE-yIl5EQxEWnygh7V6Lu3TkekGf29rzGviLc9o8X_JZmdcQCbTxiFB1cvhzROvdv6AR3Xs-ELGKMvw6MCuKtJummYVyj8Vy1suxQG9thmnmBvM3mjhq2zJ-aN5WVOCY/s320/284.IMG_4579.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
If you're just joining me on this journey, I am the founder of <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a>, a personal care manufacturing company. I did not set out to start a business. It happened accidentally. I don't know much about marketing product. I am an expert at developing and manufacturing products because I spent 7 years running a laboratory.<br />
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Now that we've got that out of the way, I am always looking at my products, website, social media, pictures, etc. trying to figure out how they can be improved. Last year, I felt like I hit a plateau but wasn't sure what I could do to take my business to the next level. So, I decided to hire a new marketing company to give me a fresh perspective on the things I look at everyday.</div>
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The graphic designer I use for my labels and other marketing material has been with me since the beginning. THEE VERY BEGINNING. She was the one who sent me a message saying "Girl. You are too fancy for this janky label you have. Let me fix it." The rest is history. My product labels have gone through a few <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXqS3U7kOT595B8GYbucJlowvglxxtxv4TrgL0w0m3ga9KXT7-x7EhlYZA0KYOyH8uURmUb3i8egCIZYBep3paIbbd9aAsjnDvUPZAqWzCfBvIvzFrApqUVQy6Ud2GsFmnQUd_NpKdKI/s1600/20190505_091125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXqS3U7kOT595B8GYbucJlowvglxxtxv4TrgL0w0m3ga9KXT7-x7EhlYZA0KYOyH8uURmUb3i8egCIZYBep3paIbbd9aAsjnDvUPZAqWzCfBvIvzFrApqUVQy6Ud2GsFmnQUd_NpKdKI/s320/20190505_091125.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
adjustments over the past 3 years but no real overhaul. Last year, I finally decided to create individual labels for the 5 different scents of shea for hair and skin instead of continuing to use one standard label with separate scent labels. Sounds simple, right? That's because "you did not do your math" *Erykah Badu vc*. Let us add up the cost for ONE product's labeling:</div>
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<li>(2 labels per jar + 2 different sizes) x 5 different scents = 20 rolls of labels</li>
<li>Each roll of labels (minimum 250 labels) costs about $80 per roll with my customer loyalty discount</li>
<li>That's 20 x $80 to upgrade my labels for ONE product. </li>
<li>$1600 for just the labels</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyji3c9RtRDYeFimvWM6fs76bUeaDt4hvdqi6bJB3CSrCS1HNbLbRrh6mIea14ldnvI40jR2tiM-QjmJRNCHnBNRXIAXmXT031AVPnwKROZ7IvGs2sJ0xXwfdwnF4MdNGsxAR3tr0C6fs/s1600/20190505_092055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyji3c9RtRDYeFimvWM6fs76bUeaDt4hvdqi6bJB3CSrCS1HNbLbRrh6mIea14ldnvI40jR2tiM-QjmJRNCHnBNRXIAXmXT031AVPnwKROZ7IvGs2sJ0xXwfdwnF4MdNGsxAR3tr0C6fs/s320/20190505_092055.jpg" width="155" /></a>The labels for one product. I have 9 different products. My graphic designer and I went back and forth about a few things with the labels for this one product. So when I required new labels for another product, I was kind of over it. Plus I was on a time crunch because I had made promises on when the new packaging would be available. </div>
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Fast forward, I meet with the marketing company to really dive deep into what <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> is all about and who I am as a founder. One of the first things they comment on is my packaging and labeling. AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I got that anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach because.... well, see the calculations above. By the end of the "deep dive" session, we had shifted our focus to other aspect of Fancy Free that could be improved and did not mention the labels again. Then I started working on labels for the Clay Wash and Castor Oil blend (Available sometime this summer. Continue reading if you want to know about what's taking so long). The marketing company asked to see the labels that my graphic designer came up with, the designer who has been with me since day one. The one who I trusted with a major part of my branding. I gave her the go ahead to use more color and to keep in mind that I approve changing the label design to be more "Fancy". The labels she designed for my new products were in line with all of my other product labels. I understood that she wanted them to be cohesive with my existing products but my marketing company had something different in mind. Whole time, I'm confused and unsure, so guess what I did. Nothing. I put the new product release on the shelf and started working on shampoo bar, soap, shampoo and body wash. SMH. </div>
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About two weeks after "Label Gate", I go to the grand opening of the Made In Baltimore Pop-Up Store, since my products are being sold there. Fancy Free was set up in a display in the middle of the table with about eight other handmade personal care products. My sister, who is my creative director, and I were looking at my products among the others like "Something isn't right here." I didn't like the way my products looked next to others. I felt like mine looked amateur. I felt like Fancy Free products didn't measure up. Which I know isn't true but just looking at them next to other products made me feel that way. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The marketing company was right. I need to do something about these labels. *hears money flushing down the toilet*</div>
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<b>Moral: Sometimes you have to throw everything away and start over.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWiUcYA2GYuxqMOKzZXW0uWxB_ReazEmNZSOTsqQiLlW-EVa4AruLEUVkALYhMOOS9Agtndt2h3K8SZU2xi6aTtcLIm8LKN9GyJRVzvBPantuM0ER4q0DW5kfQiYouLQFqbg_6YGS1Ij0/s1600/IMG_20190410_232313_528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="833" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWiUcYA2GYuxqMOKzZXW0uWxB_ReazEmNZSOTsqQiLlW-EVa4AruLEUVkALYhMOOS9Agtndt2h3K8SZU2xi6aTtcLIm8LKN9GyJRVzvBPantuM0ER4q0DW5kfQiYouLQFqbg_6YGS1Ij0/s320/IMG_20190410_232313_528.jpg" width="166" /></a>I know this. I do it all the time during product development. I would make a change in the formula, just to see how it would turn out. The results....TRASH! As duly noted in my lab notebook. </div>
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This same theory applies to my labeling. While my current labeling isn't "trash", I realized that they need to be improved in order to give my brand the image it needs to take <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> to the next level. And while it will cost me money to make changes, it will cost me more in the future if I leave them as they are. After all, marketing and branding are not my ministry, this is why I paid the marketing company to fix my life. Seems counterproductive to hire an expert and then not take the expert's advice. </div>
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I spent 2018 putting systems in place, hire and training staff, and building relationships so that I could spend 2019 growing my business. This realization can definitely be filed in the "growing pains" category but Fancy Free and I will be better for it.<br />
Ok. Now that I've told the story. Let me swallow my pride and order these new labels.<br />
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<a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration-line: none;">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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,<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration-line: none;">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a></span>, 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.</div>
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-84620843933625120422019-04-13T21:39:00.000-04:002019-04-13T21:39:12.011-04:00In a Fancy Funk<a href="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5b61e39b1900002800c6b574.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" height="213" src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5b61e39b1900002800c6b574.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale" width="320" /></a>So, I didn't think I was depressed because I'm not sad but according to my therapist. I caught da Baby Blues aka Postpartum Depression. LOL! Mine is manifesting as anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, and hopelessness. Well....DUH! I AM overwhelmed. I am used to being able to do it all and now I feel like I can't do SHAT! My house is in disarray. My to-do list is never ending because I can never get to everything I intend to get to. I feel like I cannot complete any tasks because I am constantly interrupted to tend to the baby. When I do drop her off with my family to get things done, I feel like I'm rushing because I don't want to burden anyone with my wild banshee kids. SMH<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Little Angels</td></tr>
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I've been seeing a therapist regularly since 2013. I started off going every other week but in 2016, I graduated to monthly check-ins. Requiring therapy less frequently is a graduation. LOL! I have no doubt in my mind that I am blessed and I live a great life but sometimes things happen that I need to talk through. According to my therapist, I have made leaps and strides in my personal growth since 2013. She's seen me grow from being a hospital laboratory supervisor with no kids, subconsciously dealing with a lot of hurt to a healing, full-time mompreneur of two. When I say she's seen me through, I mean every step of the process. So, I think it's safe to say that she knows me. </div>
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I was doing well adjusting to two kids. Even though we didn't think the whole 2 year spread through because dealing with a two year old and a newborn is CRAZY! I was even adjusting well even when my infant daughter was colicky and my son was being...well...2 years old. LOL! It's all temporary, right? The clutter in my house was starting to close in on me. I was getting to it. Little by little I was throwing stuff out, organizing and donating. Washed laundry was piling up. But it's clean. I never put the pantry items in the actual pantry but we have nutritious, home cooked meals. My staff asked me for more hours. GREAT!! PLEASE!! I DEFINITELY need more help. I figured out a daily schedule that optimized productivity. I was meditating and working out everyday. Yep. I can DO this. Then it hit....4 month sleep regression. It hit like a ton of bricks. We went from 6-7 hours of sleep back to her waking up once or twice each night. Torture!</div>
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One night, I was ok. Two nights....mmmmmm, what is going on here? By night five, I was about to lose it. My precious routine was out the door. By week two, I wasn't getting my day started until 12p. NOON!!! By the time I got my daughter to my mother, I'd have 3 hours to get what I needed to get done and the back to pick her up. It was either Fancy Free stuff or house stuff. I had to choose. I couldn't do both. So my March therapy session was a dumping session. And my therapist looked at me and said, "Iyonna. You have postpartum depression. You are doing way too much and you cannot figure out how to get it done. That's not like you." She could see my hopelessness. And then it all made sense. LOL!</div>
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So, I came home and told my husband that my therapist diagnosed me with postpartum depression, no medication required, I just needed to come to therapy more often. My husband, "I KNEW IT!!! I've been watching you." Well, I thought being depressed meant I would be sad. I'm not sad, I'm just overwhelmed. I know my husbands capabilities. He is who he is. He ain't changing how he problem solves. My therapist knows that. So she told me to get him involved. Write down everything I'm doing for the house and my business and we decide, together, what he will pay to delegate. And by him paying, I mean money will be allocated from the household budget to pay for services we previously did not pay for. Easy breezy. Praise Jehovah for blessing me with an understanding husband. Or at least a husband who hates when I "Release the Kraken!", so he takes preventative measures. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy's home!</td></tr>
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Viola! Problem solved. Well, the problem is in the process of being solved. I'm writing this blog to make two points.<br />
1. Everyone needs a good therapist. EVERYONE!<br />
2. Ask for help if you're feeling overwhelmed.<br />
My husband and I are still working through the kinks of adjusting to two children and business and marriage. It takes lots of honest communication. Honest. Not hurtful. My gift is process improvement so I am always looking for ways we can improve our household routine. It's clearly going to take a while but we literally have a lifetime. LOL!<br />
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If you have recently had a baby, it can happen to you. Don't be ashamed. Speak up. Ask for help. The first step in being a great mother is to make sure you're being great to yourself.<br />
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<a href="https://fancyfreellc.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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, <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a>, 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.</div>
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-13823569738660244582019-03-05T17:05:00.000-05:002019-03-05T17:05:00.767-05:00All They Can Say Is No<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gcEYabfAUHDcpP51SPen6Mh0-Dodd0a-sWMJ0HHVJ-99E_ASEBglvIiz341B8Dg_0wu9rzB9FtwFY1CEzbvIApOYbwYwfsUZLhOJ1VQFnBHraVCZItNiUKFVaKQKUCqTX0Ws16Id-rI/s1600/PhotoGrid_1550615662470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gcEYabfAUHDcpP51SPen6Mh0-Dodd0a-sWMJ0HHVJ-99E_ASEBglvIiz341B8Dg_0wu9rzB9FtwFY1CEzbvIApOYbwYwfsUZLhOJ1VQFnBHraVCZItNiUKFVaKQKUCqTX0Ws16Id-rI/s200/PhotoGrid_1550615662470.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I posted something on social media the other day. It was a post with words. I usually don't get a lot of engagement with those kinds of posts but this one resonated with people for whatever reason. It read "If you don't ask, the answer is always no." This is a principle I have lived by for a long time. Here is what started this mindset.<br />
<br />
Picture this, Sicily 1932. LOL! No, actually it was College Park, MD, April 2002. I'm all set to graduate with my baccalaureate degree in General Biology in May 2002 when I received a letter in the mail that totally knocked the wind out of my sail. Basically, the letter said that I would not be able to walk because I was short one credit. ONE! CREDIT! Ok. I get it. I wouldn't receive my degree on that day but to say I can't even walk. I felt that was a bit much. Imagine finding this out in April. One <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVhyphenhyphen4A3EH7vHk1gMdKxSLivp68ioCzYS8BhY1p4hiTDMLAaW5MkYuAYIxWTECSWLiBotzKYChuEpDPo1EbiBQ5sGSvZ7lUk7yJw8uUpxxHuqY8aepO66Dn_iLeDbyUO-pteC6NrTDkoU/s1600/20190305_154343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1513" data-original-width="1600" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVhyphenhyphen4A3EH7vHk1gMdKxSLivp68ioCzYS8BhY1p4hiTDMLAaW5MkYuAYIxWTECSWLiBotzKYChuEpDPo1EbiBQ5sGSvZ7lUk7yJw8uUpxxHuqY8aepO66Dn_iLeDbyUO-pteC6NrTDkoU/s200/20190305_154343.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
month before graduation. I had to walk. HAD TO! All of my family had already made arrangements to come in town for my graduation. My parents had planned a huge celebration. This couldn't be life. So, I put my thinking cap on and went to talk to my "counselor".<br />
In December 2001, I had a serious car accident that resulted in me having to postpone taking my finals for the fall semester. Which resulted in my not doing so hot on one of my science finals. I was already on thin ice for this class, so I ended up with a D instead of the C I would've probably gotten had I taken the final a scheduled. That class just so happened to be in the category of laboratory science classes that I needed to graduate, resulting in me being short one credit. I was devastated but not defeated. I asked what I could do to get this one credit, so that I could walk. The counselor did not seem optimistic but all I could do was give it my best shot.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6-SgDc80kqbGvwNl4G_oIdnX78K27YpyUpJAVj0RceHoZ0VT8e01oBRO90gGS4OpbpgzASY4YYEr1UnXIWynhjI33-hlHcRQqTNoYUuuO_F-tHqitMeDOJzD8nZAXF9pxNZNcpLQfb8/s1600/20190305_153808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6-SgDc80kqbGvwNl4G_oIdnX78K27YpyUpJAVj0RceHoZ0VT8e01oBRO90gGS4OpbpgzASY4YYEr1UnXIWynhjI33-hlHcRQqTNoYUuuO_F-tHqitMeDOJzD8nZAXF9pxNZNcpLQfb8/s320/20190305_153808.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Believe it or not, after all of that, this wasn't<br />
even my degree. It was a picture of the "M" 🙄</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
First, I had to get the registrar's office to approve late registration for a one credit "independent laboratory study class", THEN I had to find a professor who would be willing to read a paper on the research I was doing at my part time job as a research assistant at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and grade it with a C or better. Easy breezy, right? Well, it ended up working out but it was stressful as heyall! I had to call on my Emmy award winning acting talents to convince the registrar's office, showing up with pictures of my mangled car, discharge papers from the ICU and, of course, eyes full of tears. It worked. I was registered for a one credit laboratory class in the proper category.<br />
<br />
The most stressful part was finding a professor who would read a paper and grade it. Shouldn't have been too hard, I mean University of Maryland College Park had at LEAST 200 faculty in the Life Sciences department alone. I could find one who would do that for me. All I needed was one yes. Just one. One professor who would do a solid for a mediocre, not so memorable student they had never met before. *sigh* That was the reality I was facing but all they could say is "No", right? I would never know what they would say if I didn't ask. And besides, I only needed one "Yes." So, I started emailing. And emailing. And emailing. I emailed every. single. professor. at UMCP's department of Life Sciences. Every last one of them. All of them said no, except for one. And that's all I needed was one yes. I wrote the paper, got an A, not only walked in my graduation but actually finished that chapter of my undergraduate studies on time. Barely. But I did it.<br />
<br />
I went on to get a second bachelor degree, a master's degree and become a certified specialist in my <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPQuiMg9gZXSxKkd76iLVjiUQ0JzJVGf7iql3mXZBAhOJVepbRD7YHAJ4G1qbIYu9qO8wIQRkhyphenhyphen7xZ6j-WfNL6YDd4NNIeoW06E3VHg897dZQQMQUtGQ-UoGrZR-9nMWVKdPNeLUIM1I/s1600/20140710_150112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPQuiMg9gZXSxKkd76iLVjiUQ0JzJVGf7iql3mXZBAhOJVepbRD7YHAJ4G1qbIYu9qO8wIQRkhyphenhyphen7xZ6j-WfNL6YDd4NNIeoW06E3VHg897dZQQMQUtGQ-UoGrZR-9nMWVKdPNeLUIM1I/s320/20140710_150112.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How a Transfusion Services Supervisor's desk looks. LOL!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
field. My career goal was to become a laboratory manager. I hit that goal by the time I was 29. How? I reluctantly took a job at the American Red Cross after I graduated from the National Institutes of Health's Specialist in Blood Bank program. I loved what I did but I hated the work environment. One evening, after a I had a disagreement with my immediate supervisor, I went online looking for a new job. I saw the position for a Blood Bank Supervisor. They wanted someone with managerial experience. I had just finished school, so I didn't have that. I applied anyway. What's the worse that could happen? All they can do is say "no". They didn't though. They took a chance on me and EYE was able to leave that god awful work environment I hated.<br />
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I have a few friends who thanked me for giving them the same advice when they were applying for graduate and professional school." Just apply. So what if your scores aren't where they recommend. All they can say is no. You only need one yes anyway." They took my advice and BOOM! They were admitted and right back on track to hitting their goals. Ok, you applied to 10 graduate programs and got rejected from 9. Go to the one who accepted you. Duh! LOL!<br />
<br />
You will not die if you get told no. I mean, your feelings may be hurt but you will not physically perish and cease to exist. So, stop being afraid of hearing it. Shoot your shot. The worst thing that could happen is you get rejected. So what!!! Brush yourself off. Figure out why you were rejected. Improve. Try again or go somewhere else and try. However, if they say yes.....EVERYONE wins. But if you never ask, if you never try, the answer will always be "no". And you'll probably always be wondering "What if I had gone for it?"<br />
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MORAL: Life is way too short to live with regret. Just do it. If it works out, it was meant to be. If it doesn't, Jehovah definitely has something better in store for you. Trust.<br />
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-88668530250607850432019-01-08T12:38:00.000-05:002019-03-05T16:52:46.283-05:00The Signs Are Right In Front Of You<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxRxXG7X1GT11K80mAYm3iZw9Nnb8RIO7LjdKSn5laMcCAWrnTmovG40BfXv4V3kxjGzVeq9x4XKGJqT8adqJ2P2tQelbw-yBT_ES_gE6dlWxRT4CbDI0F2qvbPv6fPu53jvMKfFpsJw/s1600/424099_3258547994652_1920845043_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="717" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxRxXG7X1GT11K80mAYm3iZw9Nnb8RIO7LjdKSn5laMcCAWrnTmovG40BfXv4V3kxjGzVeq9x4XKGJqT8adqJ2P2tQelbw-yBT_ES_gE6dlWxRT4CbDI0F2qvbPv6fPu53jvMKfFpsJw/s320/424099_3258547994652_1920845043_n.jpg" width="239" /></a>My husband and I closed on what we consider our "Forever Home" in December 2010. The previous owners had very different taste when it comes to paint colors than we do. The foyer was painted grey and white. There was a navy blue accent wall in the living room. One bedroom was painted royal blue. Another bedroom had a black accent wall. In my opinion, the house was dark and gloomy. Not very inviting.<br />
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Our bedroom walls had been painted with neutral colors. Not too bad. My husband's closet came already outfitted with a closet system. My closet was just an empty room with a few shelves in it. Kind of disappointing but we can say it was a blank canvas. My clothes were all over the house. I rearranged and reorganized my closet at least 3 times before I started getting quotes from California Closet Systems and the like. Five figure quotes for the closet of my dreams. How disheartening. We definitely didn't have $10,000 for a closet when we needed to repair the roof, upgrade electricity, open the pool, renovate three bathrooms, so on and so forth. So, I put my shabby chic hat on and got to brainstorming....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWh4e4aMc0oRoTkF_EMGhuzP8YZeg5OIiheFCXOsx9QSwfs9DrwlU0SebRtV4EDg4ti-7aFciZgxUYtLW0jQesP1D2IowLl9bW44yDGgWweTkdd42VWI8t9ClfvNh5NGTS6iXV8CVeOY/s1600/20140217_212119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWh4e4aMc0oRoTkF_EMGhuzP8YZeg5OIiheFCXOsx9QSwfs9DrwlU0SebRtV4EDg4ti-7aFciZgxUYtLW0jQesP1D2IowLl9bW44yDGgWweTkdd42VWI8t9ClfvNh5NGTS6iXV8CVeOY/s320/20140217_212119.jpg" width="320" /></a>I WANTED a closet system but all I really needed was racks to hang my clothes and some more drawers for storing other items. I found some quality Z-racks on Craigslist. My father and I went to the Loading Dock, a warehouse that sells used building material, and found some bottom kitchen cabinets to create a closet island. He had a counter top in his storage unit - very random, I know, but just go with it. He is an investor and rehabber. And the final step was choosing paint colors for the wall.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxicUe2cTD7RMTzLGwekMdU6uU28A0eaUGIkAfGSXV3svmGX5Y4Unm7c468mq-zkbqFiSQGACBzZXV-lhaU0c1i_mBWixbch9i8G0s8aO0Jy8CrMskJ0cuT8JDLnDQplf4a_Xr9m_ZHVw/s1600/20140217_212016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxicUe2cTD7RMTzLGwekMdU6uU28A0eaUGIkAfGSXV3svmGX5Y4Unm7c468mq-zkbqFiSQGACBzZXV-lhaU0c1i_mBWixbch9i8G0s8aO0Jy8CrMskJ0cuT8JDLnDQplf4a_Xr9m_ZHVw/s320/20140217_212016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It's the summer of 2012. I wanted bright and vibrant colors that would make me feel alive when I walked into my closet. I went to Home Depot and picked swatches. They looked good together, in my opinion. Orange, purple and green. Don't ask. I painted the walls. Then painted all of the trim gold. I spray painted the drawers of my bootleg island gold and the counter top was white with gold trim. The final product....looked kind of juvenile but whatever. It was my closet. My labor of love. And I did it all for under $500. Eff dat California Closets quote.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOOfX79bmPbV1iyhCU8K7Rwr5h93Ljuri5-flXH5C7qF0Fl8yyssaoblAdz5I6AylLN7LkKOJMIeZgsYnWXDghzfiVqyWcdKKMKC5rkTjF1Xg72OFUImO9_P7lKc4Pm_hg2fdQuhCv2g/s1600/FacebookCover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="1600" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOOfX79bmPbV1iyhCU8K7Rwr5h93Ljuri5-flXH5C7qF0Fl8yyssaoblAdz5I6AylLN7LkKOJMIeZgsYnWXDghzfiVqyWcdKKMKC5rkTjF1Xg72OFUImO9_P7lKc4Pm_hg2fdQuhCv2g/s320/FacebookCover.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Fast forward to 2014. I'm becoming a real business woman and decide that this little LLC. I've established is going places, so I need a logo. I hire a graphic designer to design it. She sends me a survey asking questions about my business and personality. I pick the font and the colors based on her recommendations. The colors I chose represent wealth, wellness, and luxury. The colors were orange, purple and green. Go figure. Based on my choices, the Fancy Free, LLC. logo was official. We've gone through some rebranding but the logo and colors remains pretty much intact.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfcDijKsngKHOeexVm8JkB9WGd6Sf3uEqusULJkE2uQTOxbH4Y2OKoV08vS0WbOFIkqU1dHnGSNAqK5m-tkE94KkRIdZvv7dSpa4shIeJQDtvN788ZgKRHlOQ72jryE1hL7TOHgyvAN8/s1600/61nBw77qi6L._SL500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfcDijKsngKHOeexVm8JkB9WGd6Sf3uEqusULJkE2uQTOxbH4Y2OKoV08vS0WbOFIkqU1dHnGSNAqK5m-tkE94KkRIdZvv7dSpa4shIeJQDtvN788ZgKRHlOQ72jryE1hL7TOHgyvAN8/s200/61nBw77qi6L._SL500_.jpg" width="200" /></a>Interior decorators recommend that you freshen up your decor every 5-10 years. We're coming up on 7 years since I "renovated" my closet. Seven years, a pool renovation, 4 roof repairs, a new refrigerator, one cat, two businesses and two children later, I'm ready to spruce my closet up again. Preparing my daughter's bedroom and FINALLY buying a bedroom set for the master suite inspired me. I read <a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Life-Changing-Magic-of-Tidying-Up-Audiobook/B00RC3M6OG?source_code=GPAGBSH0508140001&ds_rl=1262685&ds_rl=1258208&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsdHhBRCwARIsAAhRhslpoPfcbT-stLlvAdQ-UMIfTjMcUv6QFUGTASHZmt4lxn65XEMGUb4aAsgLEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds">"The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up"</a> and purged about 75% of what was in my closet. Now, I have a lot more space to work. More wall space. More space on my racks. I'm looking around thinking of color palettes and furniture configurations when it hit me. OMG! I chose these colors WAY before starting a business and it was staring me in my face all this time. The colors that represent Fancy Free. Orange, purple and green. Wealth, wellness and luxury.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWavS-L5yu-PfLFKUj6WvmjorKVFqSoYwd-0BseVanJhfvba3_IDR2k6-ZvFez_vuYfQG8lbq7hvTywfhWt2q9WX6Rk6ZO4HfnL7RtNYffW86lbefboYi_OCVuXbhSXJHJflZTZ2ja_Y/s1600/20170328_113103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWavS-L5yu-PfLFKUj6WvmjorKVFqSoYwd-0BseVanJhfvba3_IDR2k6-ZvFez_vuYfQG8lbq7hvTywfhWt2q9WX6Rk6ZO4HfnL7RtNYffW86lbefboYi_OCVuXbhSXJHJflZTZ2ja_Y/s320/20170328_113103.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
At 30 years old, I had achieved all of my healthcare career goals. I was just looking to occupy my time when I started my first direct sales business. That business opened my eyes to a whole new way of life. I thought I'd achieve the time freedom and income through that company but Jehovah had already planted the seed. He had something different in store for me. Something that I had full ownership of. Something that I could pursue with all of my passion and remain true to what I believe in. Building generational wealth and helping others do the same. Creating products that support wellness. Having the luxury to spend my time as I choose. Offer "Fancy" products at affordable prices that make people feel luxurious without breaking the bank.<br />
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Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but it never ceases to amaze me when I look back at the "signs", good and bad, that were right there in my face. Honestly, had I done a computer composite of what my closet would look like with those colors, I would have switched it up. But I just rolled with it. After all, it's just paint. An inexpensive way to drastically change the look of a room.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNOyzAvY9YPupaH1_gle1SeYK-dWhDhRblbs9pL_8fod95fR1oGoJNm8HtGq214qte7Xfp24N7yi9ygcWHmpt4ACutVtnV196MxMxMCsfTgh5YfGFRW9dQXJsUo8PDXeT0bLwOSwp45g/s1600/DSC_0487+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNOyzAvY9YPupaH1_gle1SeYK-dWhDhRblbs9pL_8fod95fR1oGoJNm8HtGq214qte7Xfp24N7yi9ygcWHmpt4ACutVtnV196MxMxMCsfTgh5YfGFRW9dQXJsUo8PDXeT0bLwOSwp45g/s320/DSC_0487+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a>So, what's the point? What's for you is for you. Always have a plan but be flexible and open to things that aren't necessarily in your plan. New experiences. Learning new skills. Broaden your horizons. Let Jehovah show you the grand plan He has for your life. Don't fight it. Even if it feels uncomfortable. His plan is WAY better than anything you can imagine for yourself. Had someone told me in 2012 that I would retire from healthcare 5 years later, I would have told them they were crazy. Look at me now, Fancy and Free representing orange, purple and green! Bars! LOL!<br />
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<a href="https://fancyfreellc.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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, <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a>, 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.</div>
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<br />Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-45637631249501017052018-12-04T16:08:00.000-05:002018-12-04T16:08:12.866-05:00Easier Said Than Done<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihtGmNGTgopGEfkAzPEApR-RaXubPOPdkQ49sy7jLsSY7e-HgAToYlB4AYuZY3RPsNvmXD9fVJTBSdEJ6B72zZ8dZu8_TMuMBRpeeHw_RXA8LSZwrHud2BcDxNgprHfeT48URtObU7W8/s1600/IMG_7932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1201" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihtGmNGTgopGEfkAzPEApR-RaXubPOPdkQ49sy7jLsSY7e-HgAToYlB4AYuZY3RPsNvmXD9fVJTBSdEJ6B72zZ8dZu8_TMuMBRpeeHw_RXA8LSZwrHud2BcDxNgprHfeT48URtObU7W8/s200/IMG_7932.jpg" width="150" /></a>I had a baby on November 14, 2018. In preparation for the baby, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do about Fancy Free Hair & Skin business. I have two part-time employees and a team to run my social media and respond to emails but it just didn't sit right with me to totally unplug after I had a baby. Everyone told me I need to take a break. I understood where they were coming from but that is easier said than done.<br />
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As a business owner, I've learned that when you have momentum you have to keep it up, just like driving uphill when it's snowing. Have you ever tried to drive up a hill when there's snow on the ground coming from a complete stop? I have. It is HARD! Slipping and sliding. Wheels spinning - my car is rear wheel drive. Now, compare that to coming down a hill while it's snowing, going at a decent speed, then you have to go up a hill. MUCH easier. It's the momentum that pushes you to the top of hill with minimal difficulty. Well, the same thing happens in business. You have to keep working and pushing your business forward because if you stop, getting started again is a snow covered up hill battle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbnfiw4zlyLYNgbLgwD5reJmW7viPY3g5EcPix5e3fGA8UVEKeeVov6nO8BwZuSkYyOwSncuUXIpayNwb63s4znTIHq4461dIN-IB3nhwGetYxpzR8Cw9-K_5zSZE98JPKlmpQToh4h4/s1600/965401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="744" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbnfiw4zlyLYNgbLgwD5reJmW7viPY3g5EcPix5e3fGA8UVEKeeVov6nO8BwZuSkYyOwSncuUXIpayNwb63s4znTIHq4461dIN-IB3nhwGetYxpzR8Cw9-K_5zSZE98JPKlmpQToh4h4/s200/965401.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
To be sure that I wasn't crazy, I had a talk with a VERY successful mompreneur who had a baby while she was focused on hitting a HUGE goal in her business. Her name is Chanelle Burt. Google her. She is a beast. Chanelle also confirmed how I was feeling. And just for safe measure, I asked myself "What would Beyonce do?". In my heart of hearts, I don't think Beyonce totally unplugged. IDC. IDC. IDC. Those video diaries and songs written while playing around are "work". LOL! Like Chanelle said, no one cares about my business more than me. While my team is amazing, I am still the driving force. So, if I slack off, guess what they're most likely going to do? Yooooouuuuu guessed it. They're probably going to slack off too. So, I decided that I would do what I needed to do for Fancy Free Hair & Skin, my first born baby, within reason.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_rVRDKv7WxQakFaHGxJCWk171CsULl5as7Asz2zAVyhzwvDqnsoT-6IH-_dGx5pjMOMdOLXYgfOhw4bfIlrxuPyIbosYzPdoMFaSBk659Zt_FONiibTAzny7shtfUgMh0jy_YZ4YXyU/s1600/FB_IMG_1543881430587.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_rVRDKv7WxQakFaHGxJCWk171CsULl5as7Asz2zAVyhzwvDqnsoT-6IH-_dGx5pjMOMdOLXYgfOhw4bfIlrxuPyIbosYzPdoMFaSBk659Zt_FONiibTAzny7shtfUgMh0jy_YZ4YXyU/s320/FB_IMG_1543881430587.jpg" width="240" /></a>November 14 was a Tuesday. I was back on my computer, updating things on the website, responding to emails. I came home from the hospital, 3 days postpartum and filled orders that came in while I was in the hospital. Yes. I have staff that fills orders but she works Mondays and Wednesdays, it was a Saturday. My husband did not give me crap about it. He took the orders to the post office for me.<br />
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When my baby needs to be fed, I stop and feed her. When my baby needs to be held, I sit down and hold her. When she's just up looking around, I strap her on and keep doing whatever with her strapped to my chest. I've chalked it up to me just not being the type of person to sit still. AND I can't let my business slow down, so I have stuff to do.<br />
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With my son, I had NO problem unplugging from work while I was on maternity leave. However, I was in the kitchen whipping up that work after being home for a week. I guess, when it comes to my own business, going on maternity leave is easier said than done with the current phase of growth I am in with my business. To my credit, I am on moratorium for vending and events until Spring 2019.<br />
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I guess I said all of that to say, when your main source of income depends on you being present and engaged, you find a way to be present and engaged even if it's less than 12 hours after you've had a baby. I understand that people mean well when they say "You have to take time off" but that is easier said than done.<br />
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<br />Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-49736485183568997252018-12-01T12:03:00.001-05:002018-12-01T12:06:29.506-05:00They MADE That Girl Get A Relaxer<div dir="ltr">
The Fancy Free brand is all about hair and skin products that are free of harsh chemicals but also being Fancy and Free, as a person. That means embracing who you are, especially your natural hair texture. I have no problems with weave and wigs because hair can also be an accessory worn to express how you're feeling that day. But to chemically modify the texture of your hair to make it do something it wasn't designed goes against what I stand for. Again, I do not judge anyone who CHOOSES to do that. After all, it's your hair. However, to tell threaten someone's livelihood because they will not relax their hair is despicable, in my humble opinion me.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FXq61o8XgXo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FXq61o8XgXo?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"></iframe>So, there's this article that everyone keeps tagging me in. About a young girl competing in the America's Next Top Model franchise in the Carribean, Carribean's Next Top Model, who essentially had to decide between relaxing her hair or being eliminated from the competition. Watch the video: </div>
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What. In. The. World. I have so much to say that I'm speechless. So let me count the ways...</div>
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<li>FIRST OF ALL, YOU UGLY! I'm sorry but what?!?! Girl, a RELAXER!?!? What happened to a press and curl? I don't need a relaxer to wear my hair straight. What rock have you been living under that you don't know that you don't know that?</li>
<li>Where is your heart? This girl is crying over her hair. Not cuz she doesn't want a cut or a certain style but because she doesn't want to expose her hair and skin to harsh chemicals. She. Is. Crying. Real. Tears. What kind of monster are you?</li>
<li>As a brown woman in the Carribean, I'm sure you have experienced racism and colorism in your lifetime. Do you remember that? How did that make you feel? Not good, I bet. Hair texture shaming is the same as that. We are JUST becoming comfortable in our own skin and embracing our natural, unadulterated beauty since the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade. Even if YOU are not comfortable with the natural texture of your hair, do not enforce your beliefs on me, especially if they expose me to harsh chemicals. ESPECIALLY since I can wear my hair straight WITHOUT doing that.</li>
<li>Unprofessional?!?! Let me tell you something. You are asked this girl to go against everything she believes in. Giving her an ultimatum between standing up for what she believes in and her career. She did not raise her voice. She simply expressed her strong beliefs and stood up for herself. </li>
<li>Naughty?!?! This young lady is a grown woman. Not a child. Speaking up for herself is not considered misbehaving. It's a human right. So, not only are you forcing her to submit to YOUR standard of beauty, but you also want her to succumb to misogynistic/sexist rules of society. Women are supposed to be silent and do as told? Even if it's wrong? Even if they don't agree. Ridiculous. She spoke in calm respectful tones. At least from what I saw from the clip. She was in well within her rights to react the way she did.</li>
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I could go on and on but Imma stop at 5 cuz that's when people stop reading anyway. LOL! This whole scene makes me more sad than angry. Just like I feel sad for blatantly racist and hateful people. Our differences in view and beliefs is what makes this world a colorful and enjoyable place. We see thing differently. We operate differently, in different spaces that feel comfortable for us as individuals. Forcing someone to do something that is against their beliefs is just wrong.<br />
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For women reading this who prefer to wear their hair straight, hear me loud and clear, YOU DO NOT NEED A RELAXER TO WEAR YOUR HAIR STRAIGHT! And if your hairstylist tries to tell you that you NEED a relaxer, I'd suggest you get a new stylist. Modern styling tools and hair products straighten hair beautifully without exposing you to chemicals that can eat through an aluminum can.<br />
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Ok. That concludes my rant for the day. Remember, that you are a friend of Fancy and she wants you to live Fancy and Free of harsh chemicals. LOL!<br />
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-30884387312311075882018-10-17T18:18:00.000-04:002018-10-17T18:18:26.660-04:00Mompreneur Life: A Day In The Life of Fancy <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCmt8mrlslTVLz3B0kciNA3vcRt2Pr3wEugiRK0Ilm9lexP_pSwktWLvQBtrDoisC92QMY20Xu8ilah1oeqZE37q_iQinCRi-5cgHY72uVWsltM18S6_q_4JhRGCXAXE-RKPSW7blAkw/s1600/20181010_201953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCmt8mrlslTVLz3B0kciNA3vcRt2Pr3wEugiRK0Ilm9lexP_pSwktWLvQBtrDoisC92QMY20Xu8ilah1oeqZE37q_iQinCRi-5cgHY72uVWsltM18S6_q_4JhRGCXAXE-RKPSW7blAkw/s200/20181010_201953.jpg" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute but he's laughing so hard in<br />
this pic because he thought it was<br />
funny to pinch my toes.</td></tr>
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As I type this, I am 35 weeks gestation with my second child. My first child is 2 years old. He is a boy. All boy. He is definitely 2 years old. With the tantrums. The erratic behavior. My husband works a lot. He really enjoys his career and he prides himself on being a bread winner (I got me a good one). Which means that I pretty much take care of the household.<br />
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I used to be able to accomplish monumental tasks while my son is in daycare. Not so much anymore. I'm super slow right now. The laundry has started to pile up. We are eating out more often. The house is a wreck. Well, more of a wreck than it normally is. Like, I need "a week's notice to prep for company" type of wreck. A full day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSn_YuE2wamXaA8Dc5xhinoyzcoLIZNtr_eM8jx5kiahmj9d48iS0s18jslL0zvE6ffmtyIM-CrMXUIJiFQ-GX0bk1GNxx90KFrtgFtojZvuLUHGr0_uKBqcFXk0bdD_8l_lHWjIhIjw/s1600/20160318_202143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSn_YuE2wamXaA8Dc5xhinoyzcoLIZNtr_eM8jx5kiahmj9d48iS0s18jslL0zvE6ffmtyIM-CrMXUIJiFQ-GX0bk1GNxx90KFrtgFtojZvuLUHGr0_uKBqcFXk0bdD_8l_lHWjIhIjw/s320/20160318_202143.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My feet March 18, 2016. 34 weeks gestation with my son.</td></tr>
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I was very swollen with my son. I gained 85 pounds, most of which was water weight. I know what that feels like, I don't want to go through that again so as soon as I feel the top of my feet tingling or my legs getting tight (indications of swelling) I sit down with my feet up. But I can't sit down for long because I have a 2 year old son who requires undivided attention or he acts out. But my business is growing, so I have to do business stuff. I do as much as I can in the 15-20 minutes I have before my feet start tingling or my back starts hurting, then I sit down again. I have to drink a lot of water to keep the swelling down, so I don't sit down for long before I have to go to the bathroom. </div>
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I am happy that my daughter is growing nicely. My business is also growing which makes it hard for me to sit down and relax like I should or at least how everyone tells me I should cuz I have stuff to do. I have to keep the momentum. I learned from direct sales that once you lose momentum, it's hard to gain it back. Production can't slow down. Shipping can't slow down. Marketing can't slow down.</div>
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Here is where it starts getting even more complicated. Read slowly. Maybe some of you can relate to how I have to process my whole life everyday.</div>
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I am carrying the weight of 1.25 people, literally. Let me rephrase, I can no longer carry the workload of one full person right now. LOL! I have great help but we can do more if I buy some more equipment to automate some processes. That would increase the efficiency of one person. NOT SO FAST, SISTAH! Real life is happening.</div>
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Oh. That property I sold in 2015? As a short sale because no one was paying retail in that neighborhood? When I thought all of the debt was forgiven? Well one of those banks wants their money. All of it. Plus 3 years of interest. Plus attorney fees. Totaling $75,000 and counting cuz the interest is accruing erryday, B. I AIN'T GOT THAT! Maybe they'll negotiate a settlement? Well, $55,000 isn't really a settlement. I guess I'll have to file bankruptcy cuz I ain't got it. Which means.......I can't use my business lines of credit anymore because they are looking at my personal credit, even though I used Fancy Free Hair & Skin business credit history, and based on what's going on with my personal credit the banks have already started restricting my business credit usage.🙄</div>
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Time to get creative. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ask me if we've been able to get this working yet.</td></tr>
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Anyone interested in investing in Fancy Free? Oh. We aren't big enough yet? Oh. The beauty industry is saturated? Oh. I'm operating out of a residence so I can't be serious about this thing? Ok. Other sources. WHAT?!?! You want me to pay $6600 to borrow $4000? That's like 44% interest. No way, Jose!! That is not industry standard. Ok. Come through Shopify and Quickbooks with the revenue based funding. </div>
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Ordered some equipment. Have some more working capital. Fancy Free is ready for increased production capabilities. Ugh! These renovations for the baby's room! I have to pick paint colors, order the furniture, pick out decor. Can't leave my son out. Gotta change his room up a little too. All of these clothes! Who bought him all of this stuff?!?! Does he need a new coat this winter? Can he still fit these things from last year? No! No! You can't walk around all day with that coat on! We have to try on the other clothes. *sigh*</div>
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*door bells rings* Is that a delivery or a customer pick up?! Lordt. I'm all the way upstairs. I'm coming. *waddles down the steps* A delivery. Now all these boxes are in the way. They're too heavy for me to lift or move. My customer is coming to pick up their products and they won't see where I left it because of all the boxes I can't move. Let me text my customer to let them know where to look.<br />
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*hears husband walk in the door* OMG! What are we gonna eat for dinner? I didn't have time to go to store to even buy stuff we can heat up. 😢 He works so hard to take care of us and I can't even make sure he has a hot meal when he comes home from work. *Mommy/Wife guilt kicks in* Lord, I forgot to text my customer!<br />
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After finally putting the kid to bed, I head up to my bedroom to wind down. And when I open the door, another disaster zone. How can I relax here? Why are there toys all over the floor? Who is gonna put this laundry away? But I'm way too tired to clean up. Imma do it first thing tomorrow. *looks at calendar for next day* 🙍 Ok. The next day. *sigh*</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TRYING to do "sit down" work</td></tr>
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Yes. My days are this random. Then throw in a couple of self care appointments, business meetings and conference calls and I'm really messed up. I feel like there are one million moving parts with no sign of slowing down. At least not until 2019. I am not complaining. It's just.....a lot. Some times I feel overwhelmed. There are times when I cry. But I make phone calls and send emails in between tears. I asked for this life. I am blessed to have an AH-MAY-ZING support system. But it is a lot to deal with while pregnant. I am used to being superwoman. My family is used to me being superwoman but right now, with a little bowling ball in my belly that pushes my lungs up, so I can't breathe, I just can't be all things to everyone. One day at a time. One task at a time. And when I think I've gone as far as I can go, I don't push myself, I relax. Even if it's only for 5 minutes.<br />
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<a href="https://fancyfreellc.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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, <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a>, 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.</div>
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107155009893529289.post-40943218810899493102018-09-22T20:10:00.000-04:002018-09-23T01:38:47.454-04:00You Just Killed My Vibe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83FXpZfwp24RLf6xqLfr7HZmiTYGWZb7rxABmgk6ZUQt2W5dC4Tfi66b-D2Ke-bchoJjV8NUIqTWi-qLYY1-MXHQW4RQxO08EAKcDV1b3qqFQUS62tzlac0qDsHjGgQnagbxlNyLZGFM/s1600/IMG_20140820_113026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83FXpZfwp24RLf6xqLfr7HZmiTYGWZb7rxABmgk6ZUQt2W5dC4Tfi66b-D2Ke-bchoJjV8NUIqTWi-qLYY1-MXHQW4RQxO08EAKcDV1b3qqFQUS62tzlac0qDsHjGgQnagbxlNyLZGFM/s320/IMG_20140820_113026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I have always had a keen sense of discernment when it came to reading people but my naivety would want to see the good in people even when I could feel that something wasn't right. When I became a manager, reading people during the hiring process became one of my valued traits in my department. I would get these vibes about interviewees and I would suggest that we didn't hire them. In every single case that the person was hired anyway, they ended up being trouble. The problem back then was that I didn't have any data to back up my decision, just my gut feeling or, should I say, bad vibes. Now, I can decide for myself who <a href="https://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> will enter into partnerships with.<br />
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<a href="https://t2.genius.com/unsafe/440x440/https%3A%2F%2Fimages.genius.com%2F30b5f019ee61590232df42bd88d3267a.268x268x1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://t2.genius.com/unsafe/440x440/https%3A%2F%2Fimages.genius.com%2F30b5f019ee61590232df42bd88d3267a.268x268x1.jpg" width="320" /></a>When I say "kill my vibe", I mean something about the person is "off" and there energy is telling me that their energy is not in sync with my energy. I am generally a happy go lucky person. I am honest and forthcoming with information that matters. I am fair. I am considerate. It is most disappointing when I engage with someone with whom I hope to have some kind of mutually beneficial agreement with and they give me weird vibes, or worse, bad vibes. </div>
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In sales, I encounter all types of people. It's only been a few years for me, but I've sharpened my skills on being able to identify who to spend my time with and who not to. I will say, I take all interactions in stride with a smile. However, I think the most disappointing interaction are the interactions that kill my vibe.</div>
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Most recently, it was with another business owner. I saw an opportunity that could potentially be beneficial for both of us. He was not marketing his services. I sought him out, found him - with no social media, by the way. When we spoke on the phone, he looked at my website and seemed impressed with what I was trying to do. We agreed to meet. I was excited. Then we met.....</div>
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I walked into the meeting space, I was immediately overwhelmed. Something wasn't right. I didn't talk much, I just listened and watched his body language. Some of what he was saying didn't line up with the research I had done. Remember, I found him and he did not have any social media accounts. #CreepLife However, I know how it is to have to shuffle paperwork with your business life when things come up in your personal life, so I brushed it off. I made mental notes and told him I would look at my numbers, discuss the opportunity with my partner aka husband, and call him back with my proposal.</div>
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When I called him back with my proposal based on things HE suggested he would be willing to offer in order to help me out, it was like he had completely forgotten what he said. VIBE KILLED! All of the sudden he needed me to make a move within a week, even though he saw that I am about to have a baby AND I explained that I wouldn't be able to finalize anything until after I have my baby. </div>
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I was so confused. </div>
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Bubble busted.</div>
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Balloon deflated.</div>
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Excitement out the window.</div>
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Now, I could have negotiated terms that were beneficial for both of us. But you know what Lil Duval said. And because of my initial "read" of something being off with this guy, I decided I would look for opportunities elsewhere. His change in perspective on how he would be willing to work with me in 24 hours solidified it for me. I've been there with an old tenant before. The tenant was a liar, going back on her word once, so I had to stop talking to the tenant. I switched to communicating via text or email only, so that I could have documentation. I told my property manager that I wanted her out cuz "something was off". He convinced me to let her stay and in the end, I was shafted. So, never again.</div>
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The trouble with vibes is that I have to make sure I'm not just being a punk, scared of doing something differed, and real bad vibes. If I've read the situation incorrectly, I am the one missing out. But, if I am correct, I dodged a bullet. The only way to know for sure is to go through with it. I just ain't in a position to risk it right now. #EntrePoorNeurLife </div>
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Lesson: We all give off energy. Some people pay attention to it. Some do not. If you feel like something is off, it probably is. I'd recommend disengaging. If someone randomly walked away from you, you may have killed their vibe. It happens. Don't take offense, that relationship wasn't meant to be at that time.</div>
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<a href="https://fancyfreellc.com/">Fancy Free Hair & Skin</a> 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, <a href="http://www.fancyfreehairandskin.com/">www.fancyfreehairandskin.com</a>, 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.</div>
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Fancy Free Life Secretshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985141716196379207noreply@blogger.com0