They don't want to see you go back down memory lane (Dj khaled voice, part one)

Its 2011 I'm 21 working in a flagship store for a popular retail brand and I say to myself 'Fuck this, I'm leaving'. literally, After years of slave labour and going the extra mile for ungrateful area managers and head office staff, I decided I was going to start my own business journey. A lot of people ask what was the final straw. I would say when my sponge bob manager Nutella i think her name was appeared in my dreams ordering me to clean out the shoe cupboard. THAT WAS IT! From the age of 18 I had worked for this company, I worked my way up to acting manager of the menswear floor (i was a supervisor doing a managers job,basically got mugged off). During that time I learnt a hell of a lot. I learnt about the importance of staff work ethic, I learnt team work, stock taking, how to do figures (eventually), the importance of being a good leader and the importance of having the a good leader. The biggest negative I ever faced was management. One my managers of three years had left. you know what they say about too many females in a work place, unfortunately this sad stereo type was majorly perpetuated after my male manager left the team to work for another retailer. When he handed in his notice, I handed in mine. because I knew with him leaving, the slave ship was about to land and I was not willing to break my back no longer for a establishment that gave no fucks about staff. So I quit my job, Come august it was Bon voyage and hello new life. A lot happened when i left but for the fluidity of this story I'll elaborate on that in later entries. So its 2012. i decide to launch my first collection of work. So i create this body of work, get a basic photo shoot done and wait to make my millions... So you know this thing called life, decided to hit me with One sale on ASOS market place. The sales actually which ended being a Fraud sale. So in a nutshell, I got robbed, Great stuff. 2013 I get a Major opportunity to have my products in a store in the mailbox, a few doors down from Harvey nicks (mom i made it RS voice) this experience was amazing for me, funnily enough on my 2012 shoot inside the custard factory, I met the girl who put my name forward to be in the store, moral of the story, always be nice to people, you never know where I smile can get you. So I join this store, and business starts booming. I had not even launched my project and I was making good money just of the sales from the store. So after the robbery from my first collection, I pluck up the confidence and courage to give my dreams a second chance. So this time round I actually plan. I research the market, I research music, I research culture. I plan a photo shoot, I work on my social media and create a hype for my project. Launch day comes, I upload my pics to my website. First day SOLD OUT. WTF do you mean? This is when I realised just how important preparation is, 'IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE, YOU PREPARE TO FAIL'. Never a truer word said in jest. My first project had no background research, my second was a sell out (part one TBC)

Opportunity knocks

I've spoken about timing before, but when timing and opportunities align grasp them with both hands. On my journey of building my own business empire, I realise that sometimes you have to change your plan to accommodate new opportunities which may open a whole new market for you. And build your empire!

Its not always a walk in the park

Seriously, this journey is NOT easy. When your making your own decisions for your business, understand that your not always going to make the best decision. I have made some mistakes that in hind sight, I think why the hell did you do that, but I've learned not to beat myself up about things any more. There was one point I literally was losing sleep over a decision I had made, but now I remind myself that it is all part of the journey, it's all part of becoming a better and stronger business woman. Just though I'd post something that was on my mind. Thanks for reading.

4.33 am post about anxiety

Anxiety, who else experiences it? Well I do! Especially when it comes to business. But I have learnt to regulate and deal with it as apose to letting anxiety get the better of me. Decision making can be difficult, having the pressure of your future can also be difficult and lead to anxiety, but once you digest the fact that this is part of business you will have an easier time dealing with it. Personally I would say I suffered from mild traits of anxiety, at the premature peak of my career I was very popular and was overwhelmed by my fast success, I think It was a lack of confidence as well. All these things together resulted in anxiety. To be honest I am glad I experienced it early on in my journey as I now know how to stop it from happening, I have never sufferd with severe anxiety so I can't speak on that, but I can advise on what I have experienced. So my advise definitely has to involve the factor of confidance. What ever success you achieve, remember you deserve it! You deserve what ever good comes along with your success. Do not let self doubt cloud your mind. On the flip side do not let failure be the cause of your anxiety. Your career is going to have ups as well as downs, I personally believe if you learn to embrace failures it is easier for you to avoid anxiety.

As I stated this is a 4.am post which means I shouldn't be awake! But as I am I thought I'd write for my blog. Thank you for chiming in. Hope my advise helped. 

Introduction to the Business Rookie

So I have been in business for the last three years on and off, all though I am fairly new to the business world I thought it would only make sense to make a blog about my journey so far and my journey moving forward. I often go on YouTube to try and get advise , but I only ever seem to come across people who have 'made it' and I just feel that sometimes I want to hear from people who are on there way to that point. I also often get asked for advise and I just feel that having a blog would be easier to answer all the questions that I get asked. I literally will be talking about everything I have experienced so far, from the good to the bad to the ugly!  I don't really want to make you aware of my business as I was advised by my mentor when I told him I was going to make a blog, as I feel that when you connect a person to there business your perception of them  can over shadow the business. But I still will give honest opinions, advice and stories of my journey so far.