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.

"Delete All Dis Ish, Piggy!"

If you're just joining me on this journey, I am the founder of Fancy Free Hair & Skin, 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.

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.

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

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:

• (2 labels per jar + 2 different sizes) x 5 different scents = 20 rolls of labels
• Each roll of labels (minimum 250 labels) costs about $80 per roll with my customer loyalty discount
• That's 20 x $80 to upgrade my labels for ONE product. 
• $1600 for just the labels

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. 

Fast forward, I meet with the marketing company to really dive deep into what Fancy Free Hair & Skin 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. 

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*

Moral: Sometimes you have to throw everything away and start over.

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. 

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 Fancy Free Hair & Skin 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. 

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.
Ok. Now that I've told the story. Let me swallow my pride and order these new labels.

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.

Self Made

Kylie Jenner was named the youngest "self made" billionaire by Forbes magazine. Ummm....excuse me while I contain my laughter. First thing's first. NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE makes it alone. It takes a team for anything substantial to grow and be successful. Period. Let me break down how Kylie is NOT self-made before I explain how this term is misleading so many others on their entrepreneurial journey.

1. Kylie is the daughter of Kris Jenner.
Kris make have some unorthodox ways but she is a bomb ass momager. Each and everyone of her children has been able to start and grow sustainable businesses with Kris pulling strings behind the scenes. Kylie is no exception.
2. Kylie is a Kardashian.
As I grow in my business, I realize the importance of social media influencers. Many influencers get paid to sell other people's products while some start businesses of their own. Most people who do well in business selling products have a very strong social media presence. Couple that with a hot television show and BOOM your products are going to fly off the shelf, no matter what they are.
3. Kylie has resources.
Yes, it's obvious that Kylie is rich, so monetary resources are plentiful but imagine being having the best of the best vying to work for you or collaborate with you on any venture you are set on pursuing. Best of the best cosmetic manufacturer. Best of the best distribution company. Best of the best graphic designer. Best of the best web designer. Best of the best marketing team. I mean....you get the point.

Successful enterprises are comprised of the following:

• A visionary
• An executor
• A money person
• A connector
• A marketing person

One person can play a couple of those roles but in success stories, ALL success stories, multiple people hold these roles. Making "self made" a false term.

The Hospital Team

When I worked in health care, the term "teamwork" was thrown around but really everyone was for themselves. Covering their own behinds, trying to make themselves look good while, sometimes, throwing others under the bus for one reason on another. The real impact of collaborative economics didn't hit me until I started building a direct sales business. Call it a pyramid scheme but when you realize that your paycheck depends on the someone else getting a paycheck, you are going to go above and beyond to help them understand HOW to get paid and then help them actually take the steps to get paid. And in direct sales, the more people you teach this model to, the more money you make. So, everyone is helping each other get paid. Now THAT is teamwork. 

I run my business with the same teamwork spirit but running Fancy Free Hair & Skin is a little different than building a direct sales team. In direct sales, you want your business partners/team to duplicate your efforts and surpass you but in business you want you teammates to focus on doing what they do best to fulfill their role on the team. My role is to develop quality products that our customers want and manufacture them. However, I don't manufacture by myself because that's not sustainable, so I have help. My manufacturing tech keeps us on track with our production schedule, makes sure we order supplies on time, and also keeps me motivated when I want to sit on the couch. Hey. It happens.

The Fancy Free Team

But who cares if the product is good. No one will buy it if they don't know about it. That's why I have a public relations expert to get my brand in front of people and a marketing expert to make sure I'm sending the right message about my products to the right people. But no one cares if I'm saying the right things to the right people is the presentation of the product is trash. That's why I have someone who is in charge of designing labels and packaging. And another person in charge of making sure the product pictures and social media pictures are in line with my brand. 

It really does take a team. I don't have to spend time trying to figure out how to do those things that are not in my area of expertise only to come up with mediocre results. I can focus on my energy on product development and being the face of the brand, while my team makes sure the other areas are covered.... and executed with excellence.

Entrepreneurship is not easy. It can be lonely but you don't have to go it alone. Don't let these headlines fool you into thinking that you have to do it by yourself to a talked about success story. You don't. You shouldn't. You will not be successful if you try to do it alone.

So, congrats to Kylie Jenner and all of the other entrepreneurs doing big things. I am inspired and you help keep me motivated but make sure you acknowledge your team. You couldn't have done it without them.

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. 

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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