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And Today, That’s Okay

That’s Okay Today

No, really. It is…

Consider this your reminder, as I was reminded again about two weeks: it’s okay to fail. It’s okay to come up against a roadblock. It’s okay to pause and think before acting. It’s okay to question your next move. It’s okay to not know your next move. It’s okay. Failing does not make you a failure. It really doesn’t. It makes you human. Actually, it’s more than that. Failing… makes you brave. It makes you a risk taker. It makes you a believer. It makes you so many more notches above your peers.

Hear me out: before they’re called winners, or champions or …celebrities, people we celebrate, they failed. And they failed many more times than the average person does or has. They’ve failed more times than they’re probably willing to admit to. Because failing doesn’t stop the dream. It doesn’t remove or downplay the goal. It just shows you what doesn’t work for the path you’re on. And in order to be successful, you have to fail. You have to be comfortable failing. You gotta get buddy-buddy with failing. You and Failing should be in each other’s contacts. Like, for real.

Because successful people don’t let failure stop them. Not permanently. The goal, the dream, the desire, the very essence that keeps you up at night knowing and praying for the life that is truly meant and designed for is always greater than failure. But you have to make peace with that. You have to understand that failing is part of the process.

And today, that’s okay. Failing is okay today. It’s okay to miss the mark, to have come up short. To not have performed as well as you wanted. That’s okay. Tomorrow is another day. And success is on the other side of tomorrow.

Will I see you there?

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

The Job: Barista | The Hustle: Coffee Connoisseur

Turn Your Barista Experience Into a Coffee Connoisseur Hustle

In the coffee industry a barista is considered an expert coffee professional; someone who really knows their stuff about coffee. Over time, I can see someone really learning more about coffee on the job if they’ve come to learn to enjoy it. They start to understand the difference between dark roast and blond roast, a latte versus an espresso and all the other little nuisances we’ve come to enjoy about our favorite caffeine drinks.

And if you’re one of those people who really likes coffee and really likes people, why don’t you put all that experience and the skills you’ve built to becoming a freelance coffee connoisseur expert. Not someone who just drinks coffee but can teach others about the different types of coffee beverages and even curate the ideal gifts for the coffee lover in their life.

That’s where a lot of service base hustles and businesses are headed right now: custom selected, hand-made, and profiled preferences. People enjoy that extra bit of tailoring to their shopping and purchasing experience. Being someone well- versed in coffee, you can be their go-to for coffee selections, gifts and accessories.

Starting where you are now, I would get a website from Wix, SquareSpace or even WordPress, using one of their templates and create.a chic but simple website. Discuss your love of coffee and helping people find the right coffee accessory or gift for them. List what services you offer. State your services in neat packages and what each package offers.

Maybe you’re like those traveling wine people who go to people’s homes and let them sample wine, but instead, you bring coffee. And pastries! Ooooh! You pair what you think are the best pastries to each type of coffee. Or you show them how to really get that coffee shop flavor at home. Maybe you keep a short stash of coffee gifts you’ve curated or assembled to sell that they can buy. There’s a LOT of room for creativity here to get yourself out there and make money.

Taking what you do at your job and turning it into a hustle that actually plays to your natural skill set and talents requires creativity and a vision. The vision can always change. As you continue to do more of something, the vision may expand. It may narrow. But it’s all yours. Just don’t let your boss get the best of your skills. Make them work for you too.

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So Much More Than A Dream

The following is taken from a transcription of the interview Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had with NBC, “Meet The Press” in 1967.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

…sometimes it is necessary to dramatize an issue because many people are not aware of what’s happening. And I think the sit-ins serve to dramatize the indignities and the injustices which Negro people are facing all over the nation. And I think another reason why they are necessary, and they are vitally important at this point, is the fact that they give an eternal refutation to the idea that the Negro is satisfied with segregation. If you didn’t have the sit-ins, you wouldn’t have this dramatic, and not only this dramatic but this mass demonstration of the dissatisfaction of the Negro with the whole system of segregation.

If you don’t raise awareness of the issue, how will others know there’s an issue negatively affecting others?

This quote was deliberately not taken from Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech, which gets overly misused all the time (myself included). That dream has only been partially actualized in the almost 60 years in which it was shared. These words are much more relevant to the times of the day. His words hold true then as they do now.

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Happy Friday: Give Yourself Permission

Give Yourself Permission

Yesterday evening I had my very first coaching session that I’ve been looking forward to since I made the decision last year. Well… not my very first coaching session, but my first in the sense of working on my personal goals for 2022 and I feel…

Relieved.

So much of what my coach, Lisa, told me were things I’ve heard all along in regards to the path I’m on and who I am as a person. But oftentimes I dismiss those comments coming from those who I know and have pleasant ties with because the insecure part of me says they’re only telling me what I want to hear or what will make me happy. So, it’s great to get some reassurance from a certified professional.

Along with that reassurance came some exercises I’m to execute starting today. The very first is to give myself permission to take the time I need to really explore my next move rather than feel rushed and on some arbitrary deadline with no real value. And I had to say it out loud; that I give myself permission to take the time I need. I said it out loud so my brain and ears could hear it and begin processing that everything does not need to be done in a rush.

I think we all need to hear that from ourselves. We all need to give ourselves permission to take the time we need to succeed so it doesn’t always feel like we’re starting over again. Trust me, I know what that feels like. And it often leads to burnout. I know that feeling too.

So I encourage everyone to give yourself permission for the rest of the year to take the time you need to make the changes in your life, work, family, passions, lifestyles, whatever it may be, that you want to see come to fruition. Even if it takes the rest of the year.

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The Job: Scheduling Coordinator | The Hustle: Virtual Assistant

Turn Your Scheduling Experience Into A Virtual Assistant Hustle

I think it was Kevin O’Leary from, Shark Tank, who talked about how virtual assistants were going to be a big opportunity for those looking for a profitable side hustle. And given the fact we’ve been a virtual setup for nearly two years since the start of the Pandemic, I’d say he right.

Now, if you don’t know what a Scheduling Coordinator is, have no fear. This is a job mostly found in the medical field, namely in the administration department. And very much like the title of the role sounds like, their job centers on patients’ schedules. I know this role very well as I was a Scheduling Coordinator for nearly five years.

Hated the job. Seriously. HATED that job.

This is a VERY customer oriented role and in which interacts with patients or clients in-person, or over the phone and email. Normally both. You have to have a lot of patience (no pun intended) and be really great at addressing and understanding clients needs. No matter how they treat you or what mood they’re in. Because this role is based heavily on communication – oral and written – the skills you learn here are great to convert to a virtual assistant side hustle.

I’ll preface that statement with you should enjoying talking to people (not everything will be emailed. Expect to make some phone calls) and solving other people’s problems. From the scheduling world, you’ll take with you calendar management, customer service, people logistics (connecting people to where they need to be) and regular administrative duties such as mail support, responding to messages, answering calls and whatever other support you can provide.

Despite how busy this hustle sounds like it could be, you can do it from the comfort of your home. Set up a simple webpage, package your services in three tiers – basic, economy, and premium with their respective fees. Get you a Google number for clients to contact you for service inquiries. Download a contract template that you’ll build off of and use to initiate service. And get the ball rolling!

Know that you don’t have to be available full time for this hustle unless you want to go full time at it. Offer your services around your availability or the hours you know you can make time and clearly lay that out with clients that may need to see when tasks will be done. Make the hustle easy on you. After all, it’s suppose to be a reward, not a chore.

And once you get it up and running, tell me how you’re doing. If I can be of help, I will be!

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Get Inspired

Now is the time to get inspired

I always enjoy the start of a new year.  It’s like getting a new planner with its crisp, unused pages imagining what you’ll write and plot out for the future.  Or starting a new book that was recommended and has been raved about. It feels…exciting.

It feels fresh.  Like, being given another chance to go after a dream or pick up a new hobby.  Ultimately, I think the top of a new year is the best time to find inspiration and see where it takes you.  Inspiration is about being led, not chasing.  Unlike our jobs where we chase the money, the promotion, the recognition, the corner office, inspiration is more discovering what fits. It’s finding what’s meant for us and only us.

So, I hope you take this month to find your inspiration, what fits you. To ask yourself where are you meant to be and meant to be doing. Don’t chase inspiration, let it come to you.

Let’s see where it takes us.

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year

Happy New Ye —

What? Am I late? Really? Nine days after the start makes me late wishing everyone a happy new year? Well, when you put a little logic into it like that, I see your point. But in my defense, I wanted to ease into 2022.

2020 and 2021 left a lot to be desired. And although I do my best not to let outside forces disrupt my personal and internal plans, it’s hard when the world outside – that very world you have to interact with from time to time – goes crazy.

We’re on whatever variant of COVID last year decided to produce. We’re still wearing masks whenever we’re around other people. Two years of this, yeah, I can smidge a little late wishing you all happy new year.

And, no, that doesn’t mean I have completed all my resolutions or goals. In fact, I’m still working out what I want this year to hold for me. I’m exploring what I want to accomplish, how I want to development and grow and what kind of tweaks to my lifestyle I want to make. None of that is to be taken lightly. Which is why I am taking my time. I figure I got the rest of the year so what’s the rush?

And the same goes for you. Don’t rush. We’re only getting older, hopefully wiser. There’s no need to have the year planned out when the ball drops at midnight. If you do, with your type-A personality self, kudos to you. To my tribe who are also easing into this year with caution, take your time. Find some inspo. What’s going to make you feel better this year? Then commit. But commit to the process, the growth. “The journey”, you’ll hear them say. Not just the idea of it.

On that note, happy freaking new year. Ha! Wished it you anyways!

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Challenges Birth Opportunities

Challenges birth opportunities

The trick is knowing how to spot them. And if you’re use to seeing challenges as well… challenges, this can be a difficult mind shift to conquer. But if every problem has a solution, then every challenge has and opportunity.

The prequisites:

  • Be slow to judge
  • Be slow to anger, frustration or losing your temper
  • Find the silver lining
  • Take a step back and see the whole picture
  • Be thankful (it could’ve been worse)
  • Be willing to learn

That’s the real challenge.

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

The Experience | The Hustle: Receptionist (Front Desk)

In your current or previous job, were the front desk/ receptionist person? Did you answer phones, receive packages, greet guests, respond to email correspondences? Were you literally the physical first encounter of your company and was responsible for all came with that role?  There’s more money in that than what you’ve paid.

Seriously.

Ever heard of a VA or Virtual Assistant? It’s basically a remote receptionist. All the work you’ve done but remotely. And for multiple people.  You can work from home, a coffee shop or where else.  There are platforms you can sign up with to be a VA or market yourself out independently and charge your own rates.

First things first, know what VA services you want to offer.  This is where you are in control of what you do and how much of it you do.  Maybe you don’t want to answer phones anymore.  I know that feeling.  Maybe you want to just email, send emails, respond to emails, just email all day.  Fine.  Maybe you’re great with people logistics and can effectively manage a calendar.  Feel like dropping off packages to be shipped? Add that to your list. Secondly, do you want to offer all your services to all clients in need of a VA? Or create tier package offerings. The more services in the package, the greater the fee. Like a premium subscription.

Lastly, think about how will you market yourself. Do you want to just sign up on one of those platforms that has already curated the clients for you and you agree to accept whatever payment is offered? Or do you want charge your own fees, but have to handle all the marketing (and payment collection, and follow ups) yourself?

Writr out the plan, the fee scale, the marketing approach, which services you’re willing to offer and just getting one client. Test drive that client. Are you able to meet their deadlines, stay on top of their requests, adequately follow through? Now, think about what you do differently that would your selling point. What is something special you bring to the table? Got it? Now execute!

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Curate Your Best Environment

Your Environment Plays a Role in Your Success

Think about the people in your life right now. Who are those that you genuinely feel energized around? Who makes you fill uplifted? Something about them always makes you feel good about your dreams, your ideas or even just you.

Okay, now think about those people who, yeah, you hung around with but, you guys were more like the tv-watching types or shooting the breeze. Nothing got accomplished but that was also the expectation.

Now think of places and activities that inspire you. That feed your soul. And conversely, think of places and things that feel more like a chore to do or partake it. Things that you do because feel obligated to, you always done it so you continue to do it, or for no real reason at all.

Your designed environment – the people, the places, the spaces you create – all play a role in how you cope with stress, how you handle rejection and setbacks, how manage your time, how you treat yourself and your overall success. Your environment is a big deal. From your apartment to your best friend, from your office to your tribe. It shapes you, it steers you. It reflects your direction.

Building the best possible environment for our needs requires us to be intentional about who is in our lives, what we’re willing to tolerate, and what we need to grow and develop and create. Do you require peace and quiet? Do you need someone to talk over your decisions with? Does some background sounds and music help, like a little smooth Jazz? Are more of social coffeehouse type? Are friend dates essential for you?

Curate an environment essential to your success.