Well, I made it! A personal note to myself as a reminder to praise each day with thanks as gracefully as I can.
My 20’s were a time of physical pain, heartbreak, triumph, true love, and learning. My most proudest moments starts with graduating college with high honors proving to myself I could make straight A’s with a little self discipline and self encouragement. This is when I found myself at 23 enrolled at The University of Houston’s sales program (P.E.S), the top program in the country at the time. Reflecting back when I was 18 working at Darque Tan I became the top sales producer in the country. I knew the Program for Excellent in Selling was the program for me while I finished my market degree in business school. I excelled in this program as my first semester I was top producer for an event hosted every semester and then top sales manager the next semester leading 5 first semester students through their journey. My motivation was to make sure I took care of business and not let my team or myself down.
I met some of my best friends in college and became best friends with old high school acquaintances. One of those best friends gave me a beautiful baby boy who I get to call my God son.
I landed a sales job right out of college making money I didn’t even know was possible. Then life happened. I knew I had other responsbilities to take care of and quit my job a year-ish later. I left a corporate job with benefits and became a yoga instructor….without benefits…HA! 24 years old and I invested in my teaching journey. I grew my own business hustling private clients. I was now my own boss lady! At one point during the time between 24 and 25 I only 500 dollars to my name….zero debt, but still very scary! I knew how to ask for help, but these were my stubborn year and found my way.
I went back to nannying for a while during the time I was 25-27 and life happened. Personal details I choose not to expose but also a situation most people will never go through. It was a long year filled with depression, stress, countless sleepless night, and a lot of learning. 365 days of pure torture. I learned about myself, people I cared about that I hurt and a monster inside me I never knew I had. We all have dark days but the amount of stress was unbearable. Painful. It took a long time to figure myself out and the situation that occurred. Ill never forget the way I felt during my 27th-28th year of life.
Tough times make tough people. I cry typing this not because of sadness but surviving . This when Sugar Face Bakes came alive. My pride and joy that helped me escaped the pain. Telling this short story of my 20’s, never did I get involved with social media. I barely knew how Facebook worked! Never did I type emails or write down anything. I lived in yoga pants and that was my job. I always apologize for my poor writing skillz 😉
I was 28 when I had an idea that I wanted to pursue and knew I had to get the name out there first. I started with a blog and Instagram at the same time. I had no idea was a hashtag was. I knew nothing about a blog or what a “widget” meant. All the technical lingo was foreign to me. You can go back to my very first Instagram post and see the difference from then to today, it was a learning curve. Took me 2 weeks to figure out how to build my website, learning to post to social media, and what to even say. Takes me back to my intense studying days in college.
I invested my time, little money I had, and personal will to start my company. Who would have ever thought I would be an entrepreneur? When you know me, I actually am very ditsy and sometimes dingy. I try to stay poised and mouth shut when around new friends! But, I am hungry to learn. At 28 I created something out of thin air.
My last year, last few days reflecting, I can proudly say everything that happened lead me to where I am today. I found what makes me happy and I am not scared to ask for help, I take risks because I am scared to fail.. Risks that many don’t choose to make because they don’t like being uncomfortable. It is the will to keep going when times get tough.
2 weeks ago was my rock bottom. I had a total of 63 dollars to my name. I invested everything I had into Sugar Face Bakes because I know the end of this year will be worth it. Patience, self trust, hard work, determination, and coffee is everything inside me at 30 years old heading to build an empire during this next decade. I have an steady income that I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t invest in the programs, leaders, and myself.
63 dollars is a scary number. The next day I was financially back on my feet because my ROI now tripled my monthly income. I’ll never be at that point again but it took trusting the process and smart investing to learn where my income is coming from. The best part about working as hard as I do, 3 jobs, 19 hours a day, is even on the worse day it is still the most fun. I am my own boss and pursing a year long journey expecting to produce exciting things by the end of this year. Including narrowing down my job titles to 2! Emotionally and physically uncomfortable in my 20’s, here is to a powerful and rewarding 30’s!
I threw a hail Mary down the field and caught it with both hands. Cheers to more risks, personal growth, freedom, and prosperity!
