2019 Round Up

2019 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.

Fancy Life Accomplishments

1. Survived 3 months of colic
2. Overcame postpartum depression
3. Got my husband to take over handling dinner
4. Got approval to increase frequency of housekeeping service
5. Decluttered my house
6. Made a little bit of money off of selling my kids' baby gear
7. Lost over 30 pounds
8. Created a self care routine
9. Maintained a self care routine for 7 months
10. Produced breast milk for 12 months
11. Set personal boundaries to maintain sanity
12. Maintained said boundaries
13. Removed a curse from my bloodline
14. Renewed my spiritual journey
15. Enjoyed my husband
16. Found a school for my son
17. Loved on my family

Fancy Free Hair & Skin Accomplishments

1. Got my back office in order
2. Established more automated systems
3. Hired 3 new employees
4. Fired 2 employees
5. Hired a marketing company
6. Figured out the voice of my brand with the help of a marketing company
7. Rebranded the look of my products
8. Added a seasonal scent milk to the roster
9. Added two new products to the roster
10. Added 3 new deodorant scents to the roster
11. Added 2 new product kits to the roster
12. Hired a social media management company
13. Fired a social media management company
14. Hired a second social media management company
15. Fired the second social media management company
16. Lawyers on deck to clap back on raggedy second social media management company when they tried to pursue payment even after being raggedy
17. Added two retail stores
18. Added one more wholesale buyer
19. Hired a business tax accountant
20. Increased revenues by 35%
21. Increased spending too (typing the percentage increased hurts my feelings)

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. 

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.

Shameless Plug Alert:

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

Visit www.fancyfreehairandskin.com to subscribe to our mailing list. Become Fancy's Friend to receive a code for 10% off your next purchase.

Did You Ever Think That You Would Be This Rich?

Haha! Well, from our point of view, we aren't rich....YET! BUT we have come a loooooooonnnngggg way.
Last week, we finally purchased dining room chairs for our formal dining room table. A small purchase but the significance of that is we went almost 3 years with no chairs. Like, we had this fancy a$$ table and would pull out folding chairs for dinner and company. And guess what? I ain't care. LOL! We did that because I am a firm believer in waiting on the perfect thing instead of rushing into buying something just to say you have it. AND...remember that budget thing I've been talking about? Well, based on our budget, dining chairs just weren't an immediate priority.

Sunday morning, I made myself breakfast and sat at the head of my dining room table and started singing R. Kelly's "Did You Ever Think?" to myself. Which essentially asks someone who's finally "made it", did you ever think that you'd ever accomplish all that you've been working for all these years? Now, we are no hip hop stars or don't claim to be rich or well off or anything like that but we are just now getting to a space where we are starting to see some of the fruits of our labor. It's a great feeling.


To put things into perspective, we purchased our home from a prominent defense attorney in our city. Now HE has made TONS of money in his career. We aren't there yet but life has a funny way of coming full circle. The previous owner is also one of my really close friends' mentor. In 2005, when my friend graduated from law school, his mentor, the previous owner of now OUR home, hosted a white party, which my husband and I attended as boyfriend and girlfriend. Me, maybe a year into my career and my boyfriend had just finished his second year of medical school. We were still thinking in college student budget numbers and hadn't started any businesses so we were, for lack of better terms, thinking small time. We always tell the story of us sitting in the corner of that very same dining room at that party back in 2005, looking across the house thinking "Wow! Do you think we'll ever be able to afford something like this?" and laughing at ourselves for asking such a ridiculous question. OF COURSE NOT!!! But look at God, 5 years later, we purchased that VERY SAME house that we thought we'd never be able to afford.

Buying the house was not the epitome of our accomplishments, it was a symbol of all the hard work we put in within those 5 years to be in a position to do that. We were proud of ourselves. Our parents were excited. Our family felt blessed as well. Yes. The house was empty for a good 2 years after we moved in. In fact, we had a church fellowship hall folding table that was left there for us as our dining room table for 3 years before we actually bought a real one. Hahhahahahahahhaa!!! So to sit in a real dining room chair at my formal dining room table that is decorated with Marshalls, Home Goods, thrifting and traveling finds felt really good.

It made me think about Beyonce's HBO documentary, "Life Is But A Dream", she said something about
taking it all in that really resonated with me. Imagine being Beyonce, a legend, a business woman, a true talent, and a wife with strong family values. It's sooooo easy to get caught up in the next opportunity or figuring out what your next move is going to be because you want to make sure your family is taken care of. So much so that you don't even enjoy what you're doing in the moment or even what you've accomplished up until that point.

I'm a woman on the move. Like Beyonce, I'm always thinking of the next step but I'm learning to just take it all in every now and then. It's ok to pause and pat yourself on the back. I had a busy day on Sunday but I took my time to eat breakfast and sent my husband, who was at work, an affirmation text. I thanked him for his role in my life and being a blessing to me and my family as well as our unborn son. It felt good to just take it all in and just be thankful.

While we never settle and are always looking to improve and grow, your blessings only increase when you are grateful for what you have. We have seen much increase in our 13 years together. We are grateful. We share our blessings. We are thankful. We are just getting started!