~How to Balance Work and Life During the Holidays~

With being an entrepreneur who still works a full time job, it is a uphill battle with work and life balance.  Before I begin,  I am no expert, I am actually writing this to help/ warn anyone who may have this happen to them in the future.

I am currently sitting here on Christmas eve, at work, on my break, ready to pull my hair out and just ball up in a corner and just cry. Why? Because besides the fact my hand drawn coffee mug business is doing excellent this holiday season (I am super thankful for this),  in turn my own holiday is falling to pieces. I've worked so hard cranking orders out that I literally had no time to do any of my own families holiday traditions. No grocery shopping done,  only half of gifts are purchased,  none are wrapped,  tree still in box. (We did manage to decorate Santa hats and the stockings though). See my frustration now? How did I manage to find myself in this position. Me! An event planner.  My job is to plan and schedule, where did I go wrong? Then it hit me, I just failed to respect my time. No, not schedules and time blocks. I did not give myself a cut off time. I accepted every last minute order up until the day before Christmas Eve. Crazy right?! So what to do now to prevent this from happening in the future:

1. Give yourself a cut off time (2 week prior to the holiday): Maybe state at the beginning of the holiday season when will be the last day to accept holiday orders.  This gives ample time for your customers to place orders.

2. Set office hours: As an entrepreneur,  its so easy to find yourself working at 3am. It's even praised upon. Sometimes its necessary,  but lets not make it a habit. Set hours to answer emails and return phone calls. This will help to provide structure and your customers will get use to knowing when you will get back in touch with them.

3. Start holiday shopping early: We all say we are going to do this. How about actually doing it! Not only will you have less stress when the holiday comes but you will more than likely will be saving money in the process.

4. Buy help: But I can't afford that!  Well if you noticed,  I didn't say "hire", I said "buy". Purchase items that will allow you to do your job more efficiently.  In my case it would help if I just would do all my shipping from home. Purchasing a scale and supplies from stamps.com would eliminate the time used running back and forth to the post office. Find services that will help you to work smarter not harder.

This is just a short list but I hope this can help someone to avoid being in the position I am in at this very second. Happy Holidays!!!

Leave the "Naysayers" at the Door, Step into Your Destiny

You maybe wondering,  where is #ipartyforaliving going with this one? This does not look like party attire.(And why do she have slippers on?) These are my comfy shoes (it's Sunday....and on Sundays I plan....in comfy clothes). But back to my story. With being an event fashionista, you have to look the part.  I'm always up for a good clothing sale and today was no different.  Today, my mother and I went to a shopping event called Dress For Success. It is a pop-up shop second hand clothing event held about twice a year that last about 4 days. On the last day, they have a sale where you purchase a bag for $20 and you stuff as many items as you can in the one bag. The proceeds go towards charity. Exciting right? The catch is you have to give the $20 before entering the store.
When we arrived, I notice there was a line (thinking to myself I should have came earlier). When we got to the door, the lady asked for the $20. As my mother was paying for us to get in, a lady dressed very regular (I'm being nice) pulls me to the side and says " you don't want to waste you $20 on that second hand junk. There's nothing in there that's worth it anyways. "  I simply replied "thanks" and proceeded to go into the shop. That's when I realized the line outside the door wasn't people waiting to go in, it was people not willing to pay the $20 without knowing what they were going to get. Instead, they had other people inside trying to grab items for them that they could only view from standing outside. (The good stuff is in between the racks ).

Guess what? I ended up with a bag full of slacks, skirts, a dress, shoes and blazers for only $20. That's not all. Most items still had the tags on them. One blazer alone was $150. Point of the story is, in business,  you will have the naysayers in the beginning telling you all the reasons why not to go into business for yourself.  Why? Because most of them were too afraid to try it themselves. If I would have listened to the lady in the line, I would have missed out on a whole new to me designer winter wardrobe for only $20. I'm not saying quit your job today without a plan (I would be a hypocrite saying that because I am still in the process of becoming a full time entrepreneur). What I am saying is don't be afraid to invest in yourself. It's okay to start off with a "side hustle" but have the vision of one day making it your main hustle. Ignore the naysayers and step into your destiny. Now time to go plan a fab baby shower.  Details to follow. ~#ipartyforaliving

Taking the Leap

As an entrepreneur,  you are faced with many challenges,  fears, doubts and uncertainties. As many of you know (or maybe not), besides event planning,  I also create and sell personalized coffee mugs. I had created a mug for hair industry known Ming Lee of Snob Life Studios. (Google her, she is an awesome female entrepreneur who took the leap of investing in herself and created a million dollar business). I was going to present it to her at one of her Branding and Marketing Seminars. I purchased VIP tickets to have the chance to sit with her personally to discuss starting and maintaining your own business.
Unfortunately,  the seminar was cancelled. I kept the mug in a safe place and kept going with life.  Mug after mug I would create, store in the same area where Mings mug was, and then sell them. Months later, I was asked by a friend if I had ever sent Ming her mug. Then it hit me. Why didn't I think to just send it to her.  Unconsciously, was I afraid to "take the leap". I believed I had a good product, but did I feel it was good enough? I decided at that moment to ship of the mug to her. I was nervous. I had to re write the address label 3 times. I sent it and then I posted it on social media, tagged her in the post and guess what? Within 5 seconds, she acknowledged my post and loved it.
With being an entrepreneur,  its okay to be scared, nervous,  unsure but what matters most is that you use that fear as fuel and "Take the Leap". You only miss 100% of the shots you don't take. ~#ipartyforaliving