Business Year in Review
BUSINESS YR IN REVIEW
Hello all! Welcome back to another blog up on the site. This time I have for you my review of my first official business year as a business owner. There were so many accomplishments and there was also some setbacks but nonetheless, everything was a learning experience! I believe I started writing this in the beginning of last year and finished at the end of 2020. It’s way more comfortable for me to look in the year by quarters just so that I can keep track of the small and big milestones, as well as, adding in feedback from my monthly audits. I try my best to stay educated in Entrepreneurship and Small Business in general. I must say this was the year I definitely learned the most by just diving in and learning along the way. There are soooo many risks to doing that and honestly, I consider myself blessed to be able to create something of great meaning and importance and not having to worry about paying rent. My family had to get used to providing for me in ways we never have before and it’s something I’ll never forget or take for granted. As much as I wanted to say that I’ve done absolutely everything on my own from the ground up, there have been so many people around me who have inspired me, supported me, paid of my services and took care of me when I was down. A business is almost like having a kid, and you literally need your Tribe; like the saying goes, “It takes a village,” and it definitely takes a village to build a business. This year one of my major manifestations for this business is to build a solid team of members who are just as dedicated and perseverant as I am to make this dream come into fruition. I cannot wait to see everything come together on divine timing, but until then, here are a few things I learned in my first year as a solopreneur.
2020 Q1 Jan - Mar
Overall Operations Internally & Externally
***Work on Marketing and Advertising***
It’s so funny but not funny that what I was so close to getting my degree in was Business Marketing, and that’s where the least amount of time was spent during my first quarter. Most of the time, a businesses’ first priority is making money; now why in the world was Marketing my last priority?!! I see that I had to put in some MAJOR MAJOR work when it came to the Internal mindset and my lack of Self Worth. My confidence was too low to be an entrepreneur in all honesty. I really had to face myself and see where my weaknesses were. I had the hardest time asking for what I was worth in revenue and pricing because I didn’t really see myself as a professional Artist or Photographer even though I have been photographing for over 10 years. Even when it came down to labeling myself as an Artist, that took a lot of time to get used to owning and operating as a Professional and a Business Owner. All I knew was that art was something I seemed pretty good at because it came SO naturally for me. I knew my purpose was to be a Creator but, I was also having a huge identity crisis when it came down to also feeling drawn to be a Teacher and a Seeker of Knowledge. What I also was struggling heavily with, was the ultimate goal and overall Business plan. For a Virgo, I feel so much more satisfied and confident knowing that there’s Intention, Purpose and Planning behind my actions. Which is why Marketing my products and services was last on my To-Do List. I had to get clear on what it is I TRULY wanted to sell: Lifestyle Transformation through Artistry & Creativity. It took me a year to get clear on that, only because I didn’t JUST do photography, and I wasn’t JUST selling my drawings; I saw my business as a 6 or 7 figure company that serves high quality content and products to those who align with our niche. Sure, photography is a huge market but if you’re not doing weddings, families or top models for magazine editorials, you’re pretty much gonna have to put in a lot more work when it comes to Marketing and Advertising your unique niche. It took me a whooooole half a year to know what my unique niche was. It was something I was glancing over so easily, I was trying too hard to make myself different instead of knowing myself and seeing what was already different about me or what was already unique about my vision. Holistic Wellness + Spirituality. Getting into the last couple quarters, I got worried because of how saturated the Health & Wellness industry is. Now I see that it really doesn’t matter how saturated the market is, there’s an audience for our unique perspective. I also had to get used to not being for everybody; which hurt me very deeply. I wanted to make sure that my business and the services would be appropriate for most people in need of the help and resources. Unfortunately, I saw very quickly that just because I might have saw the need doesn’t mean that everyone else will. And it’s okay if my methods don’t work for everyone'; even those I love the most. It’s okay because ultimately, we’re all on the same road and I believe we’ll all find ourselves successful in the process.
I wrote down some action steps to keep me aligned with the goal and objective of earning regular income. At the time, I felt encouraged to offer lower prices to my audience and community because I automatically had the assumption that my prices were what was keeping me from booking clients regularly. I quickly learned that my prices had nothing to do with my ability to book clients; it was obviously my lack of self worth and my own personal issues with money that made me believe that was the issue. As well as, promoting services to a bulk of my audience that had no interest in portrait photography, at least on a regular basis. I would only advertise my services every so often and that’s clearly not the way to promote or run a business; keep in mind this was something I was doing all on my own, and I always like a strategy when it comes to marketing and advertising; which just takes extra time and work to come up with a consistent plan, including creating my own graphics and scheduling the promotions to post on their own so I can plan in advance. This month (Jan 2021) is the first month where I feel a lot of progress where my content is concerned. I still have some ways to go as far as posting on a more regular basis; my goal is at least 2-3 times a week with at least one video and one big written blog per month. That’s where I have to start right now just so that I can get the business plan and structure together, and my workflows for each offered service. Here’s the example of my first action plan which was a photography promotion to let my audience know I was still taking pictures and that if their main concern was pricing, this was an effective solution to attempt to offer:
CREATE PROMOTION // *$250 special* - 9 photos, 1 location, 45 min shoot time, 5 mi travel
Come up with upgrades price list
$ Upgrade edits
$ Upgrade photo # choice limit
$ Travel per 5 mi
Regular packages - start at $330 for 12 photos
At the time, I was networking with an art gallery to do pop up events in Mid-City every month or so; and that definitely helped me gain more of an audience and get to know other artists and artist activities in LA. The end of 2019 and beginning of 2020 looked very promising for my art in a way. Behind the scenes, I was also practicing Reiki Energy Healing at the time and getting into Yoga and other forms of Spiritual Healing. I did a pop up in Long Beach where I was offered to play the sound bowl after meeting a group of folks at one of the gallery pop up events; which didn’t even end up working out the way I expected. They completely forgot to do the Sound Healing Meditation, which I was a little disappointed by, but I always know when things don’t work out, it’s probably because the timing just isn’t right. I remember being SO shy and anxious to get up in front of everyone and it hasn’t happened to me in so long. There were some events that I paid for in advance to do more pop ups and even a day workshop for Self-Healing, which also didn’t work out. Before I knew it, the city shut down because of the pandemic. Looking back I seemed to have taken it rather well, yet inside I was genuinely confused and frustrated wondering why I kept getting blocked at finally getting the shot that I thought I always wanted. And I do still want it, just in the right way and of course, in Divine Timing. There was still so much for me to learn and get organized with; there were still so man blockages to work through when it came to my personal beliefs about myself and the world. Quarantine laid me flat on my ass, once again. And the pain that comes with Acceptance in starting over, definitely tried to get the best of me, but in a way I was more relieved that I could get myself organized and prepared for what I wanted to come.
2020 Q2 Apr - Jun
After attempting to waste no more time with myself, I started to rebrand my website and reframe my consciousness surrounding my goals with my business. I took a leap of Faith and enrolled in Yoga Teacher Training after receiving much Insight and Encouragement from my guides to dive deep into a Spiritual Practice I surprisingly enjoyed more than I ever expected. Yoga definitely got me through Quarantine and helped me break any crumbling foundations within so that I may be able to truly get clear on what it is I wanted for my Life and how I was going to achieve Financial Wholeness, Wellbeing and Ultimate Freedom of my Mind, Body and Soul while being of service to my Self, my Family & my Community.
During this time I was still having trouble being consistent with content and marketing. Honestly, this was the time for me to Practice what I was Preaching. I wanted to completely shift my Lifestyle to reflect the Holistic Techniques I was interested in sharing with others. I created a weekly schedule to include stretching more often, researching, creating and just genuinely growing into the Leader I needed to be. I did everything I could to keep myself motivated & inspired. I even tried to go back to school (for like the Zillionth time) even after being on campus before the shutdown. After feeling pulled in a thousand different directions, I dropped everything: school, work at the Yoga studio, even taking on clients for some time just to get focused. I worked on my mental state which was the first priority. Reading was essential for me during this time and there’s a couple of books that completely changed my Life, which I plan on discussing in a separate blog. This time was extremely sacred and valuable as my blockages were clearly showing up and I had no other choice but to face them head on. My greatest struggle was going to bed on time so i can get up earlier. Ideally, I wanted to get up around 5 or 6am to get my workout, journaling and meditation out of the way so I would have the rest of the day to get my shit together. As I was doing my best to get in bed even just 10 minutes earlier, I noticed another issue arose with my Nutrition; which was always a huge obstacle for me. I never really took any mindfulness or consideration towards how food affected me energetically. I saw that even though I was doing my best to get my full 8 hours of sleep in at a decent time, I quickly noticed my energy was still depleting at mid-day. This was so discouraging, because I had already taken huge steps to improve my diet by eating way less meat, adding in more veggies, PLUS I was not always eating out as much as I used to. I was buying groceries and cooking meals because I knew it was healthier. What it was also doing was taking the Life out of me to cook for myself around 2 to 3 times a day for a couple hours each time. It felt like no matter what I did or what I cooked, still cooking took entirely TOO MUCH TIME AND ENERGY out of me throughout the day. Not gonna lie, I definitely had to find the balance of cooking & eating out. I chose to have way more Intention behind what I was eating and who I was deciding to order from. I even asked my roommate for her help, as she was a plant based chef who operated her own catering business for High Vibrational meals. Personal issues came up in that situation which led me to seek out other options. In the end, I saw that the problem really was, was that I was packing SO much shit on my work to-do list throughout the day that there was no real way I could get ALL that shit done AND take care of myself personally. Little small habits like checking my phone and scrolling on social media for a little bit too long every morning & break, not believing in my Self and my full potential, were the things that ended up making or breaking me. Choosing to adjust those little habits was and is creating a huge impact on myself every single day. Since then, my to do lists have definitely gotten smaller (perhaps LOL) and my eating habits have improved dramatically by putting more importance on my Nutrition. Instead of my work tasks being the focus of my day, listening in to Body has become the main concern. Yoga’s ethical practices have introduced me to this concept as well as, Ayurvedic Nutrition; which has given me broader awareness on what ingredients my body responds well to and how I can choose to incorporate more of these ingredients to keep Body in tip top shape throughout the day.
2020 Q3 Jul - Sept
If I thought the last couple quarters were a shock, this quarter definitely had me feeling on edge. Unemployment benefits expired in July, and I was already in a weird situation with my landlord. I was not seeing income other than Unemployment at the time and overall, emotions were just a rollercoaster ride. I hit rock bottom… again. My personal life fell apart after having to leave my apartment in Northridge, and moving in with my parents was literally the last thing I wanted to do. I saw this as a sort of Initiation or Transition since I seemed to be going backwards to go forward again. Again, yoga was and still is my saving Grace & I am so appreciative of my family being there when I needed them; and nonetheless, this was a huge Humbling experience; just because I had expectations of how this business was going to go, and I was extremely over confident with what I chose to do. It could have been a lot worse, but for me, this was pretty bad. I’m still feeling emotional about it all, and the trauma that came from that still lingers. However, I realize how blessed I am & I’m so grateful to be on the other side of things it seems. My beliefs and subconscious fears were still being worked on. i feel like a huge part of me died, and now I’m learning how to operate as this reawakened Being. I was shedding so many layers of my subconscious. Now, I’m feeling new and better than I ever have before. Whenever I feel Fear, Doubt or Grief come up I just honor whatever it is I’m feeling; most of the time, I choose to transmute that energy into something Creative. I started painting, drawing & writing again. During this time I actually got a couple bookings and one from last quarter. It just felt weird getting to know my Self and my Intuition all over again. Diving deep into my fears, as well as, my Abilities. Coming to acceptance that, I chose this Life. I chose to chase after something that I knew was going to be challenging and sometimes those challenges get the best of me. But most times I’m honoring the fact that i have been given the Ability to Balance, utilize Self Healing tools and hold a unique vision no one else has. I definitely do my best to acknowledge my worth and know that I can get — literally — whatever i want. I worry a lot about abandoning my community and I’m still releasing the habit of being afraid of asking for what I want out of fear of others being without or lacking something. I honestly feel that I’m still not entirely convinced of my own value so i don’t ask much from others; I know that no matter what, I can rely on myself. I just can’t let it get to the point where I won’t allow others to show up for me. I have to know that whatever I’m offering or asking for, is worth the price of Admission. This Artistry, this Mind, this Creativity, this Personality ;)))) this genuine Being, is more than worth it. Those who see the value in it are the perfect candidates and clients because even if it’s not right for them at this moment, I will be the first on their mind when they’re ready. I’ve dedicated so much time to build Brand Loyalty with my community base and act as a reliable & trustworthy source of Information & Inspiration. I see what this time of training and preparation was really for: Perseverance + Resilience building. And boy, let me tell ya, I’m pretty sensitive and I do get discouraged but ever since the pandemic hit, I’ve had this burning fire in my gut, telling me that I’m unstoppable. As much as I want the pain and pressure to end, I know in the end I’ll be a Diamond formed by it all; a Phoenix who rose from the ashes. As much as it pains me to have to accept a Life of Challenge with Sacrifice, I know why my Soul has chosen it.
2020 Q4 Oct - Dec
There have been so many external wins this quarter!!!! I’m working on allowing the Positive and Abundance to be the first that stands out in my mind over any Pessimism or Negativity. I’ve made it a habit to allow Gratitude to seep into my subconscious and even have gone as far as writing down every little tiny thing I’m grateful for. I’m so extremely grateful to the Divine for being my Source of Strength & Resiliency. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always easy to see or name anything to be grateful for. Especially when you’re in the trenches, going through it and not doing anything else but surviving. That’s that one thing though; just to wake up in the morning and know that we have been given the opportunity to do something with our lives and with our time, there’s no way I’m gonna continue to waste time being bitter any longer or choosing to stay in a low vibration, just cause I’m tired of trying. It’s valid and understandable and I take my time honoring my feelings and reflecting on what is TRULY bothering me inside. But when Source keeps pushing me Forward, I resist to feel like I have no choice. I choose to believe Spirit is reminding me of how Divinely Guided & Protected I am. There’s always that got damn mustard seed. That a small light at the end of the tunnel, telling me not to give up. No matter how much I feel like, fuck.. I want to give up soooo badly and just say eff it, I have no idea what I’m doing. I want to run. There’s always that little tiny voice — it’s probably my Soul — calling me, telling me it’s so close. DO NOT fucking give up. It’s just Doubt. It’s just Fear. C’mon now!!! After that, I can’t even keep trying to talk my Self out of it for whatever reason. We have to keep going. -______- LOLLLLL. Seriously feels like that sometimes!! I always try to keep in mind, how much we all have grown, on a collective Level. How we’re doing the best we can to make sure we can turn our Greatest Dreams into Physical, Tangible Reality. The Best has Yet to Come.
Currently we’re continuing to Organize, Research, Build & Scale; applying all that we’ve learned along the way. Taking the time to Master every skill and also Trusting my Self a little bit more with the things I know I’m made to do. Instead of being afraid to take more risks because of the past or the endless possibilities, ultimately we’re staying Patient when it comes to receiving Instruction and being prepared to take every opportunity to make that jump when Spirit says, now. It’s a skill to find the Balance and find Flow. The journey is one worthwhile, to Learn to Lean into Body and Trust our Gut. It’s so scaryyyyyy. Especially when you let your thoughts and anxiety go. It’s almost like the technique is to keep going and don’t stop the Flow, even when we Fear we’re going to make a Mistake. Trust the Process, Always; because ultimately we never fall off of our Path, we just operate better in Sync with the Universe. It’s finally time to release content, Express in the way that feels the most scary & align with Beings who align with our Vibe at this time. It’s such a Gift to have finally touched that spark within me that makes me get up and make my dream come true daily. I notice my mind is focused on Positive Affirmations, Love, & Optimism. It’s a huge Joy & a Pleasure to work on this business, for Spirit, my Self and my Community as a whole. We’re going out and exploring still, and Finding Comfortability in being Uncomfortable. Baby steps, and we’ll always be okay. I appreciate everyone who has supported me and this platform. There are no words to describe my Gratitude. The people who have shown me Love and Positive Energy throughout this whole journey can never be forgotten & will always remain known as the people who have completely changed my Life and brought so much meaning and Purpose to my Being & Living. This whole thing, is for ya’ll, them, You & U <33333
Here are a few wins in 2020 for (now officially) SoulfuLight, LLC
(3) Pop-Ups in Q1
Reiki Master Certified in Aug 2020
We have a total of 14 clients :’) <3
Officially structured as an LLC in Oct 2020
Filed for and received back our DBA in Dec 2020
Made a total of $3,700, which is a little over $300 per month. (Next goal is at least $10k in revenue or $1,000 per month for one full quarter.)
Avg Revenue per client $265