Hello Love!
I am so excited! YAY!
My new website is finally here and I couldn’t be happier. As you know we just welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Baby Adri and we are so blessed to have her here.
More about that in the weeks to come! Let’s talk about this website riiiiight? I absolutely love this website and it’s something I know we can grow into. One of my focuses in being a web designer & photographer is matching a brand’s style and this website totally encompasses where I’d like to go and where I’m at. Living my best life ya’ll! Ha!
When I was deciding to update and rebrand, I decided that it was best for me to reflect the direction I’d like the brand to go. I love working on websites, I adore photography, production and collaborating with talented individuals in the area. And to also be honest, I LOVE blogging and podcasting. I love it all with a passion, because I love that I get to be creative and I get to do something that I absolutely love and adore.
I know there was a lot of love in that paragraph but just bare with me. It’s taken me soooo long to understand what I’m talented in, what I’m meant to do and how I can use my skills and talents to make the world a better place. I know it’s sounds cliche but, we all are capable of making the world a better place in our own way.
It has taken me soooo very long (Since 2010, Love) for me to come to a point that I truly feel is like a great starting point. I asked myself soooo many questions, such as…
What do I naturally attract?
What do I love to do?
Where do I want to go?
How can I build my business?
What is it that I’m called and truly meant to do?
What is my thread that connects everything I am doing?
Who am I for?
What is my message?
And so on & so forth. If you own your own business, or would like to, I suggest looking profoundly in and asking yourself similar, if not, the same questions. There’s so much distraction out here. From social media, the latest trends to movies that pump us full of fear or anxiety. Sometimes all we need are those quiet spaces to just sit and think. One of my favorite books that illustrates this well is ‘Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill” I have that book on the shelf. A must read if you ask me. I think one of it’s main points is brain power hence, teamwork, but I digress.
These questions are one of the biggest reasons I tell my clients that entrepreneurship/going for your dreams is truly a journey of self discovery. There are so many twists and turns. One thing I’ve found to be a building block is having absolute clarity to what you want, what you want to do, where you want to be and how do you want to go about in getting there because, as God’s good book says…”ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE if you BELIEVE” Mak 9:23.
This also goes to say if you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right – Henry Ford.
Family is truly something special for me and it has been so hard for me to not share about my family, as family is a big deal in my life and so is the work that I’m doing. I used to scroll through these major brands and saw how little many of them posted about personal matters and it almost lead me to believe that I had to be cold and aloof in order to be in business, thank God I just couldn’t do that.
So I decided to embrace wholeheartedly who I am, what I stand for and what I do, leaving the rest in God’s hands. I’m excited to see what God will do this year in 2019. I’ve decided that done is better than perfect. I’m a bit of a perfectionist at times so it’s hard for me to consider a project done. I have written up so many blog posts, have edited and finished so many podcasts that have yet to grace people’s eyes or ears. That’s the problem with being afraid that it’s not “perfect”. So I’m committed to pacing myself, enjoying the journey and being still in the moments I need to be still. So when the time comes for me to push that “publish” button I can do it with a knowing that even though it may not be “perfect” it’s special, it’s honest and it’s totally worth it. If it can help just one person, then I would be more than satisfied.
My word for this year is INTEGRITY. I want to choose my words carefully and I want my word to mean something. In the past I’ve allowed myself to be over committed and overwhelmed. Not this year. I refuse to not complete what I set out to complete or allow fear to stop me. I want my word to mean something and I don’t want to give it away lightly. Especially to myself and my family.
I’m also at a point that I do value myself enough to not be afraid to ask for certain prices in order to grow. Having a business and being an entrepreneur is hard when you would love more than anything to give away things for free or lower your prices to “help” out. Of course sometimes free comes at a price. I love a verse in a military cadence that goes a little something like this: “They say freedom is free, but I tend to disagree”.
I’ve learned through my own ups and downs and experiences that discounts are rarely worth it, that “free” always has a price and sometimes that price is paid by the people you most hold dear or love. That’s another reason why I’m going to stay true to the prices I place, in order to be there for my family, grow and pay my team. I’m sorry that I’m talking about the moola, but I want to also give you permission that it’s ok to talk about money, that it’s not this taboo thing. I also want you to know that it is more than okay for you to raise your prices this year in order to grow and truly have a sustainable business. It’s not fair to yourself or the people you serve if you do not first value integrity within and with yourself. Does that make sense? I learned that the hard way Love, many nights, but all worth it. There will always be amazing times to pay something forward or to do great work for free because it’s for a greater cause. Just as we choose who we spend our time with choose how you value it as well.
Well enough about that, what is your WORD as you go into 2019?
