Five Habits I Adopted In The Beginning Of My Business:

Consistency is key I had to work at it (my business) in a consistent manner.  I knew that if I was to be successful I couldn’t start something today and never look at it again until the following month. I was on a mission to figure out and understand my formula.

I became my number one fan; unfortunately not everyone I met was in support of what I was doing.  I held my vision in front of me at all times.  If no one told me I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was awesome.

I exercised the law of delayed gratification; I wanted to go shopping many times; however, I made up my mind that any earnings I received would be reinvested back into my business.  I saved and reinvested.  I do think that it’s a work in progress especially if you haven’t been taught the laws of money; FYI I’m still learning.

It was easy to sit around and do nothing all day.  I wanted and needed energy; energy is everything.  I made sure to meet and communicate with those who were excited and ready to hustle.  We encouraged and supported each other, to this very day. 

Read, Read, Read! I never liked reading , at the same time I never liked the idea of being broke.  It was important from me to read all the greats, I pulled bits and pieces from each of them and I applied it to my life and business.  I’m also a fan of re –reading books.  To this day I read every morning, it’s a great habit to develop. 

It’s Not Impossible But We Must Keep At It!

Investing back into your business is the best advice I can ever give.  When I began my entrepreneur journey as a Mary Kay consultant it was advised to me that I reinvest into my business, of everything I earned I was to pump a portion of it back into my business.  I was to pay myself, save and reinvest.  This is easier said than done; it requires discipline and practice every day.  It’s not impossible but we must keep at it!  I’m reading “The Richest Man in Babylon.”  This book puts it all in perspective, wanting to grow your business is one thing but we must practice better money habits.  Unfortunately, these are details that should be taught in grade school but it isn’t.   We’d be miles ahead had we only known.  Nevertheless, as we advance ourselves in our businesses, there is no excuse.  If we follow the principles of paying ourselves first, save and reinvest.  According to the “The Richest Man in Babylon” we’ll begin to see growth in our purses.  I’m personally committed to learning how to better control my life and finances – Are you game?

Cemones' Interview: My Entrepreneur & Wedding Planning Experience

Happy Friday! Being an entrepreneur has it's share of us and downs.  Everything is not always what it's cracked up to be.  We make mistakes as business owners and sometimes it's difficult getting over that little hump.  Reflecting on my early experiences as a entrepreneur my first interview comes to mind.  Take a listen, although you may not be in the weddings and events industry there is something that can be learned.

What Are You Doing To Maintain Your WHY?

Keeping my WHY in front of me has become my new mission, why am I doing this?  Why did I start OOBW?  Why?  Why do I want to be in business? I’m beginning to learn that understanding our WHY is so important to the success of our business.  Knowing the WHY keeps you going through good and bad times.  Having a strong WHY is equally as important.  What happens if your WHY is not strong enough?  Will you quit? Will staying positive and hopeful become difficult?  Steps I’m personally taking to maintain my WHY are… I’m digging deep, evaluating what’s most important to me, not just the things that I want to have instead I’m acknowledging WHY those things/ people are important to me.  I’m sharing my experiences both positive and negative this helps me to release any negative energy – It’s a breath of fresh air – not in a negative way instead I’m opening the door for a new and refreshing emotions.  I’m learning patience, nothing happens over night and my commitment is required, I must prove myself to the universe.  Most importantly I’m keeping my vision and affirmation in front of me every day.  What are you doing to maintain you WHY?

Make It Better Than Ever

Make it better than ever - I want to make my business better, each day I learn something new about myself and what it takes to run a successful business.  Sometimes it’s a hard pill to swallow; seeing where you went wrong, admitting that you’re not perfect and even sometimes having to apologize.   Making it better also means saying “NO” No to those who would try and take advantage, those who would threaten and most importantly to the fear of saying no.   I walk away this month feeling very empowered and relieved – I came into this month with a lot on my shoulders but because I was determined to make it better, I can honestly say that the weight is lifted and I’ve gained a new insight on what I need to do as a mompreneur and entrepreneur to succeed and become the best I can be. 

Passion First - The Rest Will Follow

I learned this some time ago that if you focus on your craft and do something from your heart the money will follow.  I sometimes wished that they would also add to that – Saying, you’ve also got to have patience because nothing happens right away! As entrepreneurs first starting out we get so caught up; we’re trying to survive and make money.  Sometimes we forget that we have to put our passion and service first.  I can tell you first hand that starting a business cold turkey is no joke!  It takes a lot to wake up each morning and continue to push forward despite the bank account balance.  Regardless of this we push forward; we focus on our services and become better at what we do.  I can honestly say that doing this has kept me focused and committed to my goals and passion.  Money comes and goes the key is to understand that there will be great and not so great months; that we learn in the valleys so that we can sparkle on the mountain top of success.  I truly do believe that if we focus on the service that we will run a faster and more successful race.  

Courage & Faith

Mentally drained and overwhelmed, making the best of the situations and fires.  Some of the blame is ours; some of it has nothing to do with us but has potential to affect us in a major way! How do you pick yourself up from the drain of the week and keep it moving?  Do you take a break and reconvene on Monday morning?  Do you throw in the towel and turn off your phone?  OR Do you continue to work, despite the feeling of wanting to run and cry.   Courage and faith, we must rely on our courage that is deep within us and our faith in God.   There has to be a brighter day, did he bring us this far to abandon us and feed us to the wolves?  Are we that far gone?  What is courage?  What is faith?  How do we know we have it - I’ve come to the conclusion that we know that we have it by the mental, physical and emotional tests we pass and fail.  Our courage is tested and our faith is tried.  God really wants to know if we believe all the things that we say we believe.  Do you believe that you can run a successful business?  Are you in it for the long run, no matter what?  Can you take the criticism and negativity, will you still be here?  Do you have the courage to forgive yourself in your mistakes and really/truly move on?   As a mompreneur and entrepreneurs with a few years in business, I find these questions ever present.  I look to my courage and pray for my continued faith in God and I continue to work, even though it is sometimes difficult to see the end of the rainbow.  Even though things may seem crazy at times; I do know that I must be ready and I must continue to move forward and that quitting is not an option.

Learning From My Mistakes

I've beating myself up many times when it comes to making a mistake.  I would take it hard and get so emotional about the mistake made.  I've even pondered and ponder on it to the point where I would need to take the entire day off. As I go through my entrepreneur journey I am learning that mistakes are to be learned from.  I'm learning that once I've made a mistake and I realize it, my next step is to figure out how to make it better so that it won't happen again; moreover, I'm learning that I cannot take it personally and beat myself up to much about it.  Sometimes we say to ourselves, "I've worked so hard"  or "I really did try" that maybe true nevertheless we must not view our efforts as a lost cause instead we have to learn to channel our energy in the right direction so that our efforts do not feel lost or not appreciated.  It's all a learning process, this week I want to encourage you to learn from your mistakes and not to beat yourself up to much about it! CG

I LOVE POSSIBILITIES

I’m embarking on a new venture in my business; Out Of Box Weddings is just a piece of the pie.  With each new venture comes this small feeling of anxiety.   I question if I am ready to take on a new project.  It’s been a long journey bringing Out Of Box Weddings to where it is right now and we must keep going, there is still a lot of work to do. Despite the small feelings of anxiety I will push on.  My ultimate goal is financial freedom, real freedom. I’ve come to the thought that it’s going to be a little unconformable for a while but that is not a bad thing.  I’m uncomfortable but I’m also excited about the possibilities. I LOVE POSSIBILITIES!!  For all of my fellow mompreneur and entrepreneurs I encourage you to rejoice in the possibilities of trying something new and embrace the uncomfortable moments that will lead to a comfortable future for yourself and your family.   Have a great weekend! CG 

Pushing For Excellence

While reading the book, “The Magic of Thinking Big”, by David J. Schwartz; he mentions several times the importance of being better than you were the day before.  Excellence is the specific word used in the text, it’s so easy to be petty and selfish because we live in a world where it’s tolerated and excused in one sense or another.  To be excellent, to acknowledge your wrongs and to learn from them if we could each apply this concept, what a wonderful world it would be.  What I’ve learned is that being excellent is a daily process and we never quite get it but we must try.   So many times I have the urge to blow my top and act like a coconut. LOL! I don’t in most cases; I really want to give people a positive experience when they come in contact with me.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a client, friend, family or a random person on the street.  I’m determined to present myself with an attitude of excellence.  What do you think? If we’d all give it a go – what type of impact do you think we’d have on all those we encounter? Think about it!

Happy Friday!

TGIF!!  it’s so amazing how much 1 week can change everything.   I encourage each of you to stay plugged and positive.  Sometimes life in general can weigh in heavy on your spirit, sometimes it’s difficult to see the upside but if you stay plugged and connected to a powerful, positive and uplifting source you’ll get through it – I promise.  My powerful source is my team and my faith.  My team keeps me grounded and encourage.  I sometimes believe that they believe in me more than I do.  My faith is my strength - I’ve learned so much about myself and I attribute that all to my faith in God.  I can’t imagine a better being to put my trust in – I trust him… Thank you Father - It’s Friday and I’m celebrating this week’s WINS and happy moments. Will you celebrate with me??  Happy Friday!!

Finding My Happy Spot

Let’s face it -Shit happens.  We can spin our wheels trying to figure out why it happened or we can choose to move on.  Everything in life has challenges and I’ve come to believe that anything worth having in life is not always going to be easy.  Reflecting on my life experiences I am thankful for the love and support of my family and friends.  They are my gems that I keep close to me – my precious gems.   It’s because of them that I was able to keep going when at times I wanted to stop – some of them wouldn’t let me stop.  It’s laughable now but I’ll never forget those moments talking with my friend in Korea or having drinks at the spare of the moment with my girls just because.  I’ll never forget the kind words of my mother and the hugs of my son when he could see that I was having a moment.  Those moments make it all worth it and keep me going.   In this life we have to find our happy spot and stay there for as long as possible, more over we have to cherish those who aid in our happiness and balance.  My happy spot is with my family and friends.  

Build Castles Not Graves

Reading the Magic Of Thinking Big has me all excited and energized.  This week I pondered on the idea of thinking big.  Not just thinking of the now but thinking beyond the now.  I thought of the line, " Build Castles  and Not Graves"  What does that mean?  For me it goes beyond me - It speaks to me with regards to my friends, family and clients.  Building castles is a choice to inspire and not tear down, to support and not ignore, to love and not hate.  It's to operate with an an attitude of encouragement for everyone you encounter. I'm challenging you all - Will you join me?  Let's build castles and not graves. CG 

Action cures fear!

I'm currently reading the book, " The Magic of Thinking Big" I'm actually re -reading this book.  Something that stood out to me this week was the line "Action cures fear".   I pondered on this line most of the week - sometimes we're so afraid to try something new.  Sometimes we're afraid of what people are going to say - that maybe they won't take us seriously.  What I've come to realize is that the cure to fear is initiative, desire and determination.   The answer to our problem is getting off our bums and putting in the work to make shit happen.  It's realizing that it's going to be unfamiliar and confusing but if we can get over that hump it'll be worth it.

My Lesson From The Alchemist

One of my favorite books of all time is the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  Once I read this book I was changed forever.  I was inspired and re -inspired by every single page.  I think it's safe to say I've read this book at least 4-5 times and counting.   We get so hung up on people, things and places.  The most valuable lesson I took from this book was to let go.   Just let go; we all know what we have to do, we all have the tools right in front of us.  Just let go!  Let go of all the negative energy, the fears, I can't and I'm not sure and I'm afraid.  Let it go!  In the Alchemist we see a young boy who leaves  all that he knows and is comfortable with in search of his treasure. What he finds on his journey is far more exciting and amazing.  The lessons and the people he encounters all lead him to the ultimate treasure, finding his soul mate and the cherry on top of the cake - his treasure.  Had he been comfortable tending sheep - What a boring book it would be.  Needless to say what I took from this book is this, you'll never know - you'll never know until you let it go.  I wish life came with a manual, unfortunately it doesn't we have to try and fail and try again.  We have to trust and lose in order to win.  We have to walk in love and faith in order to experience all the promises life has for us.  My greatest lesson learned from the Alchemist is to Let go! 

New Year, New Goals

It's  2016 by now most of us have our goals  all mapped out or some of us are still working on them. It's never to late - keep going!  I once read that a person without a goal is like a ship leaving the harbor without a map, captain or crew.  I think it's safe to say that if the ship actually ever leaves the harbor it wouldn't get to far.  Last year I kept my goals in front of me everyday and I looked to them for reminders and inspiration.  For me creating my goals takes time and real evaluation.  I'm evaluating what I did before and how to make it better. I'm determining if the direction i'm headed in is still the best path.  Nothing is perfect but for me setting goals is not just writing something on a piece of paper and tucking it away until the end of the year.  Setting goals is a part of my success as a mom, entrepreneur and a woman.  I encourage each of my mom, mompreneurs, entrepreneurs to not just set goals this year but instead let's live our goals.  CG

Happy New Year!!!

It's December 2015 and as we welcome 2016 and close out 2015 I sit here thinking of this year. It has had its share of  ups and downs.  I think of how I overcame and soared.  I think of how amazing and precious life is.  I'm grateful.  This year I've learned to be truly grateful for all that has been given and provided for me.  There is truly a higher power in control of everything and that brings me comfort.   I've seen people who are close to me fall and get up again.  I've also, seen those who have lost hope in everything.  I'm here to say anything is possible if you believe.  Change is possible is you believe it is.  It sounds cliche but it's the truth.  The secret to life, love, health and wealth is you.  It starts with you.  Happy New Year! CG