July 12, 2024

In the last blog/vog, I discussed pivoting. I’m still talking about pivoting. I've been pivoting (in life and business) from what's comfortable and familiar to what I really want and really trying to figure out what I want in life. With life, you only get one, so you might as well choose a life that makes you happy. 

I’ve been continuing to work on my why and working on how I can be of service. There's comfort in familiarity. Complacency is comfortable, but at what cost? What is being complacent and comfortable causing you in life? Doing the next thing is essential for growth. 

Speaking of discomfort and growth, I applied for my product to be carried at one store (that is on my list of goals), but I was denied. All is good though, all is blessed. Remember what didn’t work for you, may have actually worked for you. I'm not going to lie, I kind of wanted to cry. But I had to step back and think about why I wanted to cry. Is it because I want my product in the store to show people who I don’t even like, look at me! Is it for financial gain? This brought me back to “what is my why?”.

Would you do what your business is for free? (I talk more about this on the blog/YouTube Video)

One thing I know for sure is I would do this for free. I am doing this for free. I enjoy sharing experiences and tools with you.

By the way, if you are interested in applying to have your product in stores, check out RangeMe.com. (not an add, just sharing where I went to apply for one of the stores I am interested in)

The last episode I discussed how “they” don't want small businesses to thrive. 

Have you seen the upcoming increase in USPS shipping? This doesn’t affect big businesses like Amazon because they have their own shipping/delivery system.

Not only is shipping going up, lobby hours are shortening. I walked to the post office this morning and it was closed. The lobby used to open at 730, but now it doesn't open until 830. They may be related to the homeless issue, but that's another story. Additionally, I can no longer set up pick ups online so now I have to go to the post office. I use Stamps.com, which saves a little on shipping, but the monthly fee is like $20. 

If you're watching/reading this as a buyer/supporter/consumer of small business just know when we offer free shipping doesn’t mean it’s free. Its free to you but not free to us, someone has to pay for it

Back to “they”. They don't teach us so much about small business, from tax deductions to the types of LLCs, etc. We do live in an information world so we can learn on our own but the information is not always easy to find. One of my goals with Confessions is to hopefully provide you with tools to help your small business thrive.

One thing that happened to me was someone DM’d me to make a special request. We were going back and forth, I ordered the fabric, got it, and then sent the invoice. And now she's M.I.A. One thing I cannot stress is Get. Your. Money. Up. Front. 

I took a week off to decompress and feel even more behind. I wanted to disconnect from business and just decompress. Not only did I not decompress, I came back to work more frustrated and even more behind. If you take time off, TAKE THE TIME OFF. No checking social media, email, etc. Just make sure you have all of your out of office notifications on!!!! Keep it professional.

Just a reminder, if you are going through a rough time with your business or really anything in life, everything is temporary. Nothing in the history of the world has ever been permanent, except death. So this too shall pass. 

Don’t forget to drink your water and mind your business. 

Love ya, Alisha