Mompreneur Life: A Day In The Life of Fancy

Cute but he's laughing so hard in
this pic because he thought it was
funny to pinch my toes.

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.

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.

My feet March 18, 2016. 34 weeks gestation with my son.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.🙄

Time to get creative. 

Ask me if we've been able to get this working yet.

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. 

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*

*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.

*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!

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*

TRYING to do "sit down" work

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.

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.

Subscribe and become Fancy's Friend to receive a code for 10% off your next purchase. 

If It Ain't Broke

When I launched my iFundWomen fundraiser, my plan was to increase marketing budget to increase revenue. Simple. I raised the money and found a marketing team that had great ideas. We got our marketing plan together and started to revamp the Fancy Free brand by emphasizing my role as a scientist behind the products with real knowledge. So we got busy getting things in order. I launched the Fancy Free Hair Profile quiz which allowed women to categorize their hair styling preferences and we would provide instructions on how to use Fancy Free products based on the styling preference. The rationale behind this is that no one really understands all of the natural hair "jargon" that's out there. Low porosity, 4c, blah blah blah. None of that really matters if you keep your hair in a weave most of the time.

Then I decided, without really consulting anyone, that I was going to spruce up the website. Give it a fresh clean look to celebrate being a full-time entrepreneur for one year. I looked at some website themes that I liked. Had the Fancy Free team vote on it. Purchased it. Hired someone to transfer all of my data. Went back and forth with the contracted developer. Did my own tweaking and then finally, it was time to launch.

I took a nap and woke up around 1a so that I could flip the switch and do some testing to make sure everything was working properly. And what happened? You guessed it. All hell broke loose. Well, not really hell, but nothing was going as anticipated.

First thing, my new, upgraded website that I had been working on it for a little over a month, wouldn't go live for whatever reason. I kept getting error messages. *sigh* I wasn't sure if it was my internet connection (Xfinity is known for being janky), my computer (It is 4 years old, so it might be time for an upgrade), or my browser (I always use Chrome, so this was a first). I figured it out, switched browsers and got the new website up and running. Then I went to test it....

Everything was trash. It was really slow to load (a BIG no no for shopping online). None of my vital add on functions were working with the theme. To be clear, I tested the website prior to going live but I was told that the functions I was looking for could only be seen went it was live. 🙄 The product pictures were distorted. There was information and stats visible to customers that shouldn't have been. It was all just trash. So, I made an executive decision to just go back to my old website. I updated the pictures and few other things. It worked fine. Everything was functioning properly. All by a little after 4a. Yaaaaayyy!!! *insert sarcasm*

Lesson: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Sometimes we want to upgrade for the sake of upgrading. Even when the version you're using is working perfectly fine. It could be a phone, car, house, whatever. Making HUGE changes can cost lots of money and time. Save the money, spend your time working on something else because small tweeks and improvements can be just as effective as large overhauls, without the headache.
I spent hundreds of dollars and over 1 month working on something that turned out to be useless while the current version was working just fine.

Lesson learned. I get it now. Before I dive into making a huge "improvement", I will ask myself. Is what you're using working? Can you make improvements to your current process without replacing it? Is it necessary? This entrepreneurship life ain't no crystal stair but I wouldn't change it for the world.

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 chemical free." 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.

Subscribe and become Fancy's Friend to receive a code for 10% off your next purchase. 

***How I Do It All

Disclaimer: Do not try to sue me for medical malpractice after you've read this blog. Every procedure that I did not follow was done so in order to save the life of a person in need.

Now that that's out of the way....

Celebrating with my Day Ones. Note Husband and kid in the back.
#Balance

I recorded a podcast on The Boonie Breakdown last week. Boonie, the host, asked me "How do you find balance?" She wanted to know how I make it all work. How I continue to grow my business, spend time with my family and find time for self care. Up until today, my response to that is always "There is no balance. When you need to focus on something, you have to tilt the scale. It will not be balanced. That's just life. Trying to find balance is a real source of stress for people. It's like a unicorn. It doesn't exist." But in retrospect, that's just not true. I schedule and stick to my schedule. I don't work after certain hours. To make sure I take care of myself, I don't check email until I've completed my morning meditation and workout and I document it on my Instastory for accountability. For the most part, I stick to my routine and have systems in place to eliminate distractions so that I am making the best use of my time. i.e. No notifications on my phone at all. No text notifications. No social media notifications. No email notifications. I check it when I come to a stopping point. Yes, some days I skip my morning work out session to get some work done. Yes, I may let some work sit until the next day so that I can spend time with my son or go on a date with my husband. But today, I realized that my career in healthcare trained me for this entrepreneur life and iainteemknowit.

Can't keep deodorant in stock.

I have someone in my close circle who is just beginning their entrepreneurship journey and has asked me multiple times "How do you do it all? You always seem so happy and not stressed out." I've been telling them "I just do the best I can. That's all I can do. If I've done my best, there's nothing to stress about." Of course I have days when I know I didn't do my best but I don't dwell on it. I forgive myself and use my poor performance as fuel to do better the next day. And there are days when I'm giving it all I've got and nothing seems to be going my way. That's just life. However, I am always making an effort to constantly improve and that is totally different than being hard on yourself. But I never thought about HOW I got that mindset. How did I learn to do that? Like to read it? Here it go...

I worked in the blood bank for all of the 14 years of my career in healthcare. I have seen a lot of tragic situations working in Baltimore City hospitals and in the infamous NIH Research Hospital. There are three types of patients who can possibly bleed to death if they don't get the right type of blood and get it quickly. Gun shot and stab wound victims, certain types of surgery patients, and mothers giving birth. I worked at night for the first 4 years of my career. Two days out of my five day work week, I worked alone. One night, I was working alone and there was a mother of four who had delivered her fifth child. She started to bleed. They asked for 4 units of blood, then another 4. I could hear the panic in the nurse's voice when she was calling me to ask for the third set of 4, making it a total of 12 units of blood they'd be transfusing. That night, in a 250 bed hospital, I knew I only had one patient to tend to, the bleeding mother. I would not have time to deal with any other patients that night. So, I called in one of my co-workers for

My Old Life

back up. We ordered more blood products. We prepped the next batch of blood to go out as soon as they took one batch. We did everything in our power to give the patient care team what they asked for and QUICKLY - including bypass some steps in the procedure. At the end of the night, we had given that lady 21 units of blood, 4 units of platelets and 10 units of plasma. To put things into perspective, a standard transfusion is 2 units of blood, 1 platelet and 2 units of plasma. Transfusing 10 units of blood replaces all of the blood in an average adult body. The women eventually stopped bleeding, recovered and went home to take care of her five children. We did our best. We helped save a mother's life. We felt accomplished and high-fived each other at the end of our shift.

What's the point of that story? I had to remain calm so that I could communicate with the patient care team effectively, make sure I was giving them the correct blood, and properly document where every unit of blood went (cuz you do NOT want to have to be the one explaining to the FDA where you THINK a missing unit of blood went). Imagine if you are the nurse, standing in front of a bleeding patient, a bleeding mother of five, calling for help and the person on the other end of the line is just as frantic as you are. That's not helpful. I spoke with urgency and clarity but never frantic. Praise Jehovah that she survived. There were some nights when the patients did not survive. But EVERY night I "did my best" and that's all I had control over. Imagine how stressed out I would be if I owned every patient death as if it were my fault? Death comes with the territory in healthcare. No one wants blood on their hand - pun intended - but, all you can do is the best you can do and that's it. 

If you give it all you've got and everything comes together perfectly, that's amazing! But if things are spiraling out of control and the tunnel is pitch black, no light in sight, all you have control over is yourself. No matter how bad a situation looks, it always works out in the end. Always give your best performance and be open to whatever the outcome may be. Sometimes it might not be what you had in mind but it's usually for the best.

So there it is, almost 30,000 hours of experience in a blood bank being put in hundreds of situations where I had to be the calm in the eye of the storm, doing my best work to keep someone alive. Even though I knew that they could possibly die anyway EVEN if I "do my best". That's deep. It makes any other thing you go through in life seem trivial. Just thinking "If I panic, someone could die" got me sitting here taking slow breaths. My experience as a Specialist in Blood Banking has trained me to "do my best" and let the chips fall where they may. Who would've ever thought about it that way? LOL! See, this is why it's so important to embrace your journey. Life has so much to teach you if you pay attention.

When you do your best and still lose.

When talking about the 3 stars in the title of  her hit song "Flawless", Beyonce refers to the time the group Girls Tyme had practiced and given the best performance of their lives on Star Search and still lost. She said, “The reality is: sometimes you lose. And you’re never too good to lose. You’re never too big to lose. You’re never too smart to lose. It happens.” She knows that sometimes, you do your best and it's not enough. You don't stop being the best you can be and you don't beat yourself up. You just keep going. Being thankful for opportunity to learn what worked and what didn't. Accept it with grace and enjoy the journey to your best life.

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 chemical free." 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.

Started From The Bottom, Now We're....Still Kinda At The Bottom

I started selling Fancy Free Pomade for Hair & Skin in March 2015, it was on a whim. No business plan. No real plan for it at all. My goodt goodt girlfriend knows her stuff, after using it once, she said "Sell this." So I started selling it. That first year was a world wind of packaging, designing labels, solidifying vendors....or at least trying to solidify vendors, but that's another story. You know, just trying to figure it all out without having the slightest clue of what I was doing. What I did know was that I had something good. I had a great product with a great concept and as soon as people tried it, they were hooked.

When I saw what I looked at my profits from 2015, I thought "We might be on to something." If I had the right guidance, if I had the right influence, if I had someone to show me, step by step, how to run my business, this could really be big. But I had none of that. I didn't even have a real website. LOL! I talked to a few people but no one who could commit to really mentoring me the way I needed. I am a scientist, not a business woman. I was floating by in the first half of 2016. Taking my sweet time to get my website together. I mean, I was selling on Etsy and eBay, good enough. I had this HUGE project that I was working on at work. I had a baby in my belly. I had a lot on my plate. Then I got a call to for Shark Tank casting. Whaaaaaatttt??????? OMG! I was so nervous. I had to record a video. I didn't know what to say. My website wasn't finished. I didn't have a business plan. My numbers were pretty puny compared to the type of numbers I had seen from other businesses pitching on the show. But I went for it. Kicked in to high gear. Rushed to have a special box designed to send samples to California. I was not polished. I was all over the place. I had no experience shipping in warm temperatures, so I'm sure the product was melted when it was delivered. Fancy Free was not selected for the second phase of testing. But I did not get discouraged. I used that experience as a lesson. I took that lesson and got to work.

Fast forward to June 2016, a second Shark Tank casting. No call back. Then in August 2017, an application to pitch to Betamore at Beta City. Yes! Finally, I think this is going to be the one. I go to the workshop they have on creating a pitch. The presenter offered some great insight, maybe you don't need an investor, if you're profitable and small, your efforts can probably be "bootstrapped". No. It's not as secure as having a millionaire back your efforts. Yes. It will take longer. But why give away equity in your company when it's very possible that you can achieve your goals without having to. Needless to say, I did not get selected to pitch my business to an investor at Beta City but I was selected to become a member of iFundWomen's Maryland cohort.

iFundWomen is a platform for women entrepreneurs to encourage and support each other through raising capital to start or grow their businesses. Founded by Karen Cahn during the 2016 Presidential Election, iFundWomen has since raised $700,000 for 120 entrepreneurs. The mission of iFundWomen is to close the funding and confidence gap for female entrepreneurs by working with early stage companies on coaching, brand positioning, and sales strategies, to get them off the ground, and onto "Main Street". 

Living in the city, I see all of the disparities of Baltimore. My husband and I chose to purchase a house in the city because we know the solid community is the only thing that can reverse the effects of school to prison pipeline, drug addiction, absentee parents and other challenges our people are experiencing. We decided that we wanted to set an example and be the change in our city that we want to see. Our goal is to play a major role in rebuilding our city and the sense of community that we once held so near and dear to our hearts. With help for iFundWomen supporters, I will be able to do just that. 

I have a really hard time asking for help publicly, especially monetary help, but I realized that my project was bigger than me so I got over myself. I am offering rewards for every giving level. This is where building community begins. If you offer a helping hand, I am in a better position to help someone else because you helped me.

The Emotional Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship

One of my loves, who is actually the reason why I started blogging again after taking a couple years hiatus, started a meet up for black women entrepreneurs. I was very picky about how I spent my time because, well, I didn't have much to spare. However, since taking my jump, I'm more open to opportunities to network and get out of the house. I'm oucheah! Cuz ain't nobody gonna know about my product if I don't get out in deez streetz and tell them.

Anyway, the meet up was such a blessing. It was a protected space where we, black women, who always have to be strong and look like we have it together, could be vulnerable and express our needs. A few key takeaways were that:

• Entrepreneurship is lonely
• It is scientifically proven that human beings are designed to operate in a team

Let's start with the loneliness of it all, as I sit in my living room alone writing this blog. Yeah. It seems cool to have the freedom during the day to schedule things as I please. I don't have the constant interruptions of office mates and colleagues asking me dumb questions. However, that can backfire because I am alone with my thoughts, which leads to the next take a way.....

Human beings are designed to operate in a team. We are not meant to do things alone. It leads to the dreaded emotional roller coaster that comes with entrepreneurship. There are days when you feel like you can take over the world and get it all done. There are other days where it is all too much and you just wanna take a nap. Then there are the days that you feel like you aren't doing enough, that you are a complete loser, and you start to rethink your life choices. All because you're by yourself. I mean, look at some stories of people being stranded after some kind of accident. A group of people is more likely to survive than a single person in the exact same circumstances. Let that sink in.

So, even though I know all of that, I had a bad day this week. I did it too myself. It was not warranted. I started comparing my progress to someone else's. I wondered if I could make it happen. I wondered when my growth would reach it's tipping point. I wondered what I was doing wrong. Then I snapped out of it and gave myself some kudos, like my therapist taught me. After that, I had a conversation with a sister friend about being emotional. She reminded me of who I am and also reminded me of the source of those emotions *whispers* cuz she knows my real life. Then said "You'll be alright. Just keep swimming." She was right. I snapped out of it.

But then I had to talk about that roller coaster moment with someone who was at the meet up with me. My cousin, who is also my attorney. I hit her up and said "cousin confessions". LOL! I told her about my emotional roller coaster and what triggered it. We laughed at me for being "crazy" then we started talking about strategy and timelines. We had a few "ah ha" moments and felt good about Fancy Free when we ended the conversation.

The point is, who knows how long I would've been in that funk had I not reached out to my team to at

 least talk about it. Entrepreneurship is not easy. It takes a lot of mental tenacity to make it through each day with the growth, set backs, highs, and lows. Any success story has a team of people pushing the main character through. Your team does not have to be in the same industry, it's just important to have a safe place where you can be vulnerable and receive encouragement. 

In the end, I know that I made the right decision. My father and husband always remind me that the tough choice is usually the best choice and that nothing worth having will be easy to come by. 

Shameless Plug Alert:

Fancy Free, LLC. is the manufacturer of quality products for hair and skin. Our motto is "Keeping you chemical free." Visit our website, www.fancyfreellc.com, to see a full range of our products and services. Sine up for our mailing list to receive natural hair tips and stay up to date on sales and the latest happenings with Fancy Free.

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Desires of the Heart

Soooooo, I used to have time to blog regularly. Then I started a business. Then I had a baby. Then I went back to work. Then business started picking up. Life became crazy but the whole time, I was working on myself. Not just growing my business but growing as a person. Improving how I manage my time. Improving my relationships. Loving myself more. Not being so hard on myself. Reading more. Meditating. Eating better. I also began to grow out of things. Outgrow relationships. Outgrow activities. You get the point.

Fast forward to today. I have finally fully retired from healthcare to pursue my passion. And, also, allowing what has been chasing me my entire life to catch up to me. You see, I grew up in a salon. I feel like every woman in my family has a cosmetology license, including my mother. I even worked in a salon while in grad school and apprenticed under my mother but never took the exam. What some may see is a woman who started small, business picked up, opportunities are presenting, so I decided to go for it. What people don't know is that this was written. Business is picking up, so I need more space to manufacture. What will that space look like? Eventually, it will be a beauty salon. That's the 2 year plan. All that running from cosmetology has come full circle. LOL!

In college, even though my career path was not clear, I knew I did not want to work beyond the age of 35. At the time, I thought I would work a little bit and then my husband would take care of me. LOL! I mean, my mother is a stay at home mom, why can't I be one too? No one knew this. I never shared it with my husband. Why? Well, life happens. Reality hits you. I assumed that we could not sustain our lifestyle on one salary, so my intention was to stay in healthcare until I was retirement age. While I had reached my career goals by the age of 30, I thought I'd develop new ones for healthcare related advancement in my career. Nope. That's not what happened. Once I mastered my job function, I was looking for a new challenge. This was right around the time when I began my journey in multilevel marketing.

Say what you want about multilevel marketing, but for me, it was an eye opener. I was open minded
and I realized how powerful I really am. I learned about myself. I realized that sitting in a windowless office, tucked away in the corner of a blood bank was not what Jehovah intended for me. I thought that multilevel marketing would be my ticket to a Fancy Free life but it didn't work out that way. Turned out that Fancy Free was my ticket. It had been right under my nose for about 2 years. I started selling the hair product. More and more women were scheduling natural hair consults. Fancy Free business was picking up. 500% growth in my second year of business. Those numbers happened during a year where I was working on a HUGE project at work, pregnant, oh yeah, and had a baby. This all got me thinking. If I grew this much with wishy washy, inconsistent marketing, imagine what I could do if I focused all of my energy on Fancy Free. Endless possibilities. No limits.

So there it was, staring me in my face, my destiny. But how was I going to transition? Our household

budget included my, now half time, salary. Simple. Get out of debt. If we paid off all of our credit cards, we could afford to live off of my husband's salary. Simple. Not easy though. LOL! So we got to work. Scaled back on splurging. We were chopping that debt down, big time. The whole time, my work environment was becoming more miserable. Once my focus shifted from being a Specialist in Blood Bank to growing as a CEO, I no longer wanted to spend time blood banking. I wanted to be building Fancy Free. So EVERYTHING irritated me. It was time to go.

Once we set a date, that's when the magic began. You see, when you begin to walk in your purpose,
the flood gates open and everything works toward helping you receive the desires of your heart. Things lined up in a way that I couldn't have even imagined for myself. I never told my husband I wanted to retire by 35. I kept it close to my heart. Between Jehovah and I. But I was open and flexible. The silence while meditating let Him speak to me. I just listened. Now, here I am at 36 years old and retired. Only one year behind schedule. I mean, the Jews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, so 1 year isn't so bad.

No, all of our debt isn't completely paid off but we're on our way. No, I don't have a building yet. But the reality is, all of your ducks are never going to line up the way you want them to before you take the "jump". Jehovah wants you to rely on Him and not your own understanding. When we humble ourselves, accept that there a lot of things that we just don't know, and actively seek guidance, things happen, BIG things happen.

What are the desires of your heart? Go after them with all you've got. There is nothing you can't do once you've made up your mind.

Shameless plug alert:
Fancy Free, LLC. is the manufacturer of quality products for hair and skin. Our motto is "Keeping you chemical free." Visit our website, www.fancyfreellc.com, to see a full range of our products and services. Sine up for our mailing list to receive natural hair tips and stay up to date on sales and the latest happenings with Fancy Free.

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5 Things You Should Know Before You Start Your Own Business

The US economy is very fickle. That proved very relevant in 2008 in the crash of the housing market, which had a domino effect on the entire job and stock market. Yes, the economy is cyclical and periodically corrects itself, which sometimes means that your job is at risk. What is the solution? Work for yourself or become an entrepreneur. While entrepreneurship is not an easy course of action, it may prove more rewarding than anything you've ever pursued.

Here are some things to keep in mind before you start your business:

1. Develop a relationship with a mentor.

Just like anything in life, if you have never done it before you should listen to your mentor's advice. The insight that an experienced entrepreneur can offer you can save you time and money by helping you avoid mistakes early in your journey.

2. Be ready for the long haul.

No success story happens overnight. An entrepreneur is able to learn from mistakes and not get discouraged. Remember why you got started on your journey and never give up. While it may seem easier to go back to your job, nothing worth having is ever easy. Your mentor will be there to push you when times get tough. A business owner's commitment to success is the distinguishing factor between businesses that stand the test of time and those that do not.

3. Consider building a home based business before starting a traditional business.

One of the deterring factors of most is lack of start-up cash. A home based business, also known as direct sales or network marketing, gives you the opportunity to start a business for less than $1000. The great thing about a home based business is that there are no caps or limits on the income you can earn. Eliminating the need for a small business loan. You can invest in yourself. Direct sales allows you to learn marketing techniques and other business strategies that you can apply to traditional business as well. Often referred to as "personal growth programs with a compensation plan", some of the greatest business masterminds in America, like Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, and Bill Gates, endorse direct sales. Network marketing also gives you a network of mentors that want to see you succeed while generating income.

4. You have to invest in your business.

Be it a traditional brick and mortar business or a home based business, you must invest before you see a profit. Your business is not a job where you get paid to show up. In entrepreneurship, you get paid when you produce results. You must invest time and money. Look at your business like one of your children. Much time, energy, and money goes into raising productive children. While raising your children, you believe in them and their potential even when they stumble. You keep encouraging and investing in them. You never give up on your children or consider them a lost cause. Do the same with your business.

5. There are no short cuts.

Fitness fanatics say that the results you want only come from discipline and hard work. Taking short cuts might get you results but they will not last. Listen to your mentor's advice, then roll up your sleeves and get to work. Hard work will always beat talent, no matter the industry.

Entrepreneurship is an incredible journey. Before you get started, develop a relationship with a mentor. Be ready to go the distance to see success. If you have never started a business or feel like you don't have access to the money required to start one, consider building a home based business first and using that income to invest in your business idea. You will have to invest in your business before you see rewards. Hard work and discipline is the only way to see success.

Fancy Free LLC. is a home based business that helps people reach their financial and personal goals, daily. Contact us at (410) 929-0302 to schedule your complimentary consultation.

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What Are You Worried About?

We all love a good Louis Vuitton but a missing head light
is a safety hazard. Should we be worried about that instead?

The African-American community is always being criticized for something. Usually it's for worrying about the wrong things. You know standing in line for Black Friday but not showing up for Parent-Teacher conference night. Up early to get the latest release of Jordan's but not showing up to vote. Mother's criticized for making sure their weave is tight but there's no food in the refrigerator for their kids to eat breakfast before they go to school. There is nothing wrong with want to look nice and to have nice things but when there's no balance and that's your only concern, we need to assess why we are worried about the wrong things.

I'm not sure if there is a simple solution. As I struggle in helping my younger sisters grow into adulthood, I find myself saying the same things to them over and over. "You are not supposed to have what I have right now. I have paid my dues and have worked hard. You are still working. It will happen, just not now." Social media and reality TV have a lot to do with it. We live in a microwave society. Everyone wants instant gratification for minimal efforts. While healthy competition is nice, there is a problem when you go to great lengths just to "out do" someone. I'm "fancy" because that's just me, I don't live my life trying do something bigger than the next person.

Youngsters want the "Fancy Life" but don't want to go through the years of training and hard work to get it. Worrying about what their lifestyle looks like instead of creating a stable foundation to sustain it. Fast money. Fast cars. Lavish lifestyle. Then it all comes crashing down and we're left in a constant state of struggle. It all starts with exposure. Our kids are being exposed to a lifestyle without being exposed to the hard work, sacrifice, discipline and tenacity it takes to get to live that lifestyle. A phrase I like to use is "shooting in the gym". Ask any successful athlete how much time they spend training during the season and off season and they'll tell you "all day". Like, literally 8-10 hours TRAINING!!! The same goes for any career. You gotta put in that WORK to get ahead at whatever you do.

Sean "P. Diddy" or "Puff Daddy" Combs worked for FREE as an intern before he got his shot. That is work without pay. Modern day slavery. LOL! I kid. But he was getting paid in knowledge. Some people are so concerned with being seen in a certain light that they forget that money comes and goes, just like things, but knowledge is the gift that keeps on giving. Did you know that Kim Kardashian was an assistant to many
celebrities before she became one herself? Let that sink in. Kim Kardashian, the lady with the multi-million dollar empire, was an assistant, running errands and picking out clothes BEFORE she became a household name. It does not happen overnight. But if you push through the times that seem like struggle, you will make it and know what it takes to keep it.

Are you worrying about the wrong things? How you're going to pay your credit card bills that are maxed out from purchasing things? Are you focused on being great at all costs? When you are great, no matter what your specialty is, money will come and you will always be able to buy the things you really want to buy. The Fancy Life is the fruit of our labor, we ain't doing this for the "Gram".

Until next time, continue focusing on being great in your Fancy life.

Are you on the verge of breakthrough? Let us help you map out your plan and "do the work" to help you make your life even more "Fancy" than it already is. Text WOODS to 55469.